If you work for yourself, this is the question that decides your application, and the answer is not the same everywhere.
Two years of financials is the mainstream standard. But roughly half the lenders we model in detail will work with less, and knowing which ones before you apply is the difference between an approval and a decline sitting on your credit file.
The requirement, lender by lender
These figures come from the lender policy data behind the Kreddi Score engine, covering the ten lenders we model in full 16-factor detail.
| Lender | Type | Minimum requirement | One year? | |---|---|---|---| | Bluestone | Non-bank specialist | 6 months ABN (Specialist) to 24 months (Prime) | Yes | | ANZ | Big 4 | 18 months trading plus 1 year of financials | Yes | | ME Bank | Bank | 18 months | Yes | | NAB | Big 4 | 1 to 2 years depending on structure | Yes | | Macquarie | Bank | 2 years, 1 year for eligible professionals | Yes | | CBA | Big 4 | 2 years standard | No | | HSBC | Foreign bank | 2 years | No | | Qudos Bank | Credit union | 2 years | No | | Great Southern Bank | Customer-owned | 2 years | No | | Firstmac | Non-bank | 2 years | No |
Five of ten will look at a single year in some form. If you have been trading between one and two years, that table is your shortlist, and everything else is noise.
These ten are the lenders whose policies we model in the most depth. NIK Finance has access to 130+ lenders through the Finsure panel, and the wider panel includes further specialist options.
What "financials" actually means
For a full doc application, most lenders want:
- Personal tax returns, usually two years
- Company or trust returns if you trade through an entity
- ATO notices of assessment matching those returns
- In some cases, an interim profit and loss statement for the current year
The notices of assessment matter more than people expect. A tax return without a matching notice of assessment tells the lender what you declared, not what the ATO accepted. Lenders want both.
Structure changes the answer
NAB's position, one to two years depending on structure, is a useful signal about how this works generally.
A sole trader with a clean two-year history is straightforward. A company that retains profits rather than distributing them is assessed differently, because the lender has to decide whether retained earnings count as your income. A trust with multiple beneficiaries adds another layer.
The more complex the structure, the more likely a lender wants the second year, because one year of a complicated entity is hard to read as a trend.
If you restructured recently, that can reset your clock at some lenders even though the underlying business continued. Worth raising early rather than discovering at assessment.
If your latest return is not lodged
This is the most common self-inflicted problem in self-employed lending.
Most prime lenders want your most recent notice of assessment. If you are six or twelve months past the lodgement deadline, some will assess you on older figures, some will decline, and the sharper pricing usually disappears either way.
If your most recent year was your best year, not lodging it is actively costing you money.
Where the return genuinely cannot be lodged in time, the alternative evidence path is:
- Business Activity Statements, usually the last four to six quarters
- Six to twelve months of business bank statements
- A signed accountant's declaration confirming your income
That is low doc territory. Expect a maximum LVR around 80 percent and a rate premium over full doc.
Add-backs are worth more than an extra year
Before assuming you need to wait, check what your assessable income actually is once add-backs are applied.
Lenders will commonly add back to your taxable income:
- Depreciation, a non-cash deduction
- Interest on debts being refinanced or paid out by the new loan
- One-off expenses you can evidence will not recur
- Additional superannuation contributions above the compulsory rate
- Retained company profits, where you control the entity
Add-back policy is one of the widest points of variation between lenders and it is almost never published. Two lenders reading the same tax return can arrive at assessable incomes tens of thousands of dollars apart.
A borrower who thinks they need another year of trading sometimes just needs a lender with better add-back treatment.
The order that works
- Lodge your returns. Nothing else on this list matters as much.
- Work out your assessable income after add-backs, not your taxable income. They are different numbers and the gap is often large.
- Shortlist by policy, not by rate. If you have 18 months of trading, apply to a lender who accepts 18 months. Applying to a two-year lender produces a decline and a credit enquiry that makes the next application harder.
- Apply once.
Your Kreddi Score maps your position against real lender policy, including these trading history requirements, and shows which lenders are open to you today. Fifteen minutes, no impact on your credit file.
The longer version, covering income evidence, low doc paths and add-backs in more detail, is on our self-employed home loans page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a home loan with one year of financials? Yes, at some lenders. Of the ten NIK Finance models in full policy detail, five accept a single year in some form: ANZ with 18 months trading, NAB depending on structure, Macquarie for eligible professionals, ME Bank at 18 months, and Bluestone from six months of ABN activity.
How many years of tax returns do lenders want? Two full years is the mainstream standard, covering personal and company returns plus ATO notices of assessment. A meaningful minority accept one year where the business is established and the income is clean, usually at full doc pricing.
What if my latest tax return is not lodged? It restricts your options rather than ending them. Most prime lenders want your most recent notice of assessment. Where that is unavailable, a low doc product assessed on BAS, business bank statements or an accountant's declaration is the usual route, at a lower LVR and a rate premium.
Does a longer trading history get me a better rate? Indirectly. Longer trading opens more lenders, and more lenders means more competition for your loan. A self-employed borrower who meets full doc requirements is generally priced the same as a comparable PAYG borrower at most lenders.
What is the minimum time self-employed before getting a home loan? Six months of ABN activity at the most flexible specialist lender on our panel, 18 months at ANZ and ME Bank, and two years at most others. Shorter tenure usually means a higher rate and a lower maximum LVR, with a view to refinancing later.
Find the Lender That Matches Your Trading History
One year of financials is enough at some lenders and an automatic decline at others. If you are one or two years in, or your latest return is not lodged yet, lender selection matters more than the rate you are chasing.
Your Kreddi Score assesses your position against the lender policies we model and shows which ones would consider your trading history today. Free, no credit enquiry, about 15 minutes. For more detail on income evidence and add-backs, see our self-employed home loans page.
Lender policy positions reflect the policies modelled in the NIK Finance scoring engine and should be confirmed at the time of application, as lenders revise them without notice. This is general information, not personal, financial or tax advice. NIK Finance Pty Ltd is a Credit Representative (567387) of Finsure Finance & Insurance Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 384704.