The IRS 4506 is an IRS form used to request a copy of your tax transcripts from the IRS. Mortgage lenders now require a borrower to sign a 4506 to get a loan. It is an anti-fraud measure and data gathering step. And it can cause problems…
What’s the problem?
The problem is that a 4506 can take a long time for the IRS to process. Some lenders do not request the 4506 until a bank has issued a loan approval, usually a “conditional loan approval”. They see no reason to process a 4506 and snoop into people tax returns if the loan is not approved, so they have to wait. A conditional loan approval is one where the lender considers the loan approved, but there are still “conditions” the borrower must meet before settlement. One of the standard conditions is getting a 4506 done through the IRS. And this, as you can imagine with the U.S. government, can at times cause delays. If you get a loan approval 2 weeks prior to settlement, then there is plenty of time to get the 4506 process done. If you get loan approval done 1-2 days prior to your anticipated settlement date, don’t call the movers. Even when the 4506 is ordered early in the transaction, before loan approval, the IRS can delay things.
What does this form do?
Any mortgage lender that works through FNMA, FHLMC, FHA or VA, and even the portfolio lenders who follow their own rules, all have to have a 4506 processed; it’s mandatory. So they are asking mortgage applicants to sign the IRS Form 4506, which is technically called a “Request for Copy or Transcript of Tax Form” as part of the mortgage application process. Once signed, you are giving them permission to retrieve copies of your tax returns, as far back as 2 years usually.
It is an antifraud measure because it double checks the tax documents that a mortgage applicant provides during the process, and ensure the documents from the IRS match what is on the documents provided by the borrower.
It is a data gathering tool because on loans for people who are salaried, there is only a requirement to submit copies of W2’s, not tax returns. So the underwriter processes the 4506 request to see if there is any information on the tax returns that causes a question or problem in the loan application, since this data would not be found in a W2 and would not be found on the loan application if the mortgage applicant withholds it or simply forgets to report it.
Have a side business that shows a loss every year?
Look out, that affects your debt ratios.
Own other properties you did not disclose because they are owned free & clear and you feel it is nobody’s business?
Look out, it’s the underwriter’s business, and they’ll find out. And they’ll count any taxes, insurance and possibly other expenses against your debt ratios.
Have unreimbursed business expenses on a salaried job that you claim as a tax write off?
They’ll be discovered and will count against you as a debt.
Have a second home and claim not to derive any rental income from it? And that the home is solely a 2nd home for your personal enjoyment?
The 4506 process will pull the tax returns to show if you do have income because the home is really a rental property!
There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!
I also talk about how there is nowhere to hide since underwriters know how to use Google. It’s especially entertaining. The bottom line is, although people still seem to try, it pays to tell all the truth about your financial picture when applying for a loan, it will get found out anyway!
Get a rate quote first. Then we can start talking about the application process, documentation, and the loan you might qualify for.
Brian Martucci is a loan officer for Capital Bank Home Loans, a division of Capital Bank, N.A. He has been in the mortgage industry since 1986 and has served in a number of roles, including loan processor, loan officer, mortgage broker, branch manager, and vice president. Brian Martucci – NMLS# 185421. His opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Capital Bank Home Loans or Capital Bank. Capital Bank, N.A.- NMLS# 401599. Click here for the Capital Bank, N.A. “Privacy Policy”.
I applied for a mortgage and they are requesting me to sign 4506…I have the last 2 years tax returns but have not filed them yet with IRS for 2011 and 2010…I had a problem someone was supposed to file them for me but did not so when they check with IRs there will be no tax returns from me for 2010 and 2011…what do I need to do to reslove this and what if I owe the IRs money which I do – will the mortgage fail because they see that as an added debt?
If you have not filed tax returns the loan would be rejected. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac mandate that a 4506 be retrieved, if you have not filed taxes, they can’t pull the 4506. If you scramble and get them filed ASAP, you would have to pay any amounts due fully, and then the loan would be approvable.
What if you already obtained pr-approval with a made up previous year return as the real return shows a business loss. But, this years income is substantial enough to support the loan. Will the loan uttimately be denied for providing false information? I showed a 98,000.00 loss in my 2011 return and did not want to show that as I am now an employee to avoid any further loss with my LLC.
Need the loan
I do not know if they will deny the loan. I think what we would do is simply look at the loan based on accurate documents, and make a loan approval or a loan rejection based on the merits of the documents and the overall loan application. I would just be straight with everybody at your current lender and see what they will do. Let me know what happens, good luck.
Hi Brian, This 4506 thing is a massive bummer, and I can’t believe it doesn’t work better than it does esp. during filing season. I filed on paper on apr 15, and my lender didn’t mention that I’ll need a transcript, so I went and got in contract and only now am finding out that they must be able to get the darn transcript before they can close. My question is, would you release a contingency if the only thing missing was “4506”? The problem, it seems to me, is that nobody really knows for sure if the IRS will finish processing the return before close. My contingency is 5/24, close is 6/6. 8 weeks from 4/15 is 6/10. So I’m worried that if the IRS takes a full 8 weeks, I’ll wind up losing my earnest money deposit.
