The Quick Read: Qualifying on sales or commission income at super jumbo size means the lender averages your eligible deposits from 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements, applies an expense ratio to business accounts, and then tests leverage, credit, and reserves that tighten as the loan grows, through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting. Every loan above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission.
- Your traditional personal-income documentation often understates commission income. Deposits show what actually came in.
- A personal account usually avoids the expense ratio. A business account takes one.
- Qualifying income is eligible deposits divided by the months in the window.
- Leverage steps down as the loan gets larger, and credit and reserve requirements step up.
- Buying a rental? Qualification can run on the property’s rent instead of your deposits.
Why Do Tax Returns Undersell Commission Income?
Sales and commission earners usually carry heavy costs. Travel, client entertainment, software, licensing fees, and home-office expenses all reduce the income a tax return reports. That is smart tax planning. It is also a problem when you apply for a mortgage that reads only the bottom line of the return.
A bank statement loan flips the question. Instead of relying only on the net income a tax return reports, it looks at the deposits flowing into your accounts. For a top-producing real estate agent, a medical-device rep, an insurance producer, or a luxury-auto salesperson, taxable income and actual deposits can sit far apart.
At super jumbo size, the gap matters more. Larger balances call for larger documented income, and a return that shows only a fraction of your real earnings can cap the loan before the conversation starts.
Super jumbo is a market label, not a legal category. Lenders set their own line, and practitioners commonly put it near $3,000,000. Most programs in the wholesale network Lendmire works with tighten sharply from that point up.
Key Terms Defined
Bank statement loan: A mortgage that is reviewed around deposits shown in your bank statements instead of on traditional personal-income documentation or pay stubs.
Non-QM: A loan that falls outside the standard rules for ordinary conforming and qualified mortgages, so lenders set their own documentation and sizing guidelines.
Super jumbo: A loan far above ordinary jumbo size. No federal definition exists, and each lender draws its own line.
Expense ratio: A percentage removed from business-account deposits to approximate real take-home income.
Eligible deposits: Deposits that reflect real earnings. Transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, and one-time items are removed.
Seasoning: The waiting period a lender wants after a credit event, or between two transactions.
Reserves: Liquid funds you hold after closing, counted in months of the full housing obligation.
How Does the Loan Work for a Commission Earner?
Underwriting follows the same path every time. It runs in six steps.
1. Pick the statement type and window. Use personal statements, business statements, or a mix, over 12 or 24 consecutive months. The portfolio non-QM program Lendmire places files with carries loans to $6,000,000 and accepts either window. A bank portfolio jumbo program carries twelve-month-statement files to $30,000,000 on its own size ladder. Both are placed through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
2. Send full statements. Every page, every month, consecutive. A transaction history printout never substitutes.
3. Strip ineligible deposits. Transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, and one-off items come out.
4. Apply the expense ratio to business accounts. Personal-account deposits are counted on net eligible deposits. Business deposits take a haircut.
5. Average. Total the eligible amount and divide by the number of months in the window.
6. Run the other tests. Debt-to-income runs to 50% on most files. Credit, reserves, and property type follow.
Business statements require at least 25% ownership of the business. If you own part of an entity, deposits are also cut to your ownership share.
Which Commission Deposits Actually Count?
Most programs count deposits that are clearly earnings and can be traced to a payer. Lenders remove anything that looks like moving your own money around. Lendmire’s piece How to Show Gross Sales on a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan covers the business-owner side of this.
| Deposit type | Typically counted? | Documentation to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Employer commission payments | Yes | Statements showing payer name |
| Brokerage split payouts | Yes | Clear payer label on each deposit |
| 1099 client payments | Yes | Consistent payers across months |
| Referral fees | Often | Pattern across the full window |
| Draws or advances | Depends | Lender may net repayable amounts |
| Transfers between your accounts | No | Removed before averaging |
| Loan proceeds or refunds | No | Removed before averaging |
Draws deserve a note. A draw against future commission can look like income or like a loan, depending on how it is repaid. Lenders differ on this, so ask early.
Personal or Business Account for Sales Income?
A personal account usually produces a higher coverage figure. Business accounts take an expense ratio. Which account holds your deposits is often the biggest swing factor on the file.
| Factor | Personal account | Business account |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | Generally none | Fixed ratio or CPA ratio |
| Ownership test | None | At least 25% ownership |
| Best for | Paid directly as an individual | Commission paid to your entity |
| Main risk | Mixed-in personal transfers | Haircut shrinks the average |
When your own business sends money into your personal account, that transfer counts at 100%. Programs in the network treat it as income already net of business costs. That is one reason a clean transfer pattern helps.
