The Quick Read: A jumbo cash-out can count equity pay and deferred comp, but only the part a lender can document, average, and expect to continue. Vested, delivered shares usually count after averaging. Unvested grants usually do not. Deferred-comp balances are the hardest piece, because access and payout timing decide whether they count at all.
Key Takeaways
- Vested shares that have been delivered to you can count as income. Granted but unvested shares usually cannot.
- Lenders average your equity pay over its history. They do not use your best year or today’s share price.
- Deferred comp already paying out is documented like any other income stream. A balance sitting in a plan is a harder case.
- On a cash-out, leverage and reserves matter as much as income. Stock-rich borrowers often qualify on assets and reserves more than on salary.
- Every figure below is subject to lender guidelines and full file review. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
What Is a Jumbo Cash-Out “Lane”?
A lane is one lender program with its own rules for leverage, ratios, reserves, and loan size. A jumbo cash-out is a new first mortgage above the local conforming limit. It pays off your current loan and returns the leftover equity as cash.
Lendmire arranges these through wholesale lenders, and it is a broker, not the lender. The firm’s jumbo cash-out refinance program spans several lanes. Across them, the headline lane works from a 660 decision score and reaches 90% leverage. Several lanes reach 89.99% combined loan-to-value (CLTV, meaning all liens against the home divided by its value). The rest stop at 80%. Loans reach $5,000,000 on the largest lanes. Cash-out sits at lower leverage than a purchase, and the largest lanes add a cash cap. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Those are the outer edges. Where you land depends on your documented income, reserves, credit, and appraisal. Occupancy also decides leverage, and this piece covers the home you live in.
How Does a Lender Sort Your Pay?
Sort your compensation into three buckets before you talk to anyone. Each bucket gets different treatment.
| Pay type | Typical treatment |
|---|---|
| Vested, delivered RSUs | Can count after averaging |
| Unvested RSUs | Generally not income |
| Sign-on stock awards | Often excluded |
| Bonus paid in cash | Counts if history supports it |
| Deferred comp already paying | Counts with payer documents |
| Deferred comp balance in plan | Depends on access and trigger |
This table is a general guide. Each lane sets its own overlay, so no outcome in it is a promise.
Here is a plain definition worth keeping. “Vested and delivered” means the shares are yours, with no remaining restriction, and they landed in your brokerage account. A grant letter showing a big number does not meet that test.
How Is RSU Income Actually Calculated?
Lenders turn your RSUs into a monthly figure by averaging. They look at vested shares over a past window, price them with a smoothed stock price, and spread the total across the months. A single great vest does not set the number.
The closest public reference is the agency guide. Jumbo loans sit outside it, so treat it as a model, not a rule. The Fannie Mae Selling Guide’s restricted stock units section says the stock must have vested and been distributed without restrictions. It also asks for evidence that the stock is publicly traded and for the vesting schedule. For income paid in shares, it uses a 200-day moving-average price. Insurer job aids summarize the math as vested pre-tax shares over 24 months, divided by 24, times that average price.
History matters too. Performance-based awards generally want about two years of history. A shorter record may work with offsetting strengths. Time-based awards can get by with less, but a very short record is a stop sign on many files.
Jumbo lenders write their own overlays on top of this. Some follow the agency approach closely. Others are stricter. A few count RSUs only through assets.
What About Continuance and Job Changes?
Lenders want to see income that will keep arriving. The agency guide’s general income rule asks that income with a defined end be documented as continuing at least three years from the application date. A vesting schedule that runs out in eighteen months is a problem. One that runs through the next several years helps.
A new employer often resets the history clock. Some frameworks allow an exception when you have a long record of restricted-stock income from earlier employers. Whether a lane accepts that is lender policy. Ask before you apply.
How the Qualifying Figure Gets Built
This example is illustrative and uses made-up index numbers, not dollars. Say monthly base pay is 100 units. Averaged bonus adds 15 units. Averaged vested-RSU income adds 25 units. Deferred comp is a balance in a plan, not yet paying, so it adds nothing.
Walk through the share math first. Say you vested 2,400 shares over the past 24 months. Divide by 24 and you get 100 shares a month. Multiply by the 200-day average price and the result is the RSU line.
