The two-year average, explained
Instead of taking your most recent pay stub at face value, lenders look at your last two years of T4s or pay statements and average the variable portion. If overtime jumped last year, it won't fully count until there's a second year showing it's not a one-off. It rewards consistency more than a single great year.
Why this trips people up
Someone who just started earning significant overtime or commission can feel like their income "isn't real" to a lender, even though it's genuinely landing in their bank account every month. It's not that lenders don't believe you, they're required to qualify you on a defensible, documented pattern rather than a recent spike that might not repeat.
What actually helps your case
A letter from your employer confirming the variable income is likely to continue, at least two years of T4s showing the pattern, and recent pay stubs that match. If you're newer to a commission role, sometimes waiting a few extra months to build that second year of history is genuinely the fastest path to a stronger approval, even though it feels slower.
If most of your income is variable
Some lenders are more comfortable with heavily commission-based income than others, particularly if you work in real estate, sales, or a trade with regular overtime. Knowing which lenders lean into that kind of file, instead of treating it as a red flag, is a big part of what a broker actually does for you here.
Most of your income variable or commission-based?
Send us your last two years of income and we'll tell you how it actually counts toward a mortgage.
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