For contractors and 1099 earners
1099 Income Loans
If you're paid on 1099s, there's a program that reads the 1099 total and never opens your Schedule C.
If you're paid on 1099s, your tax return is not your income. It's your income minus every deduction your accountant could justify. A lender reading that return sees a fraction of what you actually earned.
A 1099 income loan skips the return entirely and reads the 1099s.
How it works
You give me one or two years of 1099s. The lender totals them, applies an expense factor, and calls the result your qualifying income. That's it. No Schedule C, no profit and loss statement, no two-year net-income test.
The expense factor is the part worth negotiating. Defaults commonly run 10% to 25%. If your actual business expenses are lower than the lender's default, a CPA letter stating your real expense ratio can lift your qualifying income meaningfully. That one letter is often the difference between approved and declined.
Who this is built for
Real estate agents. Insurance agents. Independent contractors. Truck drivers on 1099. Sales reps paid on commission through a 1099. Consultants. Anyone whose income is real, documented, and invisible on a tax return.
What you'll need
- One or two years of 1099s
- Typically two years in the same line of work
- Credit in the low 600s and up, depending on the program
- A down payment, usually 10% or more on a purchase
- Reserves, which vary by loan size
What it costs
Expect a rate above conventional. Expect to put more down. That's the trade for qualifying on a document your accountant didn't get to reduce.
Before I go here, I check whether a conventional loan works after add-backs. Depreciation, business use of home, a one-time expense — add those back and the returns sometimes qualify on their own. If they do, that's the cheaper loan and that's where you should be.
The other doors
1099-only is one of five ways to qualify without clean returns. The others are bank statement loans, P&L-only, asset depletion, and conventional done properly. The full comparison is on my self-employed page.
Get a free rate quote.
No application. No credit pull. A written comparison across 175+ lenders, with the APR on each.
Let's look at your numbers
Send this and I'll come back with a written comparison: real terms, real fees and an APR on every option. No credit is pulled. If your current deal already wins, I'll say so.
Questions people ask
How many years of 1099s do I need?
Usually one or two. One-year programs exist and price a little higher. Two years is the common case and gets you better terms.
What expense factor will they use?
Commonly 10% to 25% depending on your line of work and the lender. Some will use your actual Schedule C expense ratio if it's lower than their default, which is worth checking before you accept the default.
Can I mix 1099 and W-2 income?
Yes. Plenty of files have both, and the W-2 side is counted the normal way.
Is the rate higher than a conventional loan?
Usually yes. The question is whether a conventional loan is available at all. If your returns work after add-backs, I'll put you there instead because it's cheaper.
Let’s look at your numbers
Fifteen minutes. Your real numbers. No pressure.
Call or text my cell, or book a time. You’ll get a written comparison with real terms and an APR on every option, and if your current deal already wins, I’ll tell you.