How long do you have to work at a part-time job to include that income in your mortgage application?

By Harry Jensen, Trusted Mortgage Expert with 45+ Years of Experience

Edited by Michael Jensen, Mortgage and Finance Guru

Updated October 20, 2020

Most lenders require that you have at least a one year history of working at a part-time job to include income from the job when you apply for a mortgage. In some cases, you are required to have a two year employment history for a part-time job, depending on the type of job, income stability and other factors.

The ability to include income from a part-time job in your loan application is important because this may help you qualify for a higher mortgage amount. In short, the higher your monthly gross income, the higher the mortgage you can afford.

Use ourMORTGAGE QUALIFICATION CALCULATORto determine the loan you can afford with income from a part-time job

The part-time job income guideline is determined by Fannie Mae, the organization that sets mortgage qualification policies followed by almost all lenders. I have included the specific requirement below that addresses part-time employment for applicants.

"Verification of a minimum history of two years of uninterrupted secondary employment income is recommended. However, income that has been received for a shorter period of time (no less than 12 months) may be considered as acceptable income, as long as there are positive factors to reasonably offset the shorter income history."

As you can see, two years of work history is actually preferred but lenders can include income from part-time work with at least a one year work history as long as "positive factors" are involved. Examples of positive factors include a good-to-excellent credit score, higher down payment, significant financial resources and stable income from both your full-time and part-time employment.

Please note that when you apply for the mortgage you are required to provide your most recent W-2 and paystub for the part-time job to confirm your current employment and income level. If the lender requires a two year job history you must provide W-2s for the past two years instead of one.

You are also usually required to provide your tax returns for the past two years to comply with general mortgage requirements. Lenders are also typically required to verbally verify your job by calling your employer.

In some cases it is also helpful to provide the lender a letter from your part-time employer stating that your job is permanent as opposed to temporary. The letter should also outline how often you are paid, your income level and type of compensation -- hourly wage, salary, commission or bonus.

Because the mortgage guideline for part-time job income involves a certain amount of discretion -- either a one or two year work history requirement -- we recommend that you contact multiple lenders in the table below to understand the requirement that applies to you. Comparing loan terms from multiple lenders is also the best way to save money on your mortgage.

Sources

"B3-3.1-05, Secondary Employment Income (Second Job and Multiple Jobs) and Seasonal Income."  Selling Guide: Fannie Mae Single Family.  Fannie Mae, August 7 2019.  Web.