If you run commissions through a business, the fixed expense ratios in the network are 20% for a service business with no employees, 40% for one to five employees, and 50% for six or more employees or any product business. An accountant-provided ratio is the alternative, and a profit-and-loss method is capped at 80%. Lendmire’s piece How to Write a CPA Letter for a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan shows what the lender wants to see.
Worked Example: Building Income From Uneven Months
Commission checks are lumpy. Picture a medical-device rep paid directly into a personal account. A few months bring big quarterly bonuses and a few months bring almost nothing.
The lender does not average only the good months. It totals every eligible deposit across the window, then divides by all the months. A slow quarter pulls the number down, and a strong quarter pulls it up. The lender also checks the trend. If the last six months run well below the first six, expect scrutiny.
Now change one variable. Say the same rep is paid through an LLC with three employees. The 40% fixed ratio applies, so for every 100 units of eligible business deposits, 60 units count. Moving the same deposits to a personal account, or sending steady transfers from the LLC, would count more of them.
Choosing between 12 and 24 months is a strategy call. A 12-month window favors you when income is rising. A 24-month window helps when one recent year was weak, because the stronger earlier year lifts the average. A falling trend can hurt on either window.
What Changes at Super Jumbo Size?
Leverage steps down as the loan gets larger. Credit, reserves, and property rules tighten with it. On a primary-residence purchase, through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, the typical ceiling is 90% to $1,000,000, 85% to $2,000,000, and 80% to $3,000,000. It reaches 75% to $4,000,000 at the top credit tier. Past $4,000,000, every file is reviewed case by case before submission.
Second homes and investment properties run about five points lower at each size.
Past the $4,000,000 line, the bank portfolio jumbo program’s ladder takes over. On a primary-residence purchase it runs 65% to $5,000,000, 60% to $10,000,000, and 55% to $30,000,000. Each of those figures is on review, case by case. The ladder begins above $4,000,000 and overlaps the portfolio program to $6,000,000. Above $6,000,000 it stands alone.
Other requirements that move with size:
- Credit: a 660 floor on the portfolio program and 680 on the bank program. Most programs want 700 above the super jumbo line.
- Reserves: typically 3 months to $500,000, 6 months to $1,500,000, and 9 months above. Add 2 months per additional financed property, to a 12-month maximum. First-time investors are typically asked for 12 months.
- Super jumbo overlays: these kick in above $3,500,000 on a primary residence and $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property. Expect a 700 credit floor, a 0x30x24 housing history, and 48 months of seasoning after any credit event. Borrowers must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Non-occupant co-borrowers and rural property are out, with ten acres the maximum. Cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves.
- Cash-out: proceeds are unlimited at or below 60% LTV. Above that on the portfolio program, cash in hand is capped at $1,500,000.
Worked Example: The Same Borrower at Super Jumbo Size
Consider a luxury-real-estate agent buying a $3,200,000 primary residence. She earns commissions through a brokerage that pays her personal account directly. On a primary-residence purchase, the ceiling in that band is 75%, with a typical credit target of 720 or higher. Reserves sit in the 9-month tier.
Her deposits are clean and traceable, and the 24-month average holds steady. Her documented income and the existing debts determine how much payment the file can carry within the 50% debt-to-income limit. The statements set the income side, and the leverage ladder sets the loan side.
Now stretch the price to $4,500,000. The file now falls under case-by-case review, with 65% as the primary-residence purchase ceiling on review, not a promise. Underwriters weigh the assets behind the file more heavily. A commission earner with strong liquid assets and a thin deposit history may land better on an asset path than on pure deposits.
Commission-Only, Base Plus Commission, or Mixed Income?
How you are paid decides the best documentation route.
- Commission-only, paid as a W-2 employee: bank statements work well. Deposits come from one identifiable payer.
- Base salary plus commission: some programs use paystub and employment verification instead. Bank statements remain an option when commission is the larger share and the average tells a better story.
- 1099 contractor: you are generally treated as self-employed. Consistent payers and a clean deposit trail matter most.
- Recent W-2-to-1099 switch: a short 1099 history can look thin on paper. Bank statement programs exist partly for this situation.
- Mixed income: commission plus rental or investment income can count if each stream is documented in the account.
