Why do I need to provide a 2-year history of self-employed income? What if I can’t?

You usually need to be self-employed for at least two years, but in rare cases 12 to 24 months may also be considered. In those cases, your most recent signed federal income tax returns must reflect the receipt of the same (or more) income in a similar field as your new business. We usually cannot use income from a brand-new business because it doesn’t meet our 2-year requirement.

Income documentation for the last 2 years gives us a more accurate assessment of your earnings. We generally take a 24-month average if your income is stable or increasing, and a 12-month average if your income has decreased, but is stabilizing.