RSUs, K-1s, commissions, bonuses. Austin income doesn't fit in a box.
Each source has its own agency or investor rules. I calculate the documented amounts separately, prevent double counting, and compare eligible paths.
A complex income mortgage is a home loan for borrowers whose earnings are real but require source-specific analysis, such as RSUs, K-1 income, commissions, bonuses, self-employed cash flow, and contractor income.
In Austin and across Texas, where tech equity, business ownership, and variable pay are common, I separate each income source, apply the relevant eligibility and calculation rules, and compare lender fit based on the documented file.
This fits salaried tech employees with stock comp, partners and business owners with K-1 income, self-employed borrowers, contractors, and anyone paid heavily on commission or bonus.
Complex Income Mortgage Overview
Austin is full of tech workers, entrepreneurs, and professionals whose income is real but doesn't fit a template. RSU vesting schedules that vary quarter to quarter. K-1 distributions from partnerships. Commission that swings significantly year over year. Bonus structures that change constantly.
Contractor income, self-employed cash flow, and 1099 work can belong in the same conversation when the documentation does not fit a clean W-2 file. Each source may be usable when it meets the applicable requirements. Under current Fannie Mae guidance, time-based restricted stock requires a minimum 12-month history with the current employer, while performance-based awards recommend two years but may be considered with 12-24 months and positive factors; share-paid and cash-paid awards also use different calculations. Bonus and commission guidance recommends two years, but at least 12 months may be acceptable with positive factors, and the calculation compares year-to-date income with prior earnings and trend. K-1 and self-employed income require tax-return and business-cash-flow analysis.
I calculate each documented source under the applicable method, flag missing evidence or uncertainty, prevent double counting, and compare lender fit where overlays differ.
How are W-2, RSU, K-1, rental, bonus, and commission income combined?
Do not start by adding every number on the paystubs and tax returns. First classify each source, apply the selected program's eligibility and calculation rule, convert only the supported amount to monthly income, and remove overlap. A source that does not pass its applicable documentation, history, trend, stability, or continuance test stays out of the combined total.
For an Austin tech employee, partner, or business owner, this sequence keeps a mixed compensation package from being treated as one undifferentiated income number.
Test: Review current employment, pay frequency, rate or hours, year-to-date consistency, and required employment verification. Under current Fannie Mae guidance, fixed base has no minimum history requirement; variable base requires at least 12 months and a trend-based calculation.
Reconcile: Do not treat fluctuating hours as fixed income or include bonus, commission, overtime, or other additional earnings in the base-pay amount.
Test: Review payment frequency, history, year-to-date and prior earnings, trend, documentation, and continuance. Under current Fannie Mae guidance, two years is recommended and no less than 12 months may be considered with positive factors; a decline must be stabilized or the income is ineligible.
Reconcile: For this screen, the highest recent number is not automatically usable. Do not annualize a partial payment incorrectly or count the same earnings as both base pay and additional income.
Test: Review vesting and unrestricted distribution, history, continuance where required, the vesting schedule, stock-price evidence, and receipt records. Under current Fannie Mae guidance, restricted-stock sign-on bonuses are not eligible; share-paid income uses the documented 200-day moving-average price, not current market price alone.
Reconcile: Do not substitute the current share price for the required moving average, treat an unvested award as received income, or use a restricted-stock sign-on bonus under the Fannie Mae baseline.
Test: Review the applicable individual and business returns, stable distributions or documented access, business liquidity when required, and business stability. A positive taxable K-1 amount is not automatically qualifying income.
Reconcile: Do not add distributions used to prove access a second time, duplicate W-2 wages already counted as employment income, or count the same rental result through both a K-1 and a separate rental calculation.
Test: Calculate each property's qualifying rent or loss separately, review property-management history and continuance where required, and apply the related housing obligation under the applicable agency rule.
Reconcile: Do not add gross rent to a net rental result, erase a supported rental loss, or count the same rental income through a K-1 and again separately.
Test: Add only the supported monthly amount from each source after that source passes its own test for eligibility, documentation, history, trend, stability, and continuance under the selected program.
Reconcile: Trace every included amount to its supporting record, then remove duplicated wages, distributions, rental income, and business cash flow before the final total is used.
Dataset version 2026.1 | Source review September 3, 2026 | Six source-test rows
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This map is a conventional-agency screening baseline, not a universal rulebook. Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, non-QM, and individual lender overlays may classify or calculate a source differently; the selected program and complete documented file control.
How I structure RSU, K-1, bonus, and commission income
I map total compensation: base pay, bonus, commission, restricted stock, K-1 income, self-employed cash flow, and contractor income. I verify eligibility, documentation, history, trend, stability, and continuance under the applicable guidelines, calculate each usable source separately, prevent double counting, and compare lender fit where overlays differ.
For the current agency baseline, I use Fannie Mae's official guidance for restricted-stock employment income and bonus and commission income; other program rules and lender overlays may differ.
Illustrative share-paid RSU calculation: if 1,200 eligible vested shares were distributed over the most recent 24 months and the documented 200-day moving-average share price is $50, Fannie's published formula produces a monthly qualifying-income result of $2,500: $50 times 1,200 shares, divided by 24 months. The award still must meet vesting, history, documentation, and continuance rules, and a current market price is not substituted for the required moving average.
