Educational guide
Why Self-Employed Borrowers Are Declined
Educational overview of the common reasons Canadian lenders decline self-employed mortgage applications, and how to prepare.
By Saminder (Sami) Juneja, Mortgage Broker · Published · Updated
Methodology note: this page is an educational guide. It contains no statistics. If we publish findings from anonymized company data, the sample size, date range and method will be stated here.
Common reasons
These are reasons lenders commonly cite. We have not yet published a dataset measuring how often each occurs.
- Qualifying income too low after write-offs
- Less than two years of business history
- Unpaid CRA balances
- Declining income year over year
- Insufficient or unverifiable down payment
How to prepare
Plan your income reporting with your accountant 12–24 months before applying, keep business and personal accounts separate, and keep tax balances current.
Cite this resource
Preferred title and URL for journalists and organizations:
Saminder (Sami) Juneja. “Why Self-Employed Borrowers Are Declined.” The Juneja Group, updated 2026-09-29. https://thejunejagroup.ca/research/why-self-employed-borrowers-are-declined
Educational information only — not financial, legal or tax advice, and not an offer or approval. Rates and lender policies change; all financing is subject to lender approval.