Alternatives, and When to Choose Them
Bank statements are one path among several. The right one depends on how you earn and what you are buying.
| Path | Reviewed on | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Bank statements | Eligible deposits | Deposits beat tax-return income |
| Profit-and-loss | CPA-prepared P&L, capped at 80% | Business income, strong books |
| Asset allowance | Liquid assets over 36, 60, or 84 months | Large liquid portfolio |
| Assets-only | Liquid assets equal loan plus costs | Wealth far exceeds income |
| DSCR | Property rent versus payment | Buying a rental |
The asset allowance divides liquid assets by 36 months (supplemental, DTI at or below 60%), by 60 months (supplemental, DTI above 60%), or by 84 months (standalone, or any loan above $3,500,000). It applies to primary and second homes, with an 80% maximum. Assets-only qualifies with no debt-to-income test when U.S. liquid assets equal the loan amount plus closing costs. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% at age 59.5 and up. Business funds, gifts, unvested stock, and cryptocurrency never count.
For a rental, the question changes. A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your personal income is not the main test. Each rental you finance on a bank statement file adds payment load to your debt-to-income, so investors building a portfolio often move rentals to DSCR and keep bank statements for the home they live in. The complete DSCR loans guide walks through that side. DSCR may not suit very large balances or properties with thin rent coverage.
Does Non-QM Mean Less Documentation?
Not at all. Lenders still must make a reasonable, good-faith decision that you can repay, and that rule applies to non-QM loans too, as the CFPB’s Regulation Z § 1026.43 page explains. Bank statements are a recognized way to verify income. The CFPB’s small-entity compliance guide lists them alongside traditional personal-income documentation and pay records. The same guide says a creditor generally cannot rely on what you say orally about your income.
In practice, that means the lender will want the statements, the credit report, and a clear picture of your debts. The deposits count as income only because the lender relies on them. A bank statement loan is reviewed on documented income under the applicable program, subject to lender guidelines. Your numbers are derived from verified deposits, not self-reported.
File-Prep Checklist for Sales Professionals
Start preparing well before you apply. Deposits need to be seasoned and documented for the full window.
- Route commission checks into one consistent account. Avoid moving them around.
- Keep payer names visible on deposits.
- Avoid large unexplained deposits. Be ready to explain any that do show up.
- Do not move funds between your own accounts just before applying.
- Keep liquid assets documented, since reserves must come from separate funds.
- If you hold a stake in a business, line up an accountant letter early.
- Hold off on new debt. It lowers the income you can use.
Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; investors should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a personal account if I am a 1099 salesperson?
Usually yes. Personal-account deposits are generally counted on net eligible deposits, without an expense ratio. The lender still wants clear payers and consistent patterns. If the 1099 income flows through a business entity, the business-account rules apply instead.
How are slow months handled?
They count. The lender totals eligible deposits across the whole window and divides by every month. A 24-month window can soften a weak recent stretch if the earlier year was strong. A steady decline will draw questions on either window.
Do I need two years of commission history?
Not on every program. Conventional lending leans on a two-year history, but non-QM windows differ. Many bank statement programs accept 12 months. The lender sets the history required, and the property and credit profile matter too.
What leverage can I expect on a very large loan?
It depends on size, occupancy, and transaction type. On a primary-residence purchase, typical ceilings run 80% to $3,000,000 and 75% to $4,000,000, through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting. Above $4,000,000, every file is reviewed case by case before submission. Second homes and investment properties run about five points lower.
Is a bank statement loan better than DSCR for a rental purchase?
It depends on the borrower and the rent. DSCR qualifies primarily on the property’s rent covering the payment, so it does not lean on your debt-to-income. Bank statements tie the loan to your income. Strong rent coverage favors DSCR, and a strong income file with a thin rent picture may favor bank statements.
Next Steps
If you are financing a high-balance property on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. Its consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WA. Programs change, every file is underwritten individually, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Commission income rarely shows up cleanly on a tax return, so the investors who succeed here are the ones who start tidying their deposit trail a year before they apply.
Self-employed borrowers can compare both super jumbo programs on Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page.
About Lendmire
As a non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire facilitates DSCR investor loans across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. DSCR eligibility is generally reviewed around property-level rental income instead of personal income documentation, subject to lender guidelines, serving LLC-structured portfolios and self-employed borrowers who don’t fit conventional boxes. A two-time Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Workplace (2025, 2026).
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References
1. CFPB, Regulation Z § 1026.43 (Ability-to-Repay)
2. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Super Jumbo IO Reset Options on a Purchase vs Cash-Out Bank Statement Loan · Super Jumbo Bank Statement LTV on Purchase vs Cash-Out · How to Move a Declined Cash-Out to a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.