Can I Get a Home Loan Self-Employed With One Year of Accounts?
Often yes, but not from every lender. Most major banks want two years of tax returns, and that is where the assumption that you have to wait comes from. Here are the pathways that exist with one year, and what they cost you.
The short answer
Often yes, though not from every lender. Most major banks work to a two year policy for full documentation self-employed applications, so one year will frequently sit outside their standard criteria. A number of non-bank and specialist lenders will assess on a single year of returns. Separately, alternative documentation lending verifies income from Business Activity Statements, business bank statements or an accountant’s declaration rather than from lodged returns, which opens a path even when the paperwork is not finished. The real question is not whether it can be done, but which lenders suit your particular file, and what the pathway costs in rate and deposit terms.
The honest answer
If you have been running your business for a year and a bank has told you to come back when you have two years of tax returns, that is a real policy and not an excuse. What it is not is the whole market.
Lender policy on self-employed income varies more than on almost any other part of lending. Two lenders sitting side by side can look at the same file and reach different conclusions, because one requires two years of returns as a hard rule and the other has a documented pathway for a single year. There are also alternative documentation products designed precisely for the situation where trading is healthy but the returns are not lodged yet.
So the answer is usually yes, with conditions. Those conditions generally involve a larger deposit, a somewhat higher rate, and more attention paid to the evidence you can produce. The rest of this guide sets out what those conditions look like, so you can judge whether it is worth proceeding now or waiting for the second year to land. If you want the wider picture of how self-employed files are assessed, that sits on our self-employed lending page, and the standard residential process is on our home loans page.
Why two years became the standard
It is worth understanding the reasoning, because it tells you what a lender is actually trying to establish and therefore what evidence helps.
Two years of returns show a trend. One year shows a point. A lender assessing a self-employed borrower is trying to work out whether the income you earned is likely to continue, and a single strong year does not distinguish between a business that is genuinely established and one that had one good year. Where two years are available, many lenders will assess on the average of the two, or on the lower of them, which tells you plainly that the exercise is about consistency rather than about your best figure.
There is a second reason that has nothing to do with risk appetite. Self-employed income is harder to read than a payslip. It sits behind company or trust structures, it moves with the trading cycle, and it is legitimately reduced by deductions that do not reflect the cash actually available to you. More history simply gives the lender more to work with.
Whatever income figure they land on, it is then tested at a rate above the one you will actually pay. APRA confirmed on 28 May 2026 that the serviceability buffer remains at three percentage points. That applies to everyone, but it bites harder on a short history file where the assessed income is already conservative.
Once you see it that way, the path with one year becomes clearer. You are trying to give a lender other evidence of the same thing: that the income is real, and that it is likely to persist.
The three pathways with one year
1. A lender with a one-year policy
Some lenders, more often in the non-bank and specialist part of the market than among the majors, will accept a single year of tax returns as a full documentation application. This is the cleanest outcome where it is available, because it is a normal full-doc loan rather than an alternative product, and it is priced accordingly. Conditions usually apply around the strength of the rest of the file, and policy differs on whether the ABN needs to predate the return.
2. Alternative documentation lending
Alt-doc lending, which older material sometimes calls low-doc, verifies your income from something other than lodged returns. Depending on the lender, that generally means one or a combination of the following:
- Business Activity Statements. Your recent BAS lodgements show turnover, and the lender applies its own margin to arrive at an assessable income figure.
- Business bank statements. A period of trading statements evidencing consistent revenue passing through the account.
- An accountant’s declaration. A signed letter from your accountant confirming your income position.
This route exists because a lot of perfectly sound businesses are simply behind the lodgement cycle. If you traded strongly last financial year but the return will not be finalised for months, alt-doc is often the difference between buying now and buying next year. Our low doc loans page covers how the documentation route works.
3. Waiting for the second year
Sometimes this genuinely is the better answer, and it should be said plainly rather than treated as a failure. If you are close to lodging a second return, if your deposit is thin, and if there is no pressing reason to transact now, waiting can put you into full documentation territory with a wider lender panel and better pricing. A broker who never tells you this is not being straight with you. The right call depends on how far away the second year is and what it costs you to wait.
What alt-doc actually costs you
Alternative documentation lending is a genuine solution, not a lesser one, but it is not free. There are two costs worth being clear about before you go down that path.
Rate. Alt-doc loans generally carry a higher interest rate than an equivalent full documentation loan. The lender is accepting less conventional evidence and prices that difference in. How much higher depends on the lender and the strength of the file.
Deposit. Alt-doc lending typically operates at a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio than full documentation lending, which means you need a larger deposit. If you were planning on a minimal contribution, this is the constraint most likely to change your plans.