- Qualifying income: 140 units.
- Debt allowed at a 50% ceiling: 70 units.
- Debt allowed at a 45% ceiling: 63 units.
- Debt allowed at a 43% ceiling: 60.2 units.
- Qualifying income with RSUs excluded: 115 units.
- Debt allowed at 50% with RSUs excluded: 57.5 units.
“Debt allowed” means the new housing payment plus every other monthly obligation. Excluding the RSUs cut room for debt by about 18%. That gap is why documentation of vested stock matters.
Now stress it. Say your peak vest year ran at 45 units a month, but the averaged figure is 25. The lender uses 25. Size the loan against the lower number, because that is the one you can count on if the stock dips or a vest is missed.
Fixed, Adjustable, or Interest-Only?
The structure changes how much income you need. Wholesale jumbo lanes run fixed, adjustable, and interest-only structures. The ratio ceilings differ.
| Structure | Ratio ceiling | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | 50% | Most room for debt |
| Adjustable | 45% | Payment can change later |
| Interest-only | 43% | Balance is not paid down early |
Ratios here are the share of qualifying income that debts can consume. The fixed lanes allow the most. For someone whose income is partly stock, a payment that cannot move is easier to plan around. Interest-only can feel affordable early. It leaves the full balance outstanding, so a weak vesting year hurts more.
Jumbo Cash-Out or a Second Lien?
A cash-out refinance replaces your first mortgage. A home equity loan or HELOC sits behind it and leaves the first loan intact. That difference drives the choice.
| Factor | Jumbo cash-out | Second lien |
|---|---|---|
| Your first mortgage | Replaced | Stays in place |
| Loan size | One larger new loan | Smaller add-on loan |
| Income review | Full file review | Varies by lender |
| Best fit | Existing loan is costly to keep | Existing loan is worth keeping |
If you keep a first mortgage you like, a second lien may be less work. If the cash need is large, or you want one loan, a cash-out refinance can make sense. Converting other debt into mortgage debt raises the stakes, since the home secures all of it.
How Does Deferred Comp Fit In?
Deferred comp is the least settled piece. Agency guides do not have a page for nonqualified deferred comp, and jumbo lenders set their own policy. Treat what follows as the framework, not a promise.
Start with a split. Payments already flowing to you are one thing. A balance still sitting in a plan is another.
For payments already arriving, the lender typically wants the payer’s statement or an award or benefit letter, plus traditional personal-income documentation, a W-2, or a 1099. The agency’s annuity, pension, and retirement income page shows the documents that approach asks for. Continuance still applies, so a payout window that is nearly over counts for less.
For a balance, the agency’s employment-related assets page is the closest analog. It requires that you have unqualified, unlimited access to request a distribution, and it subtracts any early-withdrawal penalty. It also flags funds that can be withdrawn only at retirement, termination, or death. A plan that pays only on a trigger event may not count as accessible assets or as income. How a lane reads it depends on how access is documented.
Where Does the General Rule Break?
Most of these cases come up on real files, and each one changes the answer.
- Mostly unvested RSUs. Qualifying income may be small. Vested, liquid holdings may carry the file as assets instead.
- Concentrated single-stock holdings. Lenders differ on how they value one big position for reserves. Some haircut it. Some count it at full value.
- Sign-on RSUs. The agency framework excludes these however long they vest.
- Short history. The shorter the record, the more offsetting strength you need.
- Dual earners. If both spouses hold equity pay, each stream is averaged on its own history.
- Crossing the jumbo line. If the new loan stays at or below your county’s limit, it is a conforming cash-out and agency rules apply. If your cash-out pushes the balance above the limit, you move into jumbo underwriting. The limit is set annually by the FHFA. Its announcement explains that high-cost counties can go higher, using a 115% test capped at 150% of the baseline.
Cash-out leverage is also lower than on a purchase, which shrinks what you can pull out. The agency’s own eligibility matrix caps conforming cash-out lower for two-to-four-unit homes than for one-unit homes, and jumbo lanes set their own caps.
Reserves and Appraisals Scale With the Loan
Reserves are the months of your full housing payment you hold in liquid assets after closing. On these lanes they rise with the loan amount. This is where vested stock often helps most, if the lane counts it.
