The Quick Read: Two separate questions sit inside this topic, and lenders answer them separately. First, does your stock pay count as income? Usually only vested, distributed shares do, averaged over time. Second, can you spend the cash on a business? That is a use-of-proceeds question, and on a loan secured by your own home, the file is still underwritten as a regular consumer mortgage.
Key Takeaways
- Only vested and delivered RSUs count toward qualifying income. Unvested grants do not.
- Lenders average the stock price and the vesting history. They do not use today’s spot price.
- Putting proceeds toward a business does not turn a loan on your home into a different kind of loan. Expect full income documentation.
- Income paperwork and use-of-proceeds paperwork are two different piles.
- If RSUs fall short, other routes exist, including more vesting history or asset-based qualification on some programs.
Two Questions, Not One
Most confusion comes from mixing up two jobs. One job is proving you can repay the loan. The other is explaining what you plan to do with the cash.
Jumbo cash-out estimate
Enter the value, the balance, and the cash wanted; choose the occupancy and the structure; the lanes, the payment, and the reserves follow.
Editable benchmark: 7.40% as of October 15, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a jumbo cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $2,000,000 home value in the jumbo range, a $1,000,000 current balance, a principal residence on a thirty-year fixed structure at the current Freddie Mac conforming benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated at typical national rates. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conforming benchmark, a market reference and not a jumbo cash-out refinance quote; a jumbo loan is priced by the lender at lock. The lanes shown are the wholesale cash-out lanes behind this page as of the snapshot date; the calculator reads each lane’s leverage, loan maximum by occupancy, cash-in-hand cap, and reserves as the lane table states them, and a Lendmire loan officer confirms the lane on the file. The cash available is the loan the lane allows less the balances paid off, before closing costs, which are not included; on most lanes a jumbo cash-out begins one dollar above the conforming limit for the county, and two lanes start at a stated dollar floor instead. The HELOC line is the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling applied to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
| Question | What the lender checks | Where it lives in the file |
|---|---|---|
| How is my income counted? | Vesting, delivery, averaging | Income file |
| What will the cash be used for? | Your stated purpose | Application and purpose statement |
| Is the home enough collateral? | Value and leverage | Appraisal and cash-out limits |
The income side decides how much you can borrow. The use-of-proceeds side rarely changes the amount. It changes how the lender classifies and documents the file.
How Does a Jumbo Cash-Out Treat RSU Income?
RSU income counts when the shares have vested, have been delivered to you without restrictions, and show up in your records. The lender then converts that history into a monthly figure. Expect it to be worth less than the headline number on your compensation statement.
A jumbo loan is simply a loan above the county’s conforming limit, and that limit shifts every year. The FHFA publishes the limits, and loans above them fall outside the standard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac framework. That matters here for one reason. No single federal rule sets jumbo underwriting. Each lender writes its own guidelines.
Across the wholesale programs Lendmire places files with, the headline jumbo lane uses a 660 decision score. Leverage reaches 90% on that lane, and loans run up to $5,000,000 on the largest lanes. Cash-out is capped at lower leverage than a purchase, and the largest lanes add a cash cap. Everything is subject to lender guidelines and full file review. Lendmire’s jumbo cash-out refinance program page lays out the lanes in more detail.
How Lenders Build the Income Number
Salary, bonus and RSUs are each treated on their own. Salary is the easy part. RSUs get the scrutiny.
Many jumbo programs borrow the agency RSU method as a template, but each lender sets its own overlays. The Fannie Mae Selling Guide is the common starting point. Its main points:
- Restricted stock must be vested and distributed to the borrower without restrictions.
- Sign-on bonuses paid in restricted stock that vests over time are not eligible.
- The stock must be publicly traded.
- The lender needs the vesting schedule, past and future.
- For income paid in shares, the lender uses the 200-day moving average price.
- Proof comes from a verification of employment or a recent paystub, plus two years of W-2s, plus a brokerage or bank statement showing earlier distributions.
