FRU News · Answers
What Income Counts for a Mortgage?
Which kinds of income count toward qualifying for a mortgage, how stable and nontaxable income is treated, and how self-employed income is read.
47 sec · Captions available on the player · Presented by AI-generated presenters, with every line taken from the FreeRateUpdate page it answers.
Source: FreeRateUpdate answer page, Sept. 29, 2026; Fannie Mae
Transcript
This is FreeRateUpdate News. I'm Edmund Ledger. Today's question: what income counts toward qualifying for a mortgage?
Social Security, pensions, retirement income and disability income all count, and so does self-employed income.
The lender wants to see that it's stable. Income with an end date should keep coming for at least three years after closing.
Income that isn't taxed can often be grossed up. On Fannie Mae loans, the standard adjustment adds 25%.
Self-employed income is usually taken from your filed tax returns, after deductions.
Retirement or investment accounts can help even if you aren't drawing from them yet.
I'm Edmund Ledger, for FreeRateUpdate News.
What the charts show
One on-screen table of income that can count. Social Security, pension and disability income count if stable, with three years remaining if it ends. Nontaxable income can be grossed up, typically by 25%. Self-employed income is taken from filed tax returns, after deductions.