The Build

You earn more than your mates and you've been told you can borrow less.

The taxable income line was produced for a tax purpose. Credit assessment uses a different calculation, and every adjustment should be visible rather than assumed.

The position

The $620,000 problem

You take home an illustrative $180,000, while the tax return shows an illustrative $95,000 because your accountant has made the profit legitimately small. A broker then quotes an illustrative $620,000 from that line alone.

The reconciled assessment is frequently 25–40% higher once valid add-backs are applied. Your accountant did nothing wrong. They were solving for tax. A lender is solving for recurring capacity, which requires a different reading of the same financials.

Common assumptions

What you've been told, and why it's wrong

ToldWhy it's wrong
$620,000An illustrative result calculated off the taxable income line before valid adjustments.
You need two years of financialsSome lenders work from one year plus an accountant's declaration, or BAS and bank statements.
Self-employed borrowers pay moreNot inherently. Price depends on the facility, security and assessed risk.
Pay down business debt first, then applyIt depends on how the commitment is treated in the assessment.
Wait until next financial yearWaiting can cost capacity if the current documentation path is already adequate.
Equipment finance won't affect your home loanIt frequently does, materially.

Our work

What we do about it

Rebuild the capacity calculation with every add-back itemised and shown.

Match the structure to lenders whose policy actually fits it.

Sequence the home loan, equipment and working capital so they do not compete.

Run the calculation again in three years rather than relying on an old structure.

Borrowing Capacity Reconciliation

See the difference between the taxable position and an itemised reconciled position, line by line.

Open this resource

FAQ

Questions about this position

Put the structure on paper before anything is submitted.