The arithmetic is plain. Take the vested pre-tax shares over the lookback period. Multiply by the averaged price. Divide by the number of months. If the award is paid in cash instead, divide the cash by the months.
Freddie Mac tightened its own approach in Bulletin 2024-16. It separates performance-based from time-based awards, expects recurring awards to be likely to continue, and moved from a 52-week average to a 200-day average. Older articles still say 52-week. Skip them.
Here is what that means for you. A big vesting year does not translate dollar for dollar into qualifying income. If your stock price has dropped, the averaged price drags the figure down. If your vesting trend is falling, expect a lender to use the lower number.
Which RSU Situations Count?
| Your situation | Typical treatment | Proof usually needed |
|---|---|---|
| Granted, not yet vested | Does not count | None. It cannot be used |
| Vested, time-based, delivered | Can count with history | Vesting schedule, statements, W-2s |
| Vested, performance-based | Can count, longer history preferred | Award terms, longer record |
| Sign-on RSU grant | Generally excluded | Not usable as income |
| Private or pre-IPO company stock | Generally excluded | Public-trading evidence is missing |
| Recent job change | History may reset | Time with the current employer |
Treat that table as a pattern, not a promise. Lenders differ on how much history they want and how they weigh a falling trend.
Consider a borrower who joined a public company a year ago. Their first grant vested on schedule and the shares landed in a brokerage account. Some programs will look at that record. Others want more history before counting it. This is the kind of file where program choice matters more than the headline guideline.
What Does “Business Use” Mean for the Proceeds?
It means you plan to put some of the cash into a business, such as funding inventory, a practice or a startup. The use of proceeds is a separate fact from your income. It does not rescue a thin income file, and it does not by itself make the loan something other than a mortgage on your home.
The CFPB’s official commentary explains the rule behind this. A lender must decide, transaction by transaction, whether a loan’s primary purpose is personal or business. A label on a form does not settle it. The commentary points to factors such as how closely your occupation relates to the use, how much you manage the venture yourself, the share of your income it produces, the size of the transaction and your own statement of purpose.
The practical result: when your own home secures the loan, most lenders keep the file as a consumer mortgage. That means a Loan Estimate and a Closing Disclosure, plus full verification of your ability to repay. Income or assets are verified, and the home’s value alone cannot qualify you.
Mixed use makes this fuzzier. Say part of the cash pays down personal debt and part funds a venture. No precise test splits those cleanly, so a lender may take the cautious route and treat the whole file as consumer credit. Be ready to explain your purpose in plain words.
What Goes in the Documentation Packet?
Keep the piles separate. Lenders do.
Income file
1. Two years of W-2s.
2. A recent paystub or employer verification showing RSU receipt.
3. The vesting schedule, past and future.
4. Brokerage or bank statements showing delivered shares.
5. Evidence the stock is publicly traded.
6. A look at the averaged stock price over the lookback period.
Cash-out and property file
1. Proof of ownership and the current mortgage payoff.
2. An appraisal. Above a lane’s threshold amount, two appraisals are required.
3. Reserves, measured in months of the full payment. They rise as the loan amount rises.
4. Credit report, with a 660 decision score on the headline lane.
Use-of-proceeds file
1. A short written statement of how the cash will be used.
2. Possibly supporting items, such as entity records or a plan, if the lender asks.
That last pile is a lender policy question. It is not a universal requirement. Keep your own records of where the money goes either way.
Ratio ceilings also apply. Fixed lanes top out at 50%, the adjustable lanes at 45% and the interest-only lanes at 43%. Averaged RSU income feeds that ratio, so a conservative income number can push you over the line even with a strong credit score.
Where the General Rule Breaks
- Private-company stock. The agency template requires public trading, so private shares generally do not count as income.
- Performance-based awards. Lenders often want a longer record than for time-based grants.
- Job change. Employment history with the current employer may restart the clock.
- Newly offered RSUs. A first vest has little history behind it, so some lenders wait.
- Falling trend. A shrinking vest history can lead a lender to use the lower figure.