Above a lane’s threshold amount, you should expect two appraisals. When the values differ, the lower one often controls sizing. Appraisal waivers are an agency feature for conforming loans. Plan on a full appraisal, not a waiver.
What Does the File Look Like Start to Finish?
Think of it as a sequence, not a pile of paperwork.
1. Sort your pay into vested RSUs, unvested RSUs, and deferred comp.
2. Gather proof of delivery. That means vesting schedules, brokerage statements, recent pay stubs, and W-2s.
3. Pull deferred-comp documents. Include plan statements, payout schedules, and any benefit letter.
4. Choose a structure and test it against the lower ratio ceilings.
5. Size the cash against leverage limits, reserves, and the appraised value.
6. Expect a recheck of employment and assets before the loan funds.
Lendmire’s pieces on documenting vested RSUs and deferred comp and on how a jumbo cash-out lender counts rsus and deferred comp as reserves go deeper on steps two and five.
What Is the Honest Stress Test?
Run three checks before you commit. Your obligation does not shrink when the stock falls.
- Stock drop. Price the loan on a lower share value and a smaller vest.
- Missed vest. Ask whether you could carry the payment on base pay and bonus alone.
- Job change. A new employer can reset history and cut your next lender’s view of your income.
A cash-out also uses up equity that could serve other goals. Whether to sell stock or borrow against the house has tax and concentration tradeoffs. Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
Which Path Fits You?
- Long vesting record, steady base pay: a fixed lane with RSUs averaged in is the cleanest fit.
- Low salary, large vested holdings: an asset-driven file may work better, with the caveat that lanes value stock differently.
- Mostly unvested grants: consider a smaller cash-out sized to base pay and bonus.
- Deferred comp as the main asset: document access closely, or expect a lender to set it aside.
- Happy with your current loan: compare a second lien before you replace the first mortgage.
If you are weighing a cash-out refinance against keeping the loan you have, Lendmire can help you compare the programs and the equity each one reaches.
Key Terms Defined
Lane: One lender program with its own leverage, ratio, reserve, and loan-size rules.
Vested and delivered: Shares you own free of restrictions and that sit in your account.
CLTV: Combined loan-to-value, which is all loans against the home divided by its value.
Reserves: Months of your full housing payment held in liquid assets after closing.
Seasoning: The age of the loan you are paying off. Some programs want a minimum before a cash-out.
Continuance: Documented proof that an income stream will keep arriving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sell my shares for the income to count?
No. What matters is that the stock vested and was delivered to you, with a record of the distributions. Selling is a separate choice, with its own tax and concentration effects.
Can unvested RSUs help me qualify?
Usually not as income. They may matter indirectly if a lender looks at your vesting schedule as part of continuance. Qualification then rests on the vested portion, base pay, and assets.
What if I just started at a new company?
A short history makes RSU income harder to count. Some lanes will look at earlier restricted-stock income from another employer. Others want time at the current one. Ask a broker before you apply, since overlays differ by lender.
Does my spouse’s equity pay count too?
It can, if it meets the same tests on its own record. Each stream is averaged separately. A strong history on one side can offset a short one on the other.
Is a jumbo cash-out the same as a HELOC?
No. A cash-out replaces your first mortgage with one new loan. A HELOC or home equity loan sits behind the first mortgage and leaves it intact. The right choice depends on whether your current loan is worth keeping.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Lendmire arranges FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through wholesale lenders; every file is underwritten by the lender under the applicable program guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
For current guidelines, see jumbo loan programs.
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References
1. Fannie Mae Selling Guide: Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income
2. Fannie Mae Selling Guide: General Income Information
3. Fannie Mae Selling Guide: Annuity, Pension, or Retirement Income
4. Fannie Mae Selling Guide: Employment-Related Assets as Qualifying Income
5. FHFA conforming loan limit announcement
6. Fannie Mae Eligibility Matrix
This article is part of Lendmire’s Jumbo Loans series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: Jumbo Cash-Out vs Practice Loan for a Homeowner Buying a Business · Can a Homeowner Paid in RSUs Use a Jumbo Cash-Out to Fund a Business? · Can a Homeowner Get an Interest-Only Jumbo Cash-Out Loan?
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.