The lightest documentation
P&L Only Loans
One CPA-prepared profit and loss statement. No tax returns, and often no bank statements either.
This is the lightest documentation in self-employed lending. A licensed CPA or enrolled agent prepares a profit and loss statement for your business. The lender uses the net figure on it as your income.
No tax returns. Often no bank statements.
When this beats a bank statement loan
Bank statement loans read deposits. That works beautifully when your deposits are clean, and badly when they're not.
If you move money between accounts, run seasonal income, take payment through several processors, or have a business where revenue and cash timing don't line up, twenty-four months of statements can understate you badly. A P&L prepared by someone who actually understands your books tells the truth faster.
It's also quicker. One document instead of two years of statements to collect, label and explain.
What the lender is really checking
Three things:
That a licensed third party prepared it. You cannot write your own. It needs a CPA, an enrolled agent, or in some programs a licensed tax preparer, with their license number on it.
That it's recent. Usually a twelve or twenty-four month period ending within about 60 days of application.
That it's plausible. Many programs ask for two or three months of bank statements alongside it, purely to confirm the deposits roughly support the revenue on the P&L. If those two numbers are far apart, the file stops.
What it costs
Rates sit above conventional and typically above a bank statement loan, because the documentation is lighter. Down payment requirements are higher — often 15% to 20% minimum on a purchase, sometimes more.
The lighter the documentation, the more the lender charges for the risk. That relationship is consistent across every non-QM program.
Get your CPA involved early
The single most common reason these files fail is a P&L that arrives in the wrong format or without the preparer's license details. Tell your CPA what it's for before they write it, and send me the draft. I'll tell you in ten minutes whether it will clear.
The other doors
P&L-only is one of five ways to qualify without clean returns. See bank statement loans, 1099 income loans, asset depletion, and the full comparison on my self-employed page.
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Questions people ask
Who has to prepare the P&L?
A licensed third party: a CPA, an enrolled agent, or in some programs a licensed tax preparer. You cannot prepare your own and have it counted.
Do I still need bank statements?
Sometimes. Many programs ask for two or three months of statements purely to sanity-check the P&L against real deposits. Some ask for none at all.
How long does the P&L need to cover?
Usually twelve or twenty-four months, ending within about 60 days of your application.
Why would I use this over a bank statement loan?
Speed and simplicity. If your deposits are messy — lots of transfers, seasonal swings, multiple accounts — a clean P&L tells the story better than twenty-four months of statements ever will.
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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.