Worth noting is that these products are not permanent. Once you have the trading history and the lodged returns to support a full documentation application, refinancing to a standard product is a normal step, and one worth diarising rather than forgetting. Whether refinancing makes sense at that point depends on rates, costs and your circumstances at the time, but the alt-doc loan does not have to be where you stay.
ABN age is a separate test
This catches people out, because it is easy to assume that tax returns and business age are the same question. They are assessed separately, and your ABN registration date can be the binding constraint even when your figures are strong.
| ABN registered for | General position across the market |
|---|---|
| Under 6 months | Options are limited. Usually requires a strong deposit and compelling supporting evidence, and not all lenders will look at it. |
| 6 to 12 months | Some specialist lenders will consider an application, generally supported by BAS lodgements and business banking. |
| 12 to 24 months | The alternative documentation market opens up properly, with a wider choice of lenders and evidence methods. |
| 24 months or more | Full documentation lending becomes available where returns are lodged, with the broadest lender choice and the most competitive pricing. |
GST registration is a related signal. Registration is required once your turnover reaches the threshold set by the ATO, currently $75,000 for most businesses, and being registered where you should be helps demonstrate an established trading operation. If you are not required to register, that is not a problem in itself, but expect the lender to look more closely at other evidence.
If you are also a first home buyer
This combination comes up constantly and it contains a conflict almost nobody flags.
The good news first. The First Home Guarantee, marketed as the 5 per cent deposit scheme, has no income test in the governing instrument, so being self-employed with modest taxable income does not exclude you from eligibility. For a business owner whose returns show a deliberately lean profit, that removal mattered.
Scheme eligibility and lender approval are two separate gates, and with one year of accounts they can pull in opposite directions.
The conflict is this. Loans under the scheme must be written by a participating lender, and that panel is narrower than the full market. The lenders most likely to have a one-year or alternative documentation policy sit in the non-bank and specialist part of the market, which is exactly where scheme participation is thinnest. So a self-employed first home buyer with one year of accounts can end up choosing between the scheme benefit and the only lender that will actually assess their file.
Neither answer is automatically right. The scheme can be worth more than the rate difference, particularly where it avoids lenders mortgage insurance, and sometimes it is not. What matters is doing that arithmetic deliberately rather than discovering the conflict after an application. Our first home buyer loans page covers how the scheme works and what the guarantee actually protects.
What strengthens a one-year file
Where a lender is being asked to work with less history, the rest of the application carries more weight. These are the factors that make the difference in practice.
- Prior experience in the same industry. This is the most undervalued item on the list. An electrician who spent eight years employed in the trade and then started their own business has one year of trading and nine years of relevant history. Evidence of that background, such as prior employment records, directly addresses the lender’s concern about whether the income will continue.
- A larger deposit. More contribution from you reduces the lender’s exposure and widens the panel of lenders willing to look at the file.
- Clean credit conduct. Defaults and a run of recent credit enquiries make a short-history application considerably harder. Conduct on existing accounts matters here.
- Consistent, legible business banking. Revenue that is clearly identifiable in the business account, without heavy mixing of personal and business transactions, is much easier for a lender to assess.
- No unresolved ATO debt. Outstanding tax debt is one of the more common reasons a self-employed application struggles. A formal payment arrangement is better than an unaddressed balance, though policy on this varies between lenders.
- Growth rather than decline. If your one year is a strong year and current trading supports that, evidence of it helps. If revenue is trending down, expect that to be examined.
One thing this guide deliberately does not cover in depth is how a lender calculates the income figure itself from your financials, including which non-cash expenses can be added back. That is a substantial topic in its own right and it is covered separately in our guide on how much a self-employed person can borrow.
Want to know which lenders will consider one year?
Tell us how long you have been trading, what is lodged, and what your deposit looks like. Fifteen minutes and you will know which pathway suits your file before anything is submitted anywhere. No credit enquiry, no obligation, and no fee at any point.
What to sort out before you apply
The single most important point is this: get your position assessed before an application is submitted anywhere. Applications are recorded on your credit file, and a run of them makes the next lender more cautious rather than less. ASIC’s Moneysmart explains what appears on a credit report and how to check yours. With a short trading history you have less margin for that.
Before you speak to anyone, it helps to have these together:
- Your ABN details and registration date, and your GST registration status
- Your most recent Business Activity Statements
- Business bank statements covering recent trading
- Whatever tax returns and notices of assessment are lodged
- Details of existing debts, including any business finance and ATO arrangements
- Evidence of your prior industry experience if your business is new
There is one conversation worth having with your accountant, and having it early. Deductions that legitimately reduce your taxable income also reduce the income a lender assesses you on, so there is a real tension between minimising tax and maximising borrowing capacity. What the right balance looks like depends entirely on your tax position, and it is an accountant’s question rather than a broker’s. The point is simply to raise it well before you plan to buy, because by the time a return is lodged the decision is already made.
