Calculator
Expense Ratio Estimator
See the expense factor an underwriter is likely to apply to your business type, and what your gross deposits could translate to as qualifying income — illustrative only.
Pick your business type to see the expense factor a bank-statement underwriter commonly applies, then enter your gross deposits to estimate qualifying income. These factors are typical starting points — a CPA letter can move them in your favor.
Estimates only, for educational planning. Not a quote, pre-approval, or commitment to lend. Underwriting uses your full file; results here are illustrative.
Why the expense factor matters most
On a bank-statement loan, your deposits are gross revenue. Before any of it counts as income, the underwriter reduces it by an expense factor meant to approximate what your business spends to earn that revenue. That single percentage often moves your qualifying income more than anything else in the file.
The factors above are common industry starting points, not rules. A low-overhead service business — a consultant, a freelance designer, an attorney working from a home office — genuinely spends far less than a restaurant or a trucking operation, and lenders increasingly recognize that. Two levers can adjust the factor in your favor:
- Personal vs. business statements. Personal-account programs apply a much smaller haircut, on the logic that operating costs are paid elsewhere. If most of your pay lands in a personal account, that path often wins.
- A CPA letter. If your real expense percentage is lower than the lender’s default, a CPA letter attesting to it can raise the income the lender uses.
This estimate mirrors the standard deposits → expense factor → qualifying income method. Real underwriting first strips transfers, loan proceeds, and one-time deposits, then averages over 12 or 24 months. Treat the result as a planning figure, not a quote or a qualification decision.