Qualifying income
The monthly figure, each income line with its page and rule, the calculation behind it, and income found but not counted.
Updated 2026-09-26
Qualifying income
The Income step heads with the qualifying monthly income, worked out from the documents under the agency's rule for each income type, and the mark of the agency whose rules it followed: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA. It fills in while the documents are read; the record beside it shows the figure so far.
The lines
Under the figure stands each income line: what it is (base pay, overtime, commission, self-employment, Social Security), whose it is, how it was worked out in plain words, and the monthly amount. A line's page opens in a drawer: the whole page with the words boxed, the arithmetic, and the rule it followed, quoted. With one or two lines, the pages themselves stand under the table.
The calculation
A qualifying figure is a tree. At the foot are the documents: the paystub's year-to-date base, the W-2's wages, the award letter's current benefit, each anchored to its page. Above them the periods are brought to months, the history is averaged and its trend tested, a non-taxable benefit is grossed up, a business return has its add-backs and deductions applied. At the head is the monthly amount.
Every node carries its inputs, its arithmetic and the guideline section it cites. The result PDF keeps the whole tree, with the page behind each input.
Which rules
The loan file names the program; when it does not, the page asks: DU (Fannie Mae), LP (Freddie Mac) or FHA (HUD). The income is worked out under that agency's rules. An option that switches the product works the income out again under the other agency's.
Income types
| Type | What the rule tests |
|---|---|
| Base wage, salary and hourly | Paystubs and W-2s: the year-to-date figure against the prior year, the pay rate against the periods paid |
| Overtime, bonus and commission | The history the guide requires, the average, the trend, and the two-year against one-year treatment by product and tenure |
| Self-employment | Personal and business returns by entity type, with the add-backs and deductions the guide lists |
| Non-taxable income | The current benefit, its continuance, and the gross-up at the rate the product allows |
Found, not counted
Income a document shows that the loan does not count, because it was not ticked or is not on the application, stands apart under Found, not counted, with what it would add each month. Count it brings it in, and everything after the income is worked out again.
When the documents support a different income from the one the application lists, the Checks step says so, and every option starts by entering the documented income in EASE: DU and LP use the application's figure.
Overlays
A lender overlay is a rule that tightens an agency rule and cites it. Where an overlay applies, the calculation cites both, and the result PDF says which ran. Where nothing on file covers a point, the agency rule runs and the note says so:
No UWM overlay on file for [topic]; showing the agency rule; confirm in EASE or upload the UWM document.
Until a lender's own overlay document is on file, the product terms printed on its public site are encoded as a separate set, labelled with the date they were retrieved.
One calculation
The same calculation serves the Income step and every option. The same facts under the same rule version give the same answer every time, and every result records the rule versions it ran under.