- Occupancy. A second home or a rental sets a different leverage limit on each lane.
- Condominiums. Two lanes accept non-warrantable condos, which helps when the property type is the obstacle.
Lender differences are the big one. Two lenders can read the same file and land on different income numbers.
If RSUs Do Not Qualify
You have options, and they are worth ranking.
1. Wait for more history. Another vest or two can change the answer.
2. Cut the cash-out amount. A smaller ask lowers the payment, which helps the ratio.
3. Add a co-borrower with steady income.
4. Look at asset-based qualification. Vested stock held in a brokerage account is an asset. Some programs consider assets instead of income, under their own rules.
5. Skip cash-out. If you only need liquidity, selling vested shares is a separate path.
Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
A Worked Scenario, Without the Dollars
Picture a homeowner at a public company. Base salary is steady. RSUs vest on a time-based schedule and land in a brokerage account. They have two years of W-2s and a vesting history that is flat to rising.
They want a jumbo cash-out at leverage below the purchase maximum, and part of the cash will seed a side venture. The lender averages the stock price, counts only delivered shares and adds that to base pay. The combined figure goes against the proposed payment to test the ratio.
Next, the lender reviews reserves, appraisal and credit. The borrower provides a short purpose statement. The file stays consumer, with a Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.
Now change one detail. The vest history is falling, and the stock price is dropping. The averaged figure shrinks, the ratio tightens, and the borrower may need a smaller cash-out. Same person, different answer.
On RSU-heavy files, the paperwork is usually what separates a clean review from a stalled one. The vesting schedule and brokerage statements showing delivered shares are the items to have in order before you apply. For a related look at picking a lender when pay is stock-heavy, read Lendmire’s guide to choosing a jumbo cash-out lender when income is RSUs or bonus.
Where to Start
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. Bring your W-2s, vesting schedule and brokerage statements, and the conversation gets specific. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, so lenders make the credit decisions, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Key Terms Defined
RSU (restricted stock unit): A promise of company shares that you receive after a vesting condition is met.
Vesting: The point where the shares become yours, usually by time or performance.
Distribution: The delivery of vested shares to your account without restrictions.
Jumbo loan: A mortgage above the county’s conforming limit.
Cash-out refinance: A new loan that pays off the old one and gives you the difference in cash.
Use of proceeds: What you plan to do with the cash-out money.
200-day moving average: The stock’s average price over 200 days, used to smooth out swings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do unvested RSUs count as income?
No. The agency template counts only vested shares delivered to you without restrictions. Unvested grants may still help in other ways, such as showing employer strength, but they do not add to qualifying income.
Do I have to sell my shares to use them for qualifying?
Not necessarily. Lenders look at vesting and receipt history, not at whether you sold. Vested shares sitting in a brokerage account can also be treated as assets on programs that allow it, under that program’s own rules.
Does using the cash for a business change the loan type?
Generally not on a loan secured by your own home. The lender decides the primary purpose case by case, and most keep these files as consumer mortgages with full income documentation. Mixed personal and business use can push a lender toward the cautious reading.
What if my company is private?
Private-company stock is generally left out of qualifying income because the template needs publicly traded shares. Salary, bonus and assets can still support the file, subject to lender guidelines.
Why does the lender use an average price instead of today’s price?
Averaging smooths out swings so one lucky or unlucky day does not drive the income figure. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use a 200-day average. A falling stock price will lower the number.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through a wholesale lending network. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
For the program’s current guidelines, see jumbo loan programs.
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References
1. FHFA 2026 Conforming Loan Limit Values Release
2. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-07: Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income
3. Freddie Mac Bulletin 2024-16
4. CFPB Official Interpretations for Regulation Z, Section 1026.3
This article is part of Lendmire’s jumbo cash-out refinance program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Can You Get a Jumbo Cash-Out on a Duplex With One Unit Vacant? · Jumbo Cash-Out Process for a Homeowner With RSUs and Bonuses · Jumbo Cash-Out Lanes for a Homeowner With RSUs or Deferred Comp
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
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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.