Underwriting Notes
Why a 1099 total and a tax return can show different numbers.
A 1099 reports what a business was paid. A tax return reports what is left after deductions. Two different reviews can look at the same self-employment and reach different qualifying-income figures.
What "self-employed" means
The IRS treats a sole proprietor, an independent contractor, a partnership member, or someone running a gig or part-time business, as self-employed. Most sole proprietors and many gig workers report profit or loss on Schedule C, and self-employment tax is figured on Schedule SE.
What a 1099 actually is
A Form 1099-NEC reports nonemployee compensation paid to a contractor. It is a tax information return, not a mortgage decision on its own — some Non-QM programs use the totals as an income source, but not every lender does.
The agency tax-return path
Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide describes signed federal tax returns, generally two years, with documented exceptions, and a written cash-flow analysis for a self-employed borrower, adjusting Schedule C profit for items such as depreciation and non-recurring income. Freddie Mac’s Income Calculator FAQ describes one year of Schedule C data when a business has existed five or more years, and two years when it has existed less than five.
The 1099 path Texana describes
Texana’s 1099 loan page describes reviewing 1 to 2 years of 1099 forms from clients or platforms and applying an expense factor to gross 1099 income to arrive at qualifying income — a different calculation than the Schedule C adjustments used on the tax-return path.