The Quick Read: The amount a practice-owning dentist can borrow comes from a calculation: eligible deposits after an expense ratio, divided by the statement months, then tested against a debt-to-income ceiling and a leverage ladder that steps down as the loan grows. Through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, loans run from $300,000 to $30,000,000. Nothing in that range is a fixed dentist maximum.
- Qualifying income is built from deposits, not from the tax-return net.
- A dentist’s expense ratio is usually 40% or 50%, unless an accountant documents a lower one.
- Debt-to-income can reach 50%, so practice loans and student loans shrink the number.
- Maximum leverage on a primary residence depends on the individual scenario and steps down as the loan size grows.
- At the largest loan sizes, every file is reviewed case by case before submission.
Why Your Tax Return Understates What You Can Afford
A dental practice throws off real cash, but the return shows less. Depreciation, equipment write-offs, retirement contributions and owner expenses all shrink taxable income. A conventional underwriter averages that smaller number, and your borrowing power shrinks with it.
A bank statement loan starts from a different place. It looks at money that actually arrived in your accounts. That is why the same practice can qualify for very different loan sizes depending on the documentation path. If you want the full background on the product, Lendmire’s piece How Bank Statement Loans Work for Dentists Who Own Their Practice covers the basics. This article answers the sizing question.
One scope note. This article covers a mortgage on a home or property you personally buy. Buying the practice itself, or the building it sits in, is a commercial financing question. A residential bank statement loan is not the tool for that.
How the Math Builds Your Qualifying Income
The qualifying income is eligible deposits, reduced by an expense ratio, divided by the number of statement months. Across the wholesale network Lendmire shops, most programs follow this same four-step logic, and the details differ at the edges.
Step 1: Pick the statement type and period. Programs take 12 or 24 consecutive months of personal or business statements. The bank portfolio program uses 12. Statements must be consecutive, and a transaction history never substitutes for them.
Step 2: Screen the deposits. Patient payments and insurance reimbursements are practice revenue. Transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds and one-time deposits are not. Owner capital injections and practice-loan draws do not count either. Strip those out before anything else.
Step 3: Apply the expense ratio. On business statements, the lender assumes part of every deposit went to costs. Typical fixed ratios across the network run as follows:
- A lower fixed ratio for a service business with no employees.
- A middle ratio for a business with one to five employees.
- A higher ratio for six or more employees, or any business that sells a product.
- An accountant-provided ratio, when a CPA documents the real cost share.
A dental office carries staff, supplies, lab fees and equipment. Most practices land in the 40% or 50% tier unless a CPA supports something lower. Scotsman Guide uses 50% as its example of a standard expense factor, but that is an illustration and not a rule. Each program sets its own.
Business statements also require at least 25% ownership. If you co-own the practice, expect to document your share.
Step 4: Divide by the months. The result is your monthly qualifying income.
Here is why the ratio matters. At a 50% ratio, half of your eligible business deposits count. At a CPA-supported 25% ratio, three-quarters count. Same deposits, 50% more qualifying income. That is the biggest lever a practice owner controls.
Personal statements work differently. Money you have already moved from the practice into a personal account counts in full, at 100%. The expenses were paid before the money landed. Transfers from your own business into your personal account are treated this way.
A third route is a profit-and-loss method, which is capped at 80%. A third-party tax professional prepares it, and the lender still has to be satisfied you can repay.
From Income to Loan Size: Debt-to-Income Does the Rest
Debt-to-income, or DTI, compares your total monthly debts to your monthly qualifying income. Programs in the network go up to 50%. That means your new housing payment plus every other monthly obligation cannot exceed about half of qualifying income.
The debts that stack against that ceiling include:
- Practice-acquisition loans, when they sit against you personally or the lender counts them.
- Equipment financing.
- Student loans.
- Your current mortgage, if you are keeping the home.
- The new housing payment.
The order of operations is simple. Take qualifying income, multiply by the DTI ceiling, and subtract your other debts. What remains is the room for housing. The lender converts that room into a loan amount based on the program’s pricing and term. This article never states pricing, so the conversion is something a quote shows you.