How Intellect Finance can help
Self-employed lending is where lender choice matters most, because policy on short trading histories varies enormously between institutions. We assess your position across a panel of more than 100 lenders and tell you which ones have a genuine pathway for your file, whether that is a one-year full documentation policy, an alternative documentation product, or waiting a few months for a materially better outcome. Where waiting is the better answer, we will say so. Nothing is submitted anywhere until you know where you stand, which protects your credit file.
Best Interests Duty applies to a home loan for a property you will live in, so we are required to act in your interests and give priority to them over ours. We have operated since 2005, hold Australian Credit Licence 390611, and we charge you nothing on any loan type, with no fee for complex or specialist lending and no clawback recovery fee. If you are local, our Penrith mortgage broker page covers how we work across Western Sydney.
Read Intellect Finance’s Google reviews
Working out which lenders will actually consider a short trading history, before anything is submitted, is a large part of what a broker does for self-employed borrowers. Here are Intellect Finance’s Google reviews, live from our Google Business Profile and unedited.
These reviews reflect other borrowers’ experiences. They are not a promise of any particular outcome for your loan, which will always depend on your own circumstances and the lender’s assessment.
Frequently Asked
Self-employed lending FAQs
The questions business owners ask most about short trading histories.
Can I get a home loan with only one year of accounts?
Often yes, though not from every lender. Most major banks work to a policy of two years of tax returns for a full documentation self-employed application, so a single year will frequently fall outside their standard criteria. A number of non-bank and specialist lenders assess on one year of returns, and separately there are alternative documentation pathways that verify income from Business Activity Statements, business bank statements or an accountant’s declaration. The practical question is not whether it is possible, but which lenders your particular file suits.
Why do most banks want two years of tax returns?
Two years lets a lender see whether your income is stable, growing or declining, and one year does not. Where two years are available, many lenders assess on the average of the two, or on the lower year, precisely because they are testing consistency rather than looking at a peak. A single year gives them one data point and no trend, so lenders that accept it generally compensate by looking harder at other evidence, such as trading history, industry experience, deposit size and credit conduct.
What is an alt-doc loan and how is it different?
An alternative documentation loan verifies your income from something other than lodged tax returns. Common evidence includes recent Business Activity Statements, a period of business bank statements, or a signed declaration from your accountant. It suits business owners whose returns are not yet lodged, or whose returns understate current trading. Alt-doc lending generally carries a higher interest rate than a full documentation loan and often a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio, so it usually calls for a larger deposit. The trade-off is access now rather than waiting for paperwork.
How long does my ABN need to be registered?
ABN age is assessed separately from how many tax returns you have, and it matters more than most people expect. Broadly, the longer the ABN has been active the wider the range of lenders available to you. Under roughly six months the options narrow considerably. Between six and twelve months some specialist lenders will look at it. Beyond twelve months the alternative documentation market opens up properly, and past two years full documentation lending becomes available where returns are lodged. GST registration, where your turnover requires it, also helps demonstrate an established business.
Can I use the First Home Guarantee if I only have one year of accounts?
Potentially, and there is no income test in the scheme, so being self-employed does not exclude you from eligibility. The complication is that scheme loans must be written by a participating lender, and the specialist and non-bank lenders most likely to accept one year of accounts are often not on that panel. That can force a choice between the scheme benefit and the lender that will actually assess your file. Work the arithmetic before applying rather than after.
Does it help if I worked in the same industry before?
Yes, and it is one of the more useful things you can put in front of a lender. A borrower who spent years as an employee in a trade or profession and then started their own business in the same field presents very differently to someone entering an unfamiliar industry. The trading history is short in both cases, but the underlying experience is not. Where a lender is being asked to accept one year of figures, evidence of a longer track record in that line of work supports the case.
Will I need a bigger deposit?
Usually, yes. Where a lender is working with less income history or with alternative documentation, it tends to manage that by lending at a lower loan-to-value ratio, which means more deposit from you. A stronger deposit also widens the number of lenders willing to consider the file and can improve the pricing offered. It is not an absolute rule and it varies by lender and by the strength of the overall application, but planning for a larger contribution than a two-year full documentation borrower would need is realistic.
Should I ask my accountant to reduce my deductions?