Freddie Mac is similar in concept but not identical. Current Section 5303.1 requires one year of receipt for time-based RS or RSU from the current employer, with awards vested and distributed without restriction. Recurring awards must be likely to continue for at least three years; nonrecurring awards need at least three years of vesting and distribution remaining from the application date. Share-paid income uses the documented 200-day simple moving average multiplied by shares distributed in the past year, divided by 12; cash-equivalent distributions use the past-year amount divided by 12.
Bonus and commission also require agency-specific trend work. Fannie Mae recommends two years but may consider at least 12 months with positive factors. Freddie Mac treats these as fluctuating additional employed earnings and requires analysis of pay frequency, history, year-to-date and prior earnings, trend, documentation, and the amount likely to continue. An increasing year does not automatically justify using the highest recent number, and a declining trend can reduce or eliminate the usable amount.
Sources & methodology
Primary agency guidance reviewed September 3, 2026. This matrix is not an approval, commitment to lend, rate quote, or calculation of any borrower's actual qualifying income; the selected program, lender overlays, and complete documented file control. See the editorial standards and corrections policy.
- Fannie Mae B3-3.3-01: fixed and variable base income
- Fannie Mae B3-3.3-07: restricted stock employment income
- Fannie Mae B3-3.3-02: bonus and commission income
- Fannie Mae B3-3.6-07: partnership and S-corporation K-1 income
- Fannie Mae B3-3.8-01: rental income
- Freddie Mac 5303.1: employed income, RSU, bonus, and commission rules
Questions I Get
Does RSU income count for a mortgage, and how do lenders calculate it?
Yes, eligible restricted stock income can count under source-specific rules. Fannie Mae requires at least 12 months with the current employer for time-based awards; performance-based awards recommend two years but may allow 12-24 months with positive factors, and share-paid and cash-paid awards use different calculations. Freddie Mac requires one year of receipt for time-based awards from the current employer, vested and distributed without restriction; its share-paid method uses the documented 200-day simple moving average times shares distributed in the past year, divided by 12. Award type, history, vesting, continuance, documentation, and the selected agency method control.
Does positive K-1 income automatically count for a mortgage?
No. A positive taxable K-1 amount is not automatically qualifying income. It may count when the file supports it. The analysis considers ownership, tax-return treatment, distributions and business liquidity, business stability, documentation, and the applicable program guidelines. I calculate only the income supported by those facts.
Commission swings?
Fannie Mae recommends a two-year bonus or commission history but may accept at least 12 months with positive offsetting factors; its calculation evaluates payment frequency, year-to-date income, prior earnings, and trend. Freddie Mac treats bonus and commission as fluctuating additional employed earnings and requires the seller to analyze frequency, history, year-to-date and prior earnings, trend, documentation, and the amount likely to continue. The selected agency method and complete file control.
Can W-2, RSU, K-1, rental, bonus, and commission income be combined?
Potentially, but only after each source separately passes the applicable eligibility, documentation, history, trend, and continuance tests. I map W-2 base pay, eligible restricted stock income, K-1 or business income, rental income, bonus, commission, and self-employed income separately, convert each supported amount to monthly income, remove overlap, and then show the combined figure under the applicable guideline and lender overlay.
What is a complex income mortgage?
It's a home loan for borrowers whose income is genuine but doesn't fit a simple W-2 template, such as equity compensation, K-1 income, commission, bonus, self-employed cash flow, or contractor income. The loan itself can be conventional or non-QM. What makes the file complex is determining which documented earnings are eligible and how they must be calculated.
How do I qualify for a mortgage with hard to document income?
Start by documenting each income source completely, then apply the eligibility and calculation rules for the relevant program. That may require tax returns, employment verification, paystubs, W-2s, offer letters, vesting schedules, brokerage records, year-to-date pay detail, 1099s, or K-1s depending on the source. I organize the evidence, calculate supportable income, and compare lender fit where overlays differ.
Can I use K-1 income to qualify for a mortgage?
K-1 income from a partnership or S corporation may count when tax returns, ownership, distributions and business liquidity, business stability, and the applicable program requirements support it. I review those factors and avoid double counting income already reflected elsewhere. My self-employed income calculation guide explains the broader business-owner analysis.
Do lenders count bonus and RSU income for a mortgage?
They may, but the rules are source-specific. Under Fannie Mae's current bonus and commission guidance, two years is recommended, while no less than 12 months may be acceptable with positive factors; the calculation considers payment frequency, year-to-date income, prior earnings, and trend. Time-based restricted stock requires 12 months with the current employer, while performance-based awards recommend two years but may allow 12-24 months with positive factors, and share-paid and cash-paid awards use different calculations. I calculate the sources separately and avoid double counting.
How do lenders handle complex income for a mortgage?
Applicable agency or investor guidelines set the baseline, and lender overlays may add requirements. I inventory each source, identify the governing eligibility and documentation rules, calculate supportable income, check trend and continuance, and compare lender fit only after the analysis is documented.
How do lenders document hard-to-prove income?
Through source-specific records. Restricted stock may require employment verification or pay records, W-2s, a vesting schedule, stock-price evidence, and brokerage or bank records. K-1 analysis uses tax returns and business documents. Commission and bonus analysis uses employer verification or paystubs, W-2s, and year-to-date earnings as required. Self-employed and contractor files may need tax returns, 1099s, and current business records. Exact requirements depend on the program and file.
Complex income? Let me map the documented options.
Start with a high-level description of your income sources. I will tell you which records belong in a secure file review before you send sensitive documents.