Bank Statement HELOC — Use Your Equity Without Tax Returns

Your Answer Right Here

Can You Get a HELOC Without Tax Returns?

Yes. A bank statement HELOC looks at the money that actually lands in your account instead of the net income on your tax return. You give us 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements, and the deposits are what get you approved. The floor is a 680 credit score, and at 680 the line can reach 70% of your home’s value with your first mortgage counted in, or 65% on lines between $350,000 and $500,000. Lines start at $75,000.

This is the line for business owners whose write-offs do their job a little too well. Your accountant shrinks your taxable income every April, and a bank reading that return sees someone who earns far less than you do. Statements show what the business really brings in.

We place two bank statement programs. Everything on this page describes the main one, except the box marked as the faster route further down, which runs on its own rules.

What You Can Borrow

Bank Statement HELOC Limits by Credit Score and Line Size

For a single-family home or PUD you live in. The percentages are combined loan-to-value (CLTV): your first mortgage plus the new line, divided by the appraised value.

Debt-to-income can run to 49% on the first two columns and 45% on the $850,000 column, counting your first mortgage payment. Two- to four-unit homes and warrantable condos have their own rows on the grid, mostly lower. Guidelines shown are current as of November 2026 and subject to change.

Here’s how that plays out on one house. Say it appraises at $800,000 and you owe $300,000 on the first mortgage. With a 700 score, 80% CLTV lets the two loans add up to $640,000, so the line comes out around $340,000, which fits under the $350,000 column. At 680 the cap is 70%, the combined total is $560,000, and the line drops to about $260,000. The 20-point gap is worth $80,000 of borrowing on that house, so if your score is sitting near 700, ask us about it before you apply.

Your Income

How Your Deposits Turn Into Qualifying Income

Underwriting adds up the deposits over the statement period and works out a monthly figure. Personal statements and business statements both work. Business accounts get an expense factor taken off the deposits, since some of that money goes back out to run the company, and a letter from your tax preparer can bring that deduction down.

Your debt-to-income on a bank statement HELOC can go to 49%, and the payment on your first mortgage is part of that number. Lines on the $850,000 row are held to 45%.

12 Months or 24 Months?

Up to $500,000, either one works and the score decides the CLTV. The difference shows up on the biggest lines. To go past $500,000 with a 700 score, you need 24 months of statements. With 12 months, that row asks for 720. If last year was your best year, 12 months may give you the higher average, so we’ll run both before picking.

No Statements to Give? Two Other Routes

The same program accepts a profit-and-loss statement prepared by a licensed tax preparer, along with their letter. Salaried borrowers can use a written verification of employment from the employer in place of W-2s and pay stubs. Both run on their own grid, which tops out a step below the bank-statement grid, and the $850,000 row is for bank statements only.