Some genuinely successful self-employed borrowers cannot produce two clean years of NOA or T1 income that reflects their real earning capacity — often precisely because good tax planning has legitimately minimized what shows up personally. Insured stated-income programs let a lender qualify a declared income figure, backed by a mortgage default insurer, rather than relying solely on line 15000.
CMHC discontinued its own "self-employed without third-party income validation" product for new applications in 2014, after it accounted for a small share of its insured business. CMHC's current self-employed offering still requires income validation — the document set from Module 02, combined with the 15% gross-up or itemized add-back treatment from Modules 04 and 05 — rather than a pure stated-income model.
Aimed at self-employed borrowers with at least two years in business who can't fully document income through traditional means but have managed credit responsibly. Stated annual income and business revenue must be reasonable for the industry, size and length of operation; commission-based income is excluded; and credit-score minimums step up at higher loan-to-value (as published, roughly 600 minimum above 80% LTV, 680 recommended for at least one applicant at or under 80% LTV), with at least 5% of the down payment required from the borrower's own resources.
A similar target borrower profile — minimum two years self-employed, commission income excluded — with a minimum 10% down payment, at least 5% of which must come from the borrower's own resources, and income assessed on a documented "reasonability" basis against the nature and history of the business rather than a fixed formula.
These programs trade paperwork for cost and constraint: expect a higher insurance premium, tighter credit and down-payment requirements, and property value ceilings compared with a fully-documented A-lender file. Every specific figure in this module is a published snapshot, not a permanent rule — reconfirm current program terms with the insurer or lender before quoting a client, since these programs are reviewed and updated over time.
A borrower wants to use CMHC's 'self-employed without third-party income validation' product, which they read about online. What should a broker tell them?
Outdated online information about mortgage programs is common, and this is a real example — CMHC's no-validation product was discontinued for new applications back in 2014. The correct, useful response redirects the client to what actually exists today: CMHC's current validated self-employed program, and the genuinely comparable stated-income-style programs from Sagen and Canada Guaranty. Saying no such programs have ever existed, or that they're illegal, are both flatly wrong and would leave the client without a real path forward.
The intro and first module are free to read. Add your name and email once and the rest of this course opens — along with every other course on the site. No card, no trial.
Already unlocked on another device?
