Income question

[disdreamin]

I have to admit to being sort of random when it comes to income reporting too. Sometimes it's mine, sometimes it's household. Sometimes I too have been known to put in a random number (and I also tend to keep it under six figures, as a PP said). The only times I've been asked for income verification were for an auto loan through a credit union and my mortgage and refi's. Other than that...well, and AmEx wanting a 4506-T...I've never been asked to prove income.

[Anonymous]

I include any overtime I know I will do (I know each year I will have 80-100 hours of overtime), and I also "gross up" my income by 25% because I work overseas and do not pay federal or state taxes.  I also include my VA disability, which also gets grossed up because it is not taxed.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So your factoring in guaranteed bonuses or bonuses you may not receive? I prefer to round down. Income is a little over $54,000, I put $54,000. If they say additional income is ok I'll put $63,000 although its over that amount.

idk if your method would be frowned upon but Id rather not take the chance for a couple extra thousand.

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Income can include investment returns (and bonuses) which vary year to year. I think you are ok including non guaranteed bonusus IF you received one in the prior year and can provide documentation on gross income - such as a tax return. Frankly, I am not sure what type of documentation would be acceptable if asked for income verification but I do know other income in addition to wages can be included.

[Tomgon1981]

Thanks guys for the input really helpful I'll just keep doing what I've always done I can't see them getting to upset over a few thousand I could see if some only grossed $15000 yet they reported $50000 on apps and had no way of verifying it

[takeshi74]

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@Tomgon1981 wrote:
I like to round my income up to the nearest $5000 let's say my income is $62,345 and I round my income upto $65,000 is that frowned upon when stating income on new apps or cli

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My suggestion is always "consider the evidence that the creditor will require you to provide if a manual review is required".

[CreditCuriosity]

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@Tomgon1981 wrote:
Thanks guys for the input really helpful I'll just keep doing what I've always done I can't see them getting to upset over a few thousand I could see if some only grossed $15000 yet they reported $50000 on apps and had no way of verifying it

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Rounding up as you did isn't to bad and you should be just fine as others have said.. Now adding 20k or whatever to you income as others have eluded that have done to in the post is a whole different story, but you don't have to worry about that.

[redbeard]

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

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@vayub4 wrote:

I input whatever comes to my mind.... I try not to ever go above 100k...... I've only been asked for income verification once and that was for an auto loan not a credit card application.

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This is troublesome.

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Maybe, maybe not.

I'm self employed.  My income varies significantly and to some degree, for a short while, I can control my income by deciding how much business income I invest back in the business vs how much I take as personal income.

So, while I wouldn't word it as 'I input whatever comes to mind', there is a lot of randomness to my income and I completely get the feeling of this sometimes.

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Spousal income:  If you have a mortgage, its likely your largest bill.  Car loans are frequently joint as well.  They will show up on both credit reports (his and hers) as bills that have to be paid.  Its reasonable to use 'spousal income' to offset some of these bills when the computer does a DTI comparison.  I just use half of my income (self employed, it varies) and all of hers so I can have a relatively consistent number to put into this.

Dan

[CreditCuriosity]

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@redbeard wrote:

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

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@vayub4 wrote:

I input whatever comes to my mind.... I try not to ever go above 100k...... I've only been asked for income verification once and that was for an auto loan not a credit card application.

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This is troublesome.

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Maybe, maybe not.

I'm self employed.  My income varies significantly and to some degree, for a short while, I can control my income by deciding how much business income I invest back in the business vs how much I take as personal income.

So, while I wouldn't word it as 'I input whatever comes to mind', there is a lot of randomness to my income and I completely get the feeling of this sometimes.

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Spousal income:  If you have a mortgage, its likely your largest bill.  Car loans are frequently joint as well.  They will show up on both credit reports (his and hers) as bills that have to be paid.  Its reasonable to use 'spousal income' to offset some of these bills when the computer does a DTI comparison.  I just use half of my income (self employed, it varies) and all of hers so I can have a relatively consistent number to put into this.

Dan

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Spousal is fine, but fibbing as basically was worded isn't fine he/she didn't mention joint/spousal.  I understand that quite a few people are self employed and heck I have a company that is incorporated as well that allows me to do 1099 work if I ever want to, so I understand.  Obviously income varies as well with being self employed.  It really comes down to which lenders require possible 4506-t's being mainly Amex and possibly Citi.  Just be within reason is all and nothing wrong with using Spousal income.  So I don't disagree with your statement.

Regardless people are always going to do what they want and until banks require you to provide proof of income by pay checks or whatever method prior to approval chances are some people will "elaborate" their income.  CU's usually do this, but bank for some reason mainly don't.  

[vayub4]

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@redbeard wrote:

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

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@vayub4 wrote:

I input whatever comes to my mind.... I try not to ever go above 100k...... I've only been asked for income verification once and that was for an auto loan not a credit card application.

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This is troublesome.

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Maybe, maybe not.

I'm self employed.  My income varies significantly and to some degree, for a short while, I can control my income by deciding how much business income I invest back in the business vs how much I take as personal income.

So, while I wouldn't word it as 'I input whatever comes to mind', there is a lot of randomness to my income and I completely get the feeling of this sometimes.

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Spousal income:  If you have a mortgage, its likely your largest bill.  Car loans are frequently joint as well.  They will show up on both credit reports (his and hers) as bills that have to be paid.  Its reasonable to use 'spousal income' to offset some of these bills when the computer does a DTI comparison.  I just use half of my income (self employed, it varies) and all of hers so I can have a relatively consistent number to put into this.

Dan

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+2! I buy phones and resell. Sometimes I buy a phone off of ebay and resell on amazon for $100+ in profit. Same with craigslist and all. When you factor in all the points I can accumulate on a cc, the profit can go as high as $110 per phone. I have never missed a payment in my life! I run my cards high sometimes over their limits and still pay them in full before the month runs out.

I am one of the people who believe income should never be used as a measure to know who will pay or who would not. There are people who earn millions but some how still manage to file bankruptcy after they run up all their cards. I have decent amount of credit but that has never pushed me to go above what I know I can afford.

[redbeard]

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

Regardless people are always going to do what they want and until banks require you to provide proof of income by pay checks or whatever method prior to approval chances are some people will "elaborate" their income.  CU's usually do this, but bank for some reason mainly don't.  

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I think big banks have a way to verify 'online' what your approximate income is.  If what you claim is related to what they find in their system, its not an issue.  If it appears off the wall, they may ask for proof.  

I know Equifax and probably many others provide general household income data.  Where they get it from, I don't know, but it can be accessed while your doing the credit app.  Its probably not exact, but close enough to let the banks know if you are exagerating your income by a little or a lot.  

I'm not sure if banks use these online income verification services that exist during the app process (or CLI) but they do exist.

Dan