Income Documents:
Paystubs & LOE's

Gosh, there are just so many documents!


Salary/Hourly paid employees will need to provide two recent paystubs (preferably the last 2 your received) as well as an LOE (letter of employment) from your boss or HR department that is dated within the last 30 days (the more current the better).

Self employed folks will need to provide 2 years of tax documents


Here's a guide to your income documents and what your advisor or broker will need for proof of income.

Paystubs

 

Paystubs, the pieces of paper you get from your employer around each pay period that shows your income and deductions for this pay period as well as the year to date. These are vital! They show that you are on track to make the annual income that was entered into the application and/or the income that is shown on your Letter of Employment (as shown in the next section) 

See below samples.

 

NOA Notice of assessment
By Mail

 

If you receive your paystubs/pay statements by mail, please take a picture of the two most recent stubs/statements and send them in to your advisor/broker
  1. Do not black out any information
  2. Make sure the photo is crisp and clear
  3. Make sure all 4 corners of the paper are visible
T1 General
Online Access
 
If you have online access to your pay statements, please download the two most recent paystubs and if they are password protected please ensure you provide your advisor/broker with the password. 

Letter of Employment (LOE)

T4 employer

This letter is VITAL to your application & approval.
 

You can need to request a letter of employment from your employer.

This document will detail your current position, wages, how long you’ve worked for that particular employer and other important details.

 

Letters of employment should include company letterhead and a signature from a manager or human resources representative.

They should also be dated within the last 30 days.

Other Sources of Income

Other sources of income: If you regularly receive payments from Canada Child Benefit (CCB), Pensions (private or CPP), disability (this could be private, like from Canada Life, Veterans, or CPP), rental income, investment income (we'll need T5's for this - see the tax section) spousal or child support or other sources, submit statements for these as well. Earnings from other sources of income may impact how much mortgage you can afford in the eyes of a lender. 

In almost every case for these other types of income, lenders will want to see three months of bank statements showing these funds being deposited into a bank account via bank statements that show your name & account number (this proves ownership of the account)

Sample of the documents lenders want to see are below.

CCB
Canada Child Benefit is a monthly benefit that the lower earner of the house receives if you have kids under the age of 18. 
In order to use this income, lenders will typically want to see that your CCB income is consistent and reliable. This might involve providing recent CCB statements or official documentation from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) confirming the amounts you receive. Lenders will want to ensure that these payments will continue for the foreseeable future (usually for the next 3-5 years) so we can only use CCB for kids that are under the age of 15. We will also need proof of the kids ages via birth certificates or services cards

Child or Spousal Support

Lenders typically require proof of consistent, ongoing payments, such as recent court orders or official agreements. A separation agreement is a must if there are minors involved. This document will need to be signed by all parties and dated. The lenders will also look for a history of at least 3 months of payments via bank statements, and we are required to use the amounts found in the separation agreement. All income received can be used as extra income, but if you pay spousal or child support then we have to use this as a debt, and that will affect your debt to income ratios. 

CPP and OAS (Canada Pension Plan & Old Age Security)

Lenders will require proof that you are receiving CPP & OAS benefits. This can include recent payment statements or tax slips as well as official letters from Service Canada confirming the amount of your monthly or annual CPP/OAS income.

Disability
This can be in the form of Veterans Affairs, CPP, Provincial or even Private - as long as your letter says it is "Permanent" or "Pension". You’ll need to provide documentation that confirms the amount and duration of your LTD benefits. This could include official statements from your insurer or your LTD policy outlining the monthly payments you receive. The lender will want to ensure that this income is reliable and ongoing - it must continue for the length of the mortgage term at the very least, but "permanent" will make things much easier.

T5's - Investment Income
To use investment income for your mortgage we need 2 years history of you receiving the income via T5's and a current statement of the account showing that you still have a balance in the account that is sufficient to keep receiving a similar amount each year. 

t5 investment income cra