Self-Employed Mortgages and Bank Statement Loans in Las Vegas
Your accountant did their job. You wrote off what you were entitled to write off, your taxable income came down, and that is the entire point of hiring a good accountant. Then a W-2 underwriter opened the same return and read it as "does not earn enough." Both of those things are true at once, and only one of them is a problem.
Quick answer
A bank statement loan qualifies a self-employed borrower on deposits instead of tax returns. The lender reviews 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements, removes deposits that are not business income, applies an expense factor, and divides by the number of months reviewed. That monthly figure becomes your qualifying income. Credit, assets, reserves and the appraisal still apply.
It is a fully underwritten loan, not a no-document loan: lenders must still make a good-faith determination that you can repay (CFPB, ability-to-repay rule). Programs, expense factors, rates and down payments vary by lender and are not quoted here. Last verified October 27, 2026.
How to get ready
- Pick the account your income lands in. Personal, business, or both. Which one helps you depends on the lender's program.
- Pull 12 or 24 consecutive months of statements, every page, for each account you plan to use.
- Keep transfers between your own accounts clean for a few months before you apply, and be ready to label the ones you make.
- Avoid overdrafts and NSF fees. Some programs do not allow them.
- Be ready to explain large or unusual deposits with an invoice, contract or short letter.
- Ask your CPA what your business expenses really are. A letter can matter when a program lets you use a lower expense factor.
This is a typical checklist. Each lender's program sets its own documents and rules, which is why we compare options on your numbers before you apply.
What a bank statement loan actually is
It qualifies you on money that landed in your account instead of on the income line of a tax return. Typically 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements. The lender totals the deposits, applies an expense factor to account for the cost of running the business, and uses the result as your income. No tax returns on most programs. No W-2. It is not a loophole, it is a documented, fully underwritten loan that simply measures income a different way.
The other ways to get there
- P&L only. A CPA-prepared profit and loss statement, sometimes with a couple of months of statements to support it.
- 1099 only. If you are paid on 1099s, some programs use the gross with an expense factor and skip the return entirely.
- Asset depletion. If you are asset heavy and income light, some lenders will convert a qualifying asset balance into an income stream on paper.
- And sometimes, plain agency. If your returns are stronger than you think, conventional is cheaper and I will tell you.
The trade you are making
These programs price higher than agency. That is the deal. What you are buying is qualification you would not otherwise have, or a purchase price that actually reflects your business. Whether that trade is worth it is a math question, not a sales question, and it is one we run before you apply. If agency wins for you, agency wins, and I will say so.
Who this fits, and who it does not
Who this fits
- Business owners with two or more years of self-employment
- Contractors, consultants and licensed professionals paid on 1099
- Anyone declined by a bank that only looked at line 31 of a Schedule C
- Real estate agents and loan officers, which is its own recurring version of this problem
- Buyers whose income is genuinely strong and genuinely hard to document
Who this does not fit
- Under a year in business. Almost every program wants a track record.
- Someone whose deposits do not actually support the payment. The program changes how income is measured, it does not invent income.
- Someone whose tax returns already qualify them comfortably. Do not pay a non-QM rate for a loan agency would have done.
What you will need
- 12 or 24 months of bank statements, personal or business
- Business license or CPA letter confirming ownership and time in business
- A P&L if you are going the P&L route
- Standard asset and credit documentation
What business owners ask me.
The lender totals the eligible deposits from 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements, removes deposits that are not income such as transfers, applies an expense factor for business accounts, and divides by the number of months. The result is the monthly income used to qualify.
No. It is fully underwritten. Lenders must still make a good-faith determination that you can repay the loan under the CFPB ability-to-repay rule, and credit, assets, reserves and the appraisal are still reviewed.
On most bank statement and 1099 programs, no. That is the whole point of them.
12 or 24, depending on the program and how the file looks. 24 months usually prices better.
The percentage a lender assumes it costs to run your business, deducted from your deposits before they call the rest income. It varies by industry and by lender, and it can often be lowered with a CPA letter. Getting this right is most of the work.
No. A decline is one lender's answer under one set of guidelines, it is not a permanent record. Most of the self-employed files I close were declined somewhere else first.
Bank statement loans across the Las Vegas valley
Business owners, contractors, real estate agents, gig workers and hospitality professionals in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Summerlin often have strong deposits and modest taxable income after write-offs. Bank statement programs are built for exactly that gap. As a broker with Barrett Financial Group I compare these programs across multiple wholesale lenders. Buying in Henderson? See mortgage options for Henderson, NV.
More Nevada loan guides
- Las Vegas mortgage broker
- 2026 Nevada loan limits
- Nevada closing costs
- VA loans in Las Vegas
- How to buy a home in Las Vegas
- FHA loans in Nevada
- Nevada down payment assistance
- North Las Vegas
- Henderson
- Summerlin
- Jumbo loans
- Foreign national loans
- Nevada DSCR guide
- VA loans
- Check your VA benefit
- Mortgage glossary
- Legal and disclosures
Let us run the math before you apply.
Whether a bank statement program beats agency for you is a math question, not a sales question. We run it first. If agency wins, agency wins, and I will say so.
