Do Mortgage Lenders Use My Net or Gross Income?
Lenders rely on your gross monthly income when determining whether you can afford a monthly mortgage payment.
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Mortgage lenders will analyze your income and debts -- along with other factors -- when deciding whether to approve your application for a mortgage loan. And when lenders study your income, they're studying your gross income, not your net. Lenders choose this figure since borrowers are more familiar with their gross income than how much they make after all taxes and other deductions get taken from their paychecks.
Tip
Lenders look at your gross income when you apply for a mortgage since this amount is more stable and likely the number you readily know.
Gross Income vs. Net Income
When determining how your debt relates to your income, lenders use your gross monthly income, not your net monthly income. Net monthly income is your monthly income after all taxes, Social Security payments and deductions for retirement accounts are taken out of your paycheck.
Gross monthly income is the amount of money you earn each month before these items are deducted from your paycheck. Your gross monthly income can also include other income streams, such as rental income, alimony or dividends. If you have an annual salary of $36,000 and no other regular income sources, your gross monthly income is $3,000. Your net monthly income, though, could be far lower depending on how much money you contribute to Social Security, taxes and retirement accounts.
Why Lenders Use Gross Income
It might seem strange that lenders use gross income instead of net income when determining whether borrowers can afford a mortgage loan. After all, net income is the actual amount of money you bring home each month. But lenders use gross income when qualifying individuals because this is a figure that most consumers readily know.
If you make a salary of $72,000 a year, you quickly know that your gross monthly income is $6,000. You might not be able to quickly figure your net income, unless you have your paycheck stub in front of you. Your gross income is also stable, while your net income could change from month to month.
Debt-to-Income Ratios
Lenders rely on two debt-to-income ratios, your front-end and back-end ratios, to determine how much of a mortgage loan you can afford. Lenders want your total monthly mortgage payment, a payment that includes your principal, interest and taxes, to equal generally no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income. That's the front-end ratio.
Lenders also want all of your monthly debts, including mortgage payment, car-loan payment, credit-card minimum monthly payments and student-loan payments, to equal no more than 36 percent of your gross monthly income. This is known as the back-end ratio.
Other Mortgage Qualification Factors
While your gross monthly income is a key factor in determining whether you qualify for a mortgage loan, it's not the only one that lenders consider. They will also look at your credit score, which tells lenders how well you've handled credit in the past, and your employment history. Lenders will also look at your savings. And when you're considering whether you can afford a mortgage loan, you need to look at your net monthly income. After all, that's the money coming into your budget each month. If you're not comfortable that your net monthly income is high enough to support a particular loan, you might reconsider closing on it.
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Writer Bio
Don Rafner has been writing professionally since 1992, with work published in "The Washington Post," "Chicago Tribune," "Phoenix Magazine" and several trade magazines. He is also the managing editor of "Midwest Real Estate News." He specializes in writing about mortgage lending, personal finance, business and real-estate topics. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Illinois.