Using Bonus or RSU Income to Qualify for a Mortgage
If a meaningful chunk of your compensation shows up as an annual bonus or vested company stock rather than base salary, you may be significantly underestimating your own buying power — or you may be at risk of overestimating it, depending on how well you understand the rules. Here’s exactly how lenders treat both.
Bonus Income: The Two-Year Average Rule
Lenders generally want to see at least two consecutive years of bonus income from your current employer before counting any of it toward qualifying income. When you clear that bar, the standard approach is to average your last two years of bonus payments — documented through W-2s, pay stubs, and often an employer verification letter confirming the bonus is expected to continue.
Consistency matters as much as the total dollar amount. A bonus that’s trended steadily upward gets treated favorably; one that’s swung wildly — a huge year followed by a thin one — often gets averaged more conservatively, or in some cases a lender will simply use the lower of the two years rather than the average.
RSU Income: More Complex, and Worth Understanding Well
Restricted stock units work differently from a cash bonus, and the rules reflect that.
Only Vested Shares Count
Unvested RSUs — shares promised but not yet yours — are not income for qualifying purposes, no matter how valuable they look on paper. Once shares vest, their value is reported as ordinary wages on your W-2, and that’s the number lenders actually work with — not your brokerage balance, and not today’s stock price.
The Standard Calculation
Most lenders average your RSU income from the last two years of W-2s. Because stock prices move constantly, projecting future RSU income (for shares that will vest going forward) typically relies on a 52-week average stock price rather than today’s snapshot, which smooths out short-term volatility.
Here’s a worked example: an employee holds 3,000 RSUs vesting over the next 24 months, and the stock’s 52-week average price is $15. That’s 3,000 shares × $15, divided by 24 months — $1,875 a month in qualifying RSU income, added on top of base salary. On a $90,000 salary, that pushes total qualifying income to $112,500 — a genuinely significant increase in buying power for someone who might otherwise have qualified on salary alone.
The Requirements, in Full
- Two years of vesting history with your current employer (some lenders allow exceptions with strong, well-documented one-year history)
- The issuing company must be publicly traded — private company equity generally doesn’t qualify
- Evidence of continuance — your employer needs to show future grants are expected to continue, ideally three or more years out
- A cap on how much of your income can be RSU-based — commonly no more than 35% of total qualifying income
- You generally can’t double-count — RSUs being used as qualifying income typically can’t also be counted as cash reserves
One Important Limitation: Not Every Loan Program Accepts RSU Income
This trips up a lot of borrowers, especially newer employees at tech or growth-stage companies: FHA and VA loans generally do not allow RSU income to count toward qualification at all. Conventional (conforming) loans and jumbo loans are the reliable paths for RSU-based qualifying income. If FHA or VA looked like your likely program, it’s worth having this conversation early — your RSU income might change which loan type actually makes sense for you.
If You Haven’t Hit the Two-Year Mark Yet
If you’re newer to a role and haven’t yet built the standard 12–24 month vesting or bonus history a lender wants to see, you have real options: qualify on base salary alone for now and revisit financing once you’ve cleared the threshold, look for a lender willing to make a documented exception for a strong, consistent shorter history, or simply plan your home search timeline around when your bonus or RSU history will actually count. None of these are a dead end — they’re just different paths to the same result.
Common Questions
How many years of bonus history do I need to qualify?
Generally two consecutive years from your current employer, documented through W-2s and pay stubs, often alongside an employer letter confirming the bonus is expected to continue.
Can unvested RSUs count as income?
No. Only vested shares, already reported as wages on your W-2, count toward qualifying income. Unvested shares are a future promise, not current earnings.
Can I use RSU income for an FHA or VA loan?
Generally no — FHA and VA loans typically don’t allow RSU income to count toward qualification. Conventional and jumbo loans are the standard paths for RSU-based qualifying income.
How much of my qualifying income can come from RSUs?
Commonly capped around 35% of total qualifying income, though this can vary by lender.
Have bonus or RSU income and not sure how it factors into your buying power? Bring your documentation and I’ll help you figure out exactly what qualifies — and which loan program actually makes sense for your compensation structure.
Kiley Conner is a licensed mortgage loan officer (NMLS# 1453865) with Benchmark Mortgage (NMLS# 2143), serving Rogers, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Springdale, and communities across Northwest Arkansas. Program guidelines vary by lender and loan type and are subject to change. This article is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender.
