The Quick Read: Usually not: on both asset-based paths, the lender reviews your file on verified assets rather than on a tax return, though your statements, credit, property, and identity are still reviewed in full, subject to underwriting. Income-light is not paperwork-light. The lender documents your assets closely instead of your earnings.
- Asset qualifier path: your eligible assets must cover the entire loan, and employment and income are not documented.
- Asset depletion path: your assets are converted into a monthly qualifying income, which must carry the housing payment and your other debts.
- What replaces returns: account statements, a credit review, property documents, and proof of where your funds came from.
- Where returns can reappear: when you add documented income on top of assets, or when you want to buy a rental through a business-purpose loan.
- Who it fits: cash-heavy, income-light households, such as retirees, business sellers, and people who just received an inheritance or settlement.
Which Asset-Based Path Are You On?
Lendmire is a broker. It arranges asset-based mortgages through select lenders in its network, and a Georgia borrower sees the same program figures as anyone else. Georgia is one of 16 states where Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed. Program terms do not change by state, though taxes, insurance, and local prices do.
The phrase “asset-based mortgage” covers two different loans. A borrower is reviewed on one path at a time, never both at once.
The asset qualifier path. Your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the whole loan amount. If they do, the loan is reviewed on assets alone, and no employment or income is documented. It is built for a purchase or refinance of a principal residence or second home.
The asset depletion path. The lender takes your usable assets, divides them by 60 months, and treats the result as monthly income. That income runs through the debt-to-income test. Debt-to-income is the share of your monthly income that goes to debt payments, including the new housing payment. This path also reaches investment property, at lower leverage.
Across our wholesale network, borrowers usually find that one path fits obviously. Say you hold a large seasoned balance and want a modest loan against it. The qualifier path is cleaner. Say you hold a big portfolio but also want a bigger loan than your assets cover. Then the depletion path is the tool.
Why Tax Returns Usually Are Not in the File
On both paths, the question a lender must answer is whether you can repay. A tax return answers that for a wage earner or a business owner. For a household living off a portfolio, the portfolio answers it better.
Traditional personal-income documentation also tells a misleading story for many people in this group. Consider these cases:
- A retiree may show little taxable income while holding seven figures in savings.
- Someone who just sold a business may have a single large return that says nothing about what happens next.
- Heavy write-offs can make a self-employed owner look poorer on paper than on the balance sheet.
For borrowers whose returns point one direction and whose balances point the other, the asset paths let the balances carry the file. Lendmire’s piece How Many Years of Tax Returns Does a Self-Employed Mortgage Need? covers the other side of that coin, for borrowers who do document income.
What stays in the file. The assets are documented on both paths, down to the account. You also still get a credit review, a property appraisal, title work, and a check on how you will hold the home. A lender does not set aside its ability-to-repay review. It just points the review at your assets.
Underwriting is individual. A given file can draw extra questions no matter which path it follows.
How the Qualifier Path Counts Your Assets
The qualifier path counts a share of each balance. The shares below are typical of select programs and subject to underwriting.
| Asset type | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Money market | 100% |
| Savings | 100% |
| 401(k) or IRA, under age 59½ | 90% |
| 401(k) or IRA, 59½ or older | 100% |
Accounts combine. Picture an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) at age 55 (90% counts, so $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100% counts, so $200,000). Usable assets total $800,000. That covers the loan, so it is reviewed on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs, and this is only an illustration.
Leverage and size. On the qualifier path, loan-to-value reaches up to 80% on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loan-to-value (LTV) is the loan balance as a share of the property’s value. Loans run up to $4,000,000. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and not published, so a quote on that point has to come from the file itself.
Credit and reserves. The published credit floor is a 600 score. No reserves are required at or below 75% LTV. Above that, the lender sets them. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Seasoning. Seasoning is how long money has sat in an account before it counts. Here it means 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account.
How the Depletion Path Turns Assets Into Income
The depletion path applies a haircut to each asset, a discount that reflects market risk or access limits. Then it divides the total by 60.
| Asset type | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Securities | 80% |
| Private stock | 75% |
| Retirement accounts (any age) | 70% |
| Real-estate equity | 60% |
Run the numbers on $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. Securities count at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Cash counts at 100%, which is $300,000. Usable assets come to $1,500,000. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. Again, the lender’s own calculation governs.
Some assets do not count on this path:
- Custodial accounts
- Deferred compensation
- Escrow accounts
- Foreign funds
- Cash on hand
- Stock options
- Non-vested restricted stock units
- Funds from non-regulated financial companies
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, and borrowed or pledged funds are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is to convert them into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews where the money came from.
Leverage on this path. A principal residence or second home reaches up to 80% LTV on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance. It reaches up to 60% on a cash-out refinance. An investment property reaches up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and up to 60% on a cash-out refinance. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
Minimums. You need qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When assets are your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid funds. Asset income can instead supplement documented income, up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. In that case the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Credit. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix. A first-time investor needs a 700 score. Housing history is 0x30x12, though one 30-day late in the past twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. A housing event needs four years of seasoning. None of this promises approval.
Statements. Statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
When Tax Questions Can Still Come Up
Here is the differentiator. “No tax returns” holds as a rule, but a few situations can bring paperwork back.
You are supplementing with income. Say your assets on the depletion path fall short, so you add a pension or a part-time business. That added income has to be documented under the program, and the lender may ask for returns or other proof for that piece. The assets still count through the 60-month method.
A co-borrower earns a wage. A spouse with a salary can raise the file’s strength. Ask the lender whether it wants that income documented in full or whether the file works without it.
