How can self employed borrowers plan for taxes as well and a loan approval

In the past, self employed borrowers had the best of both worlds. They could write off every conceivable thing the IRS would let them get away with and save thousands on taxes showing a lower income.

In addition, when it was time to apply for a loan they could, as we used to say, put down the gross instead of the net. This meant that borrowers could qualify for much larger loan amounts than they might using just the adjusted net taxable income after taxes. This was possible by using a stated income loan program.

The original stated income loans worked quite well for over 20-years without an abnormally high default rate. This is because initially these programs were wisely restricted to borrowers who most likely have adequate cash flow to pay their bills but couldn’t qualify using their tax returns due to writing off their car, home office and other expenses.

Also, in many cases borrowers with adequate income showing on their taxes often could not use certain types of income towards qualifying and benefited from stated income as well. This included rental income from a roommate or even tax free bond interest in some instances.

Now stated income loans are still available but do require some level of documentation and command a higher interest rate, and its always preferable to be able to qualify for a full documentation loan using your tax returns.

As such, I find myself with a new dimension to my work, and that is working with borrowers before they file their taxes to counsel them on just how to balance paying more taxes versus being stuck in their current loans.

We often have to tell borrowers (and their sometimes miffed accountants) that they would be wise not to take every last legitimate deduction in order to qualify for a new mortgage loan this year.

Here’s an example. Recently we ran the numbers for a client who could lower his loan payments by about $1,000/mo. However he was shy on income by about $30,000.00 due to his ability to write off many expenses. That $30,000 in write-offs was saving him about $9,000 in taxes and my guy thought he was pretty smart to keep his taxes low.

However, what he was saving in taxes he was paying in additional interest by not being able to qualify for a new loan, so he really was not saving a thing but was losing $3,000/yr by not being able to refi.

Until recently, we had to average two years of self employment income, but now Fannie and Freddie loans call for one year, which can simplify the process significantly. It gives borrowers the option of biting the bullet and paying more taxes for one year instead of two.

No law says you have to claim every deduction you are entitled to, and while I have no doubt spat on the holy grail of tax preparers here I challenge them to advise their clients that they are better off paying more interest and less taxes when the difference is as dramatic as it was for my client.

The key is to plan your tax strategy with your borrowing strategy. This requires collaboration before you file your return between you, your lender and your tax advisor.

In addition, keep in mind that your tax returns have to be verified with the IRS as matching what was actually filed. I would hope nobody would ever think of giving their lender false tax returns, but the issue is it can take up to six weeks once you file your returns for them to be verifiable by the lender. Thus if you are planning to refi or get a purchase money mortgage soon you had best get those returns filed.

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