Picture two dentists with identical deposits. One carries a large practice loan and student debt. The other has paid both down. The second dentist can borrow meaningfully more, even though the practices look the same on paper. Debt, not revenue, is usually the binding limit.
What the Leverage Ladder Allows
Income sets how much payment you can carry. The leverage ladder sets how much of the property the lender will finance. The ladder steps down as the loan grows. These are ceilings on a primary residence, through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
| Loan size | Purchase LTV | Cash-out LTV |
|---|---|---|
| $300K–$1M | 90% | 80% |
| $1M–$1.5M | 85% | 80% |
| $1.5M–$2M | 85% | 75% |
| $2M–$3M | 80% | 70% |
| $3M–$4M | 75% | 65% |
LTV means loan-to-value: the loan as a share of the property’s value. The credit score each band’s top leverage needs is separate from the program floor. It runs from 680 in the lowest band to 700, then 720 through the $3,000,000 range. At $3,500,000 to $4,000,000, the top leverage wants 760. A lower score takes a lower leverage cell in the same band.
Second homes and investment property take their own ladders, which sit anywhere from zero to fifteen points under the primary-residence figure depending on the band. No loan above $1,000,000 reaches 90%.
Above $4,000,000, everything is reviewed case by case before submission. That is where a bank portfolio program’s ladder begins. It carries twelve-month-statement files up to $30,000,000. Between $4,000,000 and $6,000,000 it overlaps a portfolio non-QM program, which carries files up to $6,000,000. Above $6,000,000 the bank program stands alone. On a primary-residence purchase its ladder runs 65% to $5,000,000, then 60% to $10,000,000, then 55% to $30,000,000, always on review.
Very large loans also bring overlays. Above $3,500,000 on a primary residence, expect a 700 credit floor, a clean housing payment history, and a four-year wait after any credit event. These loans go to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Cash-out proceeds cannot count toward reserves.
Credit, Reserves and Cash-Out Limits
Pricing and available terms vary by lender, borrower profile, property type, and full underwriting review. Program credit floors are 660 on the portfolio program, 680 on the bank portfolio program and 700 above the super-jumbo line.
Reserves are the liquid savings left after closing. They scale with size: 3 months up to $500,000, 6 months up to $1,500,000, and 9 months above that. Each additional financed property adds 2 months, up to a 12-month maximum. First-time investors need 12 months.
Cash-out is unlimited at or below 60% LTV. Above 60%, the portfolio program caps cash in hand at $1,500,000. Interest-only structures reach 85% LTV on the portfolio program with a 700 score, but that applies to purchase and rate-term files only. It never raises a cash-out ceiling. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
Can Assets Replace Deposits?
If your deposits are lumpy, assets can fill the gap. Two paths exist for primary and second homes.
An asset allowance divides your liquid assets by 36, 60 or 84 months and adds that to qualifying income. The 84-month version applies to standalone use or any loan above $3,500,000. Leverage is capped at 80%.
An assets-only file needs no DTI at all. Your U.S. liquid assets must equal the loan amount, closing costs, and sixty months of any net loss on other residential property. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% from age 59½. Business funds, gifts, crypto and unvested stock never count.
Edge Cases Practice Owners Run Into
A newer practice. Many programs want about two years of self-employment history. Whether a newer owner fits depends on the program and the file. Ask before you assume.
A down year or falling deposits. Averaging pulls qualifying income down. A 24-month window can help or hurt, depending on which year was stronger. When deposits are falling, a 12-month window of strong recent months may show more.
Circular cash flow. Moving money back and forth between personal and business accounts can inflate deposits on paper. Underwriters screen for it. Clean accounts get cleaner results.
Multiple practices or partners. Each ownership share needs documentation, and each business’s statements are reviewed on their own.
Buying a rental. If the property is a rental, you may not need your deposits at all. A DSCR loan, which stands for debt service coverage ratio, qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. It tests the building, not you. For a dentist already carrying practice debt, that can avoid stacking another mortgage on personal DTI. Occupancy usually decides which product fits: a home you live in points to bank statements, and a rental points to DSCR. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through that route.