Large deposits appear. A big, recent deposit makes underwriters ask where it came from. A sale agreement, inheritance letter, or settlement paperwork usually settles the question. That is source-of-funds paperwork, not a tax return.
Tax-adjacent items on the property. Expect property tax and insurance documents on the home you are buying. A lender may also look for unpaid tax liens against you. These are not your return, but the word “tax” appears on them.
You have not filed. A filing gap matters less on the qualifier path, since income is not documented. The credit review and lender overlays still apply, so a borrower with a gap should say so up front. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
Does it require selling anything? No. The assets stay yours. The lender counts them but does not take them.
Why This Is Different From a Rental Loan
Many readers searching this question are really asking about buying a rental. That path differs.
A DSCR loan finances a non-owner-occupied investment property and qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. Because these are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard mortgage. The Federal Register’s ability-to-repay rule says business-purpose loans fall outside the ability-to-repay provisions, and it treats investment loans as business-purpose. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide covers that product in full.
The asset-based loans here are different. They are consumer mortgages, so the federal ability-to-repay rule for consumer loans applies. That is why the lender reviews your assets and does not skip the question. Standard consumer-mortgage disclosures, including TRID forms, also apply to them.
| Program | What drives lender review | Traditional personal-income documentation? |
|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier | Assets cover the whole loan | Not the qualifying document |
| Asset depletion | Assets divided by 60 months become income | Not for asset income; may apply to added income |
| DSCR (rental) | Property rent covering the payment | Not the qualifying document |
| Bank statement | Income documented through deposits | Alternative to returns, but income is documented |
Think about which borrower fits where. Someone buying a retirement home with a large portfolio belongs on an asset path. Someone buying a rental to hold in an LLC usually belongs on DSCR, subject to lender program eligibility. A self-employed owner with steady deposits but low taxable income may fit bank statement underwriting. Lendmire’s piece Can Tech Founders Get a Mortgage After an Exit Without Tax Returns? walks through a related case.
Who This Fits (and Who It Doesn’t)
The asset paths suit cash-heavy, income-light households:
- Retirees living on savings and portfolios.
- Business sellers holding sale proceeds with no current paycheck.
- Inheritance or settlement recipients whose balances are large and new.
- Early-retired professionals drawing on a portfolio.
- Households living on investments with modest documented income.
They fit less well when:
- Your wealth sits in crypto, collectibles, or a business you own, and has not been converted into seasoned cash.
- The loan you want is large relative to your assets, which makes the minimum-assets rule hard to meet.
- You want to buy a rental you will not occupy. That is a DSCR file, not an asset-based one.
- You qualify comfortably on income and want the simplest option. A standard documented loan may work.
This one is a toss-up for some borrowers. A retiree with a pension and a mid-sized portfolio could go either way, since the depletion path can use assets to fill an income gap. The right answer depends on the numbers, and a broker comparing lenders can run both.
A Practical Order of Operations
Most borrowers move through this in a similar sequence:
1. Gather statements first. Collect two months for each account you plan to use. Check whether they meet the seasoning rule for your path.
2. Sort the assets. Put eligible balances on one list, and anything unusual on another list.
3. Pick the path. If assets cover the whole loan, the qualifier path may fit. If they would be better used as income, look at depletion.
4. Check credit and property. Review your score against the program and confirm the property type and occupancy.
5. Explain large deposits early. Have the paperwork ready before the lender asks.
Think of it as building a case file for your balances. The cleaner it is, the fewer questions come back.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must cover the entire loan amount.
Asset depletion: a path that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Seasoning: how long funds have been in an account before a lender counts them.
Haircut: the discount applied to an asset’s balance, such as counting securities at 80%.
Debt-to-income (DTI): monthly debts, including the new housing payment, as a share of monthly income.
Business-purpose loan: a loan for an investment property rather than a home you will live in, such as a DSCR loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a lender ever ask for tax transcripts on an asset-based loan?
It can, but it is not the standard qualifying document. If you add documented income to the depletion path, the lender may want proof of that income, which can include returns or transcripts. Each file is underwritten individually, and the answer can change by lender and by what you include.
Can I use retirement accounts?
Yes, at a discount. On the qualifier path, 401(k) and IRA balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age. Both are subject to underwriting.
Does it work for a refinance?
Yes. The qualifier path reaches up to 75% LTV on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. The depletion path allows 80% on a rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out of those homes, and lower figures on an investment property. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
Is an asset-based mortgage the same as a no-doc loan?
No. You document your assets closely, including statements and the source of large deposits. What you skip is the employment and income paperwork on the qualifier path. The depletion path converts those assets into income and runs the usual debt-to-income test.
What if I just sold a business or received an inheritance?
That is a common fit. On the depletion path, funds from a business sale, inheritance, or legal settlement are excused from the 120-day statement-age rule. You still need to document where the money came from, and the program reviews the source.
Next Step
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Programs change, and every file is underwritten individually, so nothing here is a commitment to lend. Whether you land on assets alone or assets turned into income, the outcome depends on what your balances show.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Georgia page presents the program for Georgia borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending partners for borrowers whose tax returns understate their income, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Federal Register – ATR/QM final rule
2. CFPB – 12 CFR 1026.43 (Regulation Z ability-to-repay)
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How a Margin Balance Is Treated on an Asset Depletion Mortgage · Is an Asset-Based Mortgage Reported to Credit Bureaus Like Any Other Mortgage? · Does a Securities-Backed Line of Credit Hurt Your Asset-Based Mortgage Application?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Georgia
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.