That is a conversation to have with your accountant rather than a decision to make on your own, and the timing matters. Deductions that reduce your taxable income legitimately also reduce the income a lender assesses, so there is a genuine tension between minimising tax and maximising borrowing capacity. Some expenses that are not real cash costs can be added back by a lender when assessing you, which narrows that gap. What the right balance looks like depends on your tax position, so raise it with your accountant well before you plan to apply, not in the month you are ready to buy.
What should I do before I apply?
Get your position assessed before you go to any lender, because applications are recorded on your credit file and a run of them does not improve the next one. It is worth having your ABN and GST registration details, your most recent Business Activity Statements, business bank statements and whatever returns are lodged in one place. If there is outstanding ATO debt, deal with it or get a payment arrangement in place first, because it is one of the more common reasons a self-employed application struggles.
The bottom line
One year of accounts is workable more often than the first bank you speak to will suggest. There are lenders with a genuine one-year full documentation policy, and there is a well-established alternative documentation market that assesses income from Business Activity Statements, business banking or an accountant’s declaration. What you generally trade for that access is a somewhat higher rate and a larger deposit, and both are worth weighing honestly against what waiting would cost you.
The two things that matter most are getting your position assessed before an application is lodged anywhere, and having the tax conversation with your accountant early rather than in the month you want to buy. And if you are buying your first home as well, check the scheme and lender question together rather than separately, because the answer to one constrains the other. Approval is never guaranteed and lender policy changes, but a short trading history is a constraint to work with rather than a closed door.
Joseph Sukkar
Joe founded Intellect Finance in Penrith in 2005 and has more than 25 years in Australian finance. Self-employed files with short trading histories are regular weekly work for the firm, across trades, professional services, transport and family businesses. Intellect Finance works alongside clients’ accountants rather than in place of them, and charges clients no fee on any loan type. More about the team.
Sources
Australian Taxation Office, Registering for GST, for the turnover threshold at which registration is required. ato.gov.au
Australian Business Register, for ABN registration and how to check an ABN’s registration date. abr.gov.au
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, statement of 28 May 2026 maintaining current macroprudential policy settings, confirming the serviceability buffer remains at three percentage points. apra.gov.au
ASIC Moneysmart, Credit scores and credit reports, on what appears on a credit report, including applications for credit. moneysmart.gov.au
Housing Australia, Home Guarantee Scheme eligibility and participating lender list. housingaustralia.gov.au
Important disclosures, general advice warning and licensing
General information only. This article is general information only and does not constitute financial, credit, legal or tax advice. It does not take your personal or financial circumstances into account. Before acting on any information here, you should consider whether it is appropriate to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
Lender policy varies and changes. The ABN age ranges, documentation requirements and product descriptions in this article are indicative of general market positions at the time of writing. They are not a quote, an offer of finance, or a statement of any particular lender’s current policy. Self-employed lending policy differs significantly between institutions and changes regularly, and every application is assessed on its own merits.
Approval is never guaranteed. No broker or lender can promise an approval, and a short trading history means more of the assessment rests on factors outside a simple income calculation. Alternative documentation products generally carry higher rates and lower maximum loan-to-value ratios than full documentation lending. Whether that trade-off suits you depends on your circumstances. This page publishes no interest rates and names no lenders.
Government schemes. Eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme is determined by Housing Australia and the participating lender, not by Intellect Finance. Scheme conditions, price caps and the participating lender list are set by government and change from time to time. Confirm the current position with Housing Australia before planning around it.
Tax matters belong with your accountant. How you structure deductions, what your GST registration position should be, and how to balance tax minimisation against borrowing capacity are all questions for your accountant or registered tax agent, not for a credit assistance provider. The GST registration threshold is set by the ATO and is subject to change. Confirm the current position with the ATO or your accountant. Intellect Finance provides credit assistance only and is not a registered tax agent.
Best Interests Duty. A home loan for a property you will live in is regulated consumer credit under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, and Best Interests Duty applies. It does not apply to business or commercial lending.
What we charge you. Nothing, on any loan type. No arrangement fee for residential, commercial, corporate, asset, SMSF or personal lending, no fee for complex or specialist lending, and no clawback recovery fee if a loan is discharged early. Lenders pay us a commission on settlement, disclosed to you in writing in our Credit Guide before we provide credit assistance.
About the reviews shown. The reviews displayed on this page are genuine reviews published by clients on Intellect Finance’s Google Business Profile, shown live via a third-party reviews widget. They reflect those individuals’ own experiences and are not a promise of any particular outcome for your loan.
Intellect Finance Pty Ltd holds Australian Credit Licence 390611 and is a member of the MFAA and AFCA. Lending criteria, fees and terms apply. Article checked 7 September 2026.
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