Income documents are the backbone of every mortgage application; here are the three lenders ask for most and where to find them.
When working on your pre-approval or approval, I will ask you for a variety of documents depending on how you earn income. There are many different tax documents, and it can get a bit confusing, so I have broken it down for you!
The three tax documents lenders ask for most
Here are a few commonly requested tax documents when applying for a mortgage:
| T4/T4A: | A T4 is provided to you by your employer, and it shows how much you earned in the calendar year as well as how much income tax was deducted. Your employer will provide this document to you by the end of February for the previous tax year. You can also locate your T4 slips by logging into ‘My Account’ on CRA’s website. T4A is provided to you for CPP and OAS, and Pensions. If you take income from your RIF or LIF you can also receive a T4RIF or a T4LIF |
| T1 General: | The T1 General is your tax return which you, or your tax preparer, submit to CRA so they can process your tax return. You will have a copy of your T1 Generals in your tax package provided to you by your tax preparer. If you prepare and submit your taxes yourself then you will have a copy of your T1 Generals in your tax software. If you cannot find your T1 Generals, please contact your tax preparer and they will provide you with a copy via email. It is important to submit all pages of your tax return to me when requested! |
| Notice of Assessment (NOA): | This is a commonly requested document in the mortgage industry. Once you have filed your taxes you will receive a copy of a Notice of Assessment (NOA) from CRA via mail. This document confirms several things including the amount of income claimed and how much tax you paid in the year and whether or not there is a balance owing. If you have misplaced the NOA that was mailed to you, you can obtain a copy by logging into ‘My Account’ or by contacting your tax preparer. This document may show up as a Notice of Reassessment if your return was changed after it was originally submitted. A Notice of Assessment of Reassessment are acceptable to mortgage lenders! |
Where to find them
All three are available through CRA My Account, or from whoever prepared your taxes. Send every page of the T1 General, not just the summary, and send the Notice of Assessment for each of the last two years. If a return was changed after filing, the Notice of Reassessment is what lenders want.
Talk to us about income documents
Every file is different, and a ten-minute conversation usually answers more than an hour of reading. Book a call with Lisa or Kelly, or phone 289-723-2126, and we will walk through your numbers.