Finance — Self-employed
Self-Employed Home Loans
Home loans for sole traders, contractors, Pty Ltd directors and trust-business owners. A Credit Representative working alongside a Chartered Accountant reads your tax returns, BAS and business financials the same way the lender does — and the same way at year-end.
- Sole traders
- Contractors
- Pty Ltd directors
- Trust-business owners
- Mixed PAYG + self-employed
Mr Rohan Manokaran (Credit Representative 565110) is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 561324 held by Loans Only Pty Ltd. Information on this page is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Credit eligibility, lender criteria, fees and charges apply.
Why this matters for self-employed
Your tax returns are the application.
Self-employed borrowing capacity is driven by how a specific lender reads your tax returns, BAS and business financials. That same paperwork sits on the desk of the practitioner who prepared it. Same person; same documents; both sides of the application.
For PAYG salaried applicants, the lender mostly reads a payslip. For self-employed applicants, the lender reads a stack of interacting documents: personal tax returns, business tax returns, financial statements, BAS, business bank statements, debt statements, and ATO Notices of Assessment. Different lenders read those documents differently — applying different add-backs, different income-averaging rules, different treatments of business debt, and different serviceability buffers.
Two lenders can reach materially different borrowing-capacity figures for the same self-employed applicant. The variation is policy, not preference. The right lender for any given self-employed borrower is the one whose policy fits the shape of the borrower's income — not the lender with the lowest headline rate.
When the same practitioner prepares your tax return and arranges the loan, the assessment work is shorter, the lender shortlisting is more accurate, and the year-end return will be consistent with what the lender already saw. That is the practical benefit of the model.
Lender perspective
What lenders look at for a self-employed application.
Most lender policy differences come back to these six areas. Knowing the policies in advance is how the application is built around the lender, not the other way around.
Tax returns & NoAs
2 years personal + business · NoAs
Most full-doc lenders require two years of complete personal and business returns, plus the matching ATO Notices of Assessment to confirm the lodgements were accepted. Some single-year-of-returns lenders exist where the rest of the application is strong.
Add-backs
Depreciation · company tax · one-offs
Different lenders allow different add-backs. Choosing a lender with the right add-back appetite for your business is often the largest single driver of borrowing-capacity uplift in this segment. We know the policies because we also see them at year-end.
BAS & bank statements
Trend confirmation · current trading
BAS and bank statements confirm that prior-year tax-return income is consistent with current trading. Discrepancies prompt questions; consistency shortens assessment.
Business debts
Face value · notional · excluded
A business loan in the name of a Pty Ltd or trust can be treated by different lenders as a personal liability at face value, at a notional rate, or excluded entirely where the business services it. Treatment swings borrowing capacity meaningfully.
Living expenses
Personal vs business · HEM benchmark
Self-employed applicants whose business and personal expenses flow through overlapping accounts should be ready to walk the lender through which transactions are personal living and which are business. Clean separation helps.
Document quality
Lodgement currency · NoAs current
Returns lodged late, BAS overdue or NoAs missing all slow the assessment. The first action before approaching lenders is usually to bring returns and BAS up to date.
Suited to
Self-employed borrowers we work with.
Sole traders
Direct ABN income, deductions, depreciation, BAS. Often the simplest self-employed profile to evidence; documentation rhythm is two years of personal returns plus BAS and bank statements.
Contractors
Day-rate contractors, professional services and trade contractors. Income evidenced via tax returns and contracts; agency vs direct affects which lenders prefer the shape.
Pty Ltd directors
Single-director or small-board Pty Ltd companies. Two years of personal returns plus two years of company returns and financials. Add-back appetite at the lender matters significantly.
Trust-business owners
Business operated through a family trust with a trustee company or individual trustee. Lender shortlist narrows for trust borrowers; documentation requirements expand.
Process
From scoping to settlement — typically 4–8 weeks.
A document-driven sequence. Lender shortlisting and pre-assessment happen before any credit-file enquiry.
Scoping call
Understanding business structure, income shape, deposit, existing facilities, target property and timing. We confirm whether full-doc is the right path.
Document collection
Two years of personal and business returns plus NoAs, four most recent BAS, business and personal bank statements, debt statements, identification.
Pre-assessment & lender shortlist
Multi-lender modelling of borrowing capacity. Lender shortlist documented with policy rationale. Pre-assessment before any credit-file enquiry.
Formal application
Application to the shortlisted lender. We track and report progress; respond to lender queries with documentation already in hand.
Pre-approval & property
Conditional pre-approval issued. Once you have a property, application progresses to unconditional approval (full valuation, employment verification, contract review).
Settlement & ongoing
Settlement on the contract date. Year-end tax return preparation already understands the loan structure — no rework, no inconsistency.
Frequently asked questions
Self-employed home loans — common questions.
Most major Australian lenders look for two years of complete personal and business tax returns plus the corresponding ATO Notices of Assessment. A small number of lenders accept a single full year of returns where the trend is clear and the rest of the application is strong. Documentation requirements at any individual lender vary; the lender shortlist for any given borrower depends on the documents you actually have.
How we are paid
How we are paid: Eternity Mortgage Solutions typically receives commissions from the lender for loans arranged on your behalf. A full explanation of how we are paid, our lender panel and any potential conflicts of interest is provided in our Credit Guide and Credit Proposal Disclosure document, available on request before any loan application is submitted.
Related
Where this fits in the bigger picture
Self-employed home loans connect to pre-approval, the home-loan pathway and the long-form borrowing guide that explains how lenders read self-employed income in detail.
- Guide
Guide: tax returns and home loans
How lenders read tax returns, notices of assessment and add-backs for self-employed borrowers. General information.
- Guide
Self-employed document checklist
The returns, BAS, financials and statements commonly requested for a self-employed application.
- Mortgage Broking
Mortgage broker for self-employed
The dedicated self-employed borrower service — income evidence, add-backs and lender shortlist handled by a Credit Representative who also prepares the return.
- Guide
Self-employed borrowing guide
Long-form guide covering how lenders read tax returns, add-backs, BAS, business debts, living expenses and credit conduct.
- Mortgage Broking
Pre-approval & borrowing capacity
How borrowing capacity is calculated and why two lenders reach different figures for the same applicant.
- Mortgage Broking
Home loans
First home, upgrading, refinancing and investment loan pathways — the broader home-loan service that this page sits inside.
- Guide
How One Roof works
The engagement model — same practitioner prepares your tax return and arranges the loan. Most useful for self-employed.