Canada · Programs

Business-for-self & stated income

A well-advised business owner declares income efficiently — that's good accounting, not a character flaw. But it collides with bank ratio math, and the standard "fix" is perverse: declare more, pay tens of thousands in unnecessary tax, just to satisfy a lender. Stated-income programs qualify the business on its true cash flow instead — the client keeps their legitimate write-offs and still gets properly financed.


Two lanes — and no dead ends

Insured stated (Alt-A)

From 10% down. The lower-rate lane, supported by business documentation rather than two-year personal-tax averaging — but it carries a large insurer premium at low down payments.

Alternative (B-side) stated

From 20% down. Income evidenced by roughly 12 months of business bank statements; higher rate plus a lender fee, but no big insurance premium — and flexibility the A-side won't touch, including borrowed down payments, even from a non-family source.

The rule this desk works by: a declined Alt-A file is not the end of the conversation. Every alternative lender does stated income; the craft is knowing which lane truly costs less and which lender reads the client's business generously.

The crossover most brokers never show: the insured lane's cheaper rate comes packaged with a large insurance premium (5.85% of the mortgage at 10% down; 3.75% at 15%+). The B-side's higher rate carries no such premium. Run the true all-in cost and the B-side sometimes wins outright — cheaper in total, not just easier to qualify. We price both lanes to the dollar before recommending either.

How B-side income is actually counted

Not from the T1. The lender's worksheet runs on the business's reality:

  1. Take the actual twelve months of business deposits — the true gross cash flow.
  2. Subtract the true hard costs: rent, materials, fuel, staff who must be paid regardless.
  3. The remainder is the qualifying income.

A contractor who banked $400,000 and declared $35,000 is, to a branch, a $35,000 borrower. To the B-side worksheet, they're the business they actually run. That gap is this program.

Questions advisors ask about it

Is "stated income" not what caused 2008?+

Canadian stated-income lending is verified stated income — twelve months of real bank statements, real business documentation, real down payment with equity in the deal. It's a different underwriting question ("what does this business truly earn?"), not an absence of underwriting.

Isn't declaring low income and borrowing high having it both ways?+

Declaring income efficiently within the rules is the accountant's job; financing the true business is the lender's choice, made with full sight of the bank statements. Nothing is hidden from anyone — the lender underwrites the real cash flow on purpose. What the client avoids is the perverse alternative: inflating declared income and paying real tax purely to satisfy a ratio.

When does the B-side genuinely beat the insured lane?+

Most often at low down payments, where the insurer premium is largest, and for files the A-side would decline outright — larger amounts, credit wrinkles, borrowed down payments, or income the insurer's box can't hold. We put both lanes' all-in costs side by side and let the arithmetic answer.

What does the file need from the client?+

Business bank statements (roughly twelve months), basic business documentation, and an honest conversation about hard costs. Assembled properly — which is the desk's work — the approval usually surprises clients who've been told "no" by their branch for years.

From the desk

Anonymized case studies for this program are being prepared from real funded files — nothing invented, ever. The lane rules and worksheet above are this desk's own working method, as published on our main brokerage site.

If a client's accountant has done their job too well for the bank's ratios, that's not a problem — it's this program.

Arrange a confidential introduction

Ramin Hallaji, Principal — licensed in British Columbia (BCFSA) and Alberta, Dominion Lending Centres Group · 778-879-6768 · ramin@privatewealthfinancing.ca

Information, not advice, and not an offer of financing. Lane parameters (down payments, documentation, insurer premiums) reflect this desk's current working rules and published figures; rates and lender fees vary by file and change without notice, so both lanes are priced precisely per file before any recommendation. All lending subject to approval, verification, and property valuation. Tax decisions belong to the client's accountant. Private Wealth Financing arranges mortgage financing only.