How long do I need to be self-employed to qualify for a mortgage in Canada?
Insured stated-income programs at both Sagen and Canada Guaranty require a minimum two years of business-for-self tenure, and CMHC recommends 24 months of operating the business or experience in the same line of work. Under 24 months is not an automatic no: CMHC publishes the factors that can support the file anyway — acquiring an established business, sufficient cash reserves, predictable earnings, previous training and education, and a demonstrated history of managing credit. Private lenders have no minimum time in business; they qualify on equity.
What documents do I need for a self-employed mortgage?
For an insured BFS file: two years of T1 Generals with the Statement of Business Activities attached, prepared by an arm’s-length third party, plus line 15000 from your most recent Notice of Assessment. Add two years of corporate financial statements if incorporated (T2 + financials), 90 days of business banking, articles of incorporation, GST/HST registration if applicable, and confirmation you’re in good standing with CRA — plus standard property and ID docs. We send a precise checklist after a 5-minute intake.
What is ‘stated income’ and who qualifies?
Stated income is an insured program where the lender accepts a reasonable income for your industry, role and tenure instead of your line-150 net income. Sagen’s Business for Self and Canada Guaranty’s Low Doc Advantage both allow it to a maximum 90% LTV, each requiring two years self-employed and a strong credit profile — Sagen looks for a 600 score above 80% LTV and recommends 680 at or below it. The stated income must be reasonable for the business and still fit 39% GDS / 44% TDS. Stated-income B-lender programs are the uninsured alternative and typically need 20–35% down.
What’s the difference between A, B, and private lenders for self-employed?
A = banks and monolines: the best rates (see
today’s self-employed rates), the strictest income documents, usually 2+ years BFS. B = alt-A lenders like Home Trust, Equitable, Haventree and MCAN: looser income documents, one year of history often accepted, a higher rate plus, commonly, a 1%–2% lender fee, and typically 20–35% down on stated income. Private = a MIC or individual lender: asset-based, often no income documents; CMHC data put the 25 largest MIEs at a 9.6% average single-family rate in Q3 2025, and fees commonly total 1%–3%. We model all three for every BFS file.
Can I include dividend income from my corporation?
Yes — most A-lenders accept two years of T5 dividend income from your own corporation, typically averaged over that period. Whether a lender grosses dividends up, and by how much, is set in that lender’s own underwriting policy rather than published, so we quote your file against the actual policy instead of a rule of thumb. The one gross-up an insurer does document is CMHC’s: self-employment income from a sole proprietorship or partnership may be grossed up by 15%, or handled with an add-back approach on eligible deductions. If you take both salary and dividends we layer them.
Can I qualify based on retained earnings in my corporation?
A small subset of specialty A-lenders and most B-lenders will use retained earnings plus standard add-backs to compute qualifying income — especially valuable for incorporated owners who pay themselves modestly and leave profit in the company. This is lender policy, not insurer rule, so it varies by program. We know which lenders do it and can model the boosted income before you start house-hunting.
What if my T1 income looks low after deductions?
Two documented routes. CMHC will accept a 15% gross-up on sole-proprietor or partnership income, or an add-back approach on eligible deductions. The add-back route is usually the stronger one: we add back capital cost allowance (depreciation), business-use-of-home, the personal-use portion of vehicle expenses, and certain non-recurring costs, so the lender sees qualifying income rather than tax-optimized net. On well-deducted files we typically see that recover a meaningful share of stated net income — that figure is our own experience, not a published statistic.
Will my rate be higher because I’m self-employed?
Not on a documented or insured A-lender file: you are priced essentially like a salaried borrower. The premium comes from the tier, not from being self-employed. Alt-A lenders price above A-lenders, and where income is stated and bank statements establish cash flow, the rate is usually higher again. The 25 largest private MIEs averaged 9.6% in Q3 2025 (CMHC). Today’s A-lender pricing is on our
self-employed mortgage rates page. Many BFS clients start on B or private and refinance to A-lender pricing within 1–2 years once they have two clean NOAs.
Can I get a self-employed mortgage with only 5% down?
Sometimes — but not on a stated-income program, and this is where a lot of online advice is wrong. CMHC’s self-employed program goes up to 95% LTV (5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the remainder) where your income is documented traditionally. The stated-income programs both cap lower: Sagen’s Business for Self and Canada Guaranty’s Low Doc Advantage each max out at 90% LTV, so 10% down, and Canada Guaranty requires 5% of it from your own resources. Insured purchase price must stay under $1.5M.
What if I have outstanding CRA debt?
Most A-lenders require CRA debt (personal income tax, HST, payroll) cleared before close. B-lenders often roll CRA debt into a refinance up to 75-80% LTV — letting you consolidate at mortgage rates instead of CRA’s prescribed interest rate. Private lenders will fund with CRA arrears in place if equity supports it. See our
CRA debt mortgage playbook for the full approach.
How do banks verify self-employed income?
Three layers. First, the paper: two years of T1 Generals with the Statement of Business Activities, and line 15000 from your Notice of Assessment — which the lender uses to confirm what you actually reported to CRA. Second, the business itself: corporate financial statements and T2 if incorporated, GST/HST registration, and articles of incorporation. Third, cash flow: typically 90 days of business banking, read for deposit consistency rather than a single balance. On stated-income programs the lender additionally tests whether your stated figure is reasonable for the size, type and tenure of the business.
Can I get a mortgage with no T4 or Notice of Assessment?
No T4 is normal for a business owner and not an obstacle by itself — insured BFS programs are built around T1s and NOAs instead. Missing NOAs are the harder problem, because both Sagen and Canada Guaranty confirm income from line 15000 of the most recent NOA. If your filings are not current, the realistic routes are a B-lender working from bank-statement cash flow, or a private lender underwriting equity, then a refinance to A-pricing once your returns are filed and assessed. If the reason is unfiled taxes, filing is the fastest thing you can do for your mortgage.
Can gig workers get a mortgage in Canada — Uber, DoorDash, freelance platforms?
Yes, and it is treated as self-employment rather than a special category. Platform earnings are business income, so the same two-year T1 and NOA history applies, and the same 39% GDS / 44% TDS limits govern. Two practical notes: platform income is often heavily deducted for vehicle and phone costs, which makes add-backs unusually valuable on these files; and lenders read consistency closely, so a stable two-year pattern across platforms is worth more than one strong quarter. Under two years, CMHC’s published flexibilities are the route to argue.
I have been self-employed one year but worked in the same field on salary before — does that count?
It can, and it is one of the strongest under-two-years arguments there is. CMHC names experience in the same line of work alongside operating the business, and lists previous training and education among the factors that can support a recently-self-employed file. Continuity is the point: a tradesperson who incorporated after five salaried years in the same trade, or a consultant who left an employer to do the same work, reads very differently from a brand-new venture. Bring your prior T4s and a clear account of the continuity.