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The CFPB’s Regulation Z exempts business-purpose credit from the consumer rules.
What a Bank Statement Loan Is Not
It is not a no-underwriting loan. The loan type is called non-QM, meaning it falls outside the standard qualified-mortgage box. The CFPB’s assessment of the ability-to-repay rule confirms that non-QM loans remain subject to ability-to-repay requirements. The lender still has to document that you can repay. It simply uses deposits instead of traditional personal-income documentation to do it.
A bank statement loan also does not ignore your tax write-offs. They do not cut the deposit number directly. The expense ratio still takes its own share.
For readers at the high end of the size range, Lendmire also covers super jumbo bank statement loans for physicians who own the practice, which follows the same size ladder.
Key Terms Defined
- Eligible deposits: the bank deposits a lender counts as income after removing transfers, loan proceeds, refunds and one-time credits.
- Expense ratio: the share of business deposits the lender assumes went to costs, which reduces qualifying income.
- DTI (debt-to-income): your total monthly debts divided by your monthly qualifying income.
- Non-QM: a mortgage that falls outside the standard qualified-mortgage rules but still requires proof you can repay.
- Reserves: liquid savings you must still hold after closing, measured in months of payments.
A Pre-Application Checklist for Dentists
1. Gather 12 or 24 consecutive months of statements for every account you will use. 2. Mark every transfer, loan draw and owner contribution so you know what will be removed. 3. Ask your CPA whether a documented expense ratio is available, and what it would be. 4. List every monthly debt: practice loans, equipment financing, student loans, current mortgage. 5. Document your ownership percentage and business license. 6. Pull your credit and check it against the program floors: 660 on the portfolio program, 680 on the bank portfolio program and 700 above the super-jumbo line. 7. Confirm your reserves, and know which accounts count.
Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held. Keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Consumer mortgage lending through Lendmire is licensed in 16 states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA and WA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my practice’s business statements instead of personal ones?
Yes, with at least 25% ownership. Business deposits get the expense ratio, so a dental office usually sees 40% or 50% removed. Personal statements count in full, but they only show what you have already moved out of the practice. Many owners compare both and use whichever produces the stronger number.
Do student loans and practice debt reduce what I can borrow?
Yes. DTI can reach 50% on this program, and every monthly obligation stacks against it. A heavy practice-acquisition loan or large student balance leaves less room for housing. Paying either down, or documenting how it is paid, can change the outcome. Each file is underwritten individually.
How long do I have to own the practice?
It depends on the program. Many look for roughly two years of self-employment, but a newer owner may still fit depending on the file, the statements and other strengths. Asking about a specific program before you apply saves effort.
Can I buy a rental with this loan?
You can, and investment property takes its own leverage ladder at each size. A rental purchase may fit a DSCR loan better, because it is reviewed on the property’s income and keeps another mortgage off your personal DTI. All figures here are through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
What if my loan is above $4,000,000?
Above that size, everything is reviewed case by case before submission. The bank portfolio program’s ladder applies: 65% to $5,000,000, 60% to $10,000,000 and 55% to $30,000,000, on review. Credit, assets and reserves all weigh more heavily at that size.
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. Nothing here is a commitment to lend, and every file is underwritten individually.
Dental practices tend to look better on deposits than on traditional personal-income documentation, and the dentists who borrow the most are usually the ones who documented the cost side first.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
A DSCR-focused mortgage broker, Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) places investor financing across 41 markets — 40 states plus Washington, D.C. — with DSCR eligibility generally reviewed by the lender on property cash flow instead of traditional personal-income documentation, subject to lender guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Scotsman Guide, “Rev Up the Engine for Non-QM Lending”
3. CFPB: CFPB Ability to Repay Qualified Mortgage Assessment Report
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: How Much Can K-1 Partners Borrow With a Bank Statement Loan? · How Much Can You Borrow With a Luxury Home Bank Statement Loan? · How to Qualify for a Bank Statement Loan for Founders
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.