/GUIDE

Qualifying when your income is bonus, RSUs, or deferred comp

If base salary is a minority of your pay, an automated pre-approval is measuring the wrong thing.

01

Where the number comes from

A retail pre-approval is usually generated from base salary, because base is the easiest figure to verify and the most predictable to project. For a senior executive whose compensation is mostly bonus, equity, and deferred comp, that produces a number with little relationship to what they actually earn.

It isn’t a decline. It’s an incomplete calculation that people understandably treat as final.

02

How variable compensation gets documented

Underwriting generally wants a history of receiving it and reason to believe it continues. That usually means several years of documentation (offer letters, pay statements showing the bonus, tax returns), and it’s typically averaged rather than counted at the most recent year.

Averaging cuts both ways. If your compensation has grown steadily, an average understates where you are now. If it’s lumpy, an average smooths a good year against a lean one. Either way, knowing the method beforehand tells you what to expect.

03

Equity compensation specifically

Restricted stock generally needs a vesting history and evidence of continued vesting ahead. A grant that hasn’t begun vesting is a different thing from a multi-year record of vested shares being sold. How lenders treat this varies more than almost any other income type, which makes lender selection matter.

04

When averaging still doesn’t work

For a newly promoted executive, a recent job change, or a business owner whose returns are suppressed by deductions, income averaging may not produce a workable number no matter how it’s documented. That’s the point at which a different documentation type (bank statements, or an asset-based calculation), usually fits better than trying to force the conventional path.

These are separate products, not workarounds, and which fits is a function of how you’re actually paid.

05

The timing problem

Relocations run on a clock, a start date, a temporary housing allowance that expires, a competitive market. The mistake is discovering in week three that the file needs a different documentation type. If your compensation is unusual, establish the path before you write an offer, not after.

The program this applies to

Luxury buyers

See who it’s for, how it works, and the common questions.

/programs/luxury

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Tell me the property and the plan and I’ll come back with what’s eligible. Eligibility and terms vary by scenario.

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Educational only. Not an offer, an approval, or advice on your specific file.

Next: Construction draws, maturity dates, and where builder files get stuck

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