I agree, it really is a slow and inefficient system. However, the IRS will not take weeks and weeks to process it. I usually see them take somewhere between four and five business days. So worst-case if it took a couple of weeks, that would be really delayed, but you should still make it within your time frames. I’m guessing you’re probably okay, but I would certainly task the lender with knowing the exact date that the order went out for the 4506 request, how many days it has been since, and if they need to follow up and send in a second request.
I would also ask them if they will consider underwriting the loan without the 4506, I know we will in case of an emergency. But no lender will waive this requirement. And I would never release my financing contingency until I had full loan approval that included everything.
But I think it will be okay. Let me know what happens, and good luck.
Hi Brian,
I’m trying to refinance and have locked in a great rate. For 2012 I filed for an extension on personal taxes but when the lender pulled the transcript from the IRS it had a false tax return filed under my SSN which said I made 10K. So I reported the fraud to the IRS and am filing the actual return for 2012 ASAP but looks like the lender will accept nothing less than a clean transcript from the IRS. So I have to wait until the return is processed. Is there anything I can do?
Hello David, sorry to hear about this fraud that is causing you troubles in your refinance. I am afraid any other lender would insist on a clean transcript as well, so you may as well stay the course with the current lender. You should ask the current lender, in case it ends up taking a longer than anticipated time for the IRS to fix this so that your lender can pull a clean transcript, what the cost/policy is to extend the rate lock-in in case you need more time. With rates having gone up a lot in the last few weeks, you do not want to lose your lock-in. Good luck, and let me know if you have any other qustions.
Hi, I have a question about the 4506 form, I receive a 1099 ($189,000 for 2012hand when my taxes are prepared every single expense is deducted which leaves me with a low AGI ($37,000)but we are trying to purchase a home now, so I had another 1040 created to make the AGI better. I then found out I had to sign the disclosure for the transcript release. I was honest with my lender and she says she thinks it will e fine, please give me your opinion.
This is a big no-no, it is called fraud. Your lender is advising you poorly, and going to potentially get you in trouble. It is foolish to take this path, I would highly advise you do not do this. Your lender is worried more about earning a commission rather than properly advising you.
I got preapproved for an FHA loan and had to submit last two years of W2s and federal tax returns. I noticed I over estimated my income by $200 on my tax return compared to what my w2 said. When I was using the 10 key on my computer I entered in the incorrect figure. Will this be something that will hurt with the application process or is the underwriter looking to verify income from what my w2 says and what was reported with the federal government for debt to income ratio purposes. Thanks for your input.
Hello Ryan. Thank you for the inquiry. This should not be a problem. I am sure that you will have to write an explanation letter to explain this to the underwriter, because they will notice the discrepancy. You may even have to have your accountant write an explanation letter as well if you use one. I think the most extreme thing that they would ask you to do is to file a corrected tax return to correct for the $200 error. However, since you overestimated your income and did not underestimate it, I do not think that they would do that. So this should not present a problem or an obstacle in getting your loan.
I was suppose to close on a home in November, but due to my 2011 and 2012 taxes had not been filed I got conditionally approved on the loan. I filed my taxes at the Tax Center for 2011 and 2012 on the same day. I received my 2012 transcript in less than a week (first week in Dec, but I have not received my 2011 transcript for 2011 and it’s been 6 weeks and when I call, I get different answers on how long it will take. I know I owe on the 2011 tax but will I not get a transcript or account transcript until I pay the back taxes. Will IRS not process the taxes until I pay. Im wondering how can I pay if you have not processed what I e-filed?
This is an emergency cause I need it to get the approval for my house loan and my extension run out but the builder is trying to not sell my home. Can you give me any help on how to expedite this process with IRS?
I plan to visit the Taxpayer Advocate Office tomorrow. No one ever told me to pay the back taxes first even when I spoke to IRS, I read it on a website.
The best advice I would have is also to go to the Taxpayer Advocate Office. I hope it works, good luck!
I am going through the mortgage process with my husband, and found out my 2011 tax return was never processed or filed by the IRS. I quickly resent it in and we are six weeks from closing and the IRS system shows it as processing. I also sent in a form to set up a payment schedule since I owe. My income from 2011 is half of what it is now. My concern is that it won’t be completed in time for closing to provide a tax transcript. Will a lender close if they have my husbands 2011 transcript, our joint 2012 transcript and our filed return for 2013? Should I loop on my lender or hope the IRS gets it completed over the next few weeks so I can get my transcript?
Hello Sarah, thank you for the inquiry. I believe that you will be okay. It sounds like you have enough time that the IRS should be able to process all this. Also, I believe that there is a way that you can go straight to a local IRS office and ask them to manually process the 4506 form. Talk to your lender about that if it appears in the next couple of weeks that the IRS is not going to process things on time. One way or the other, I think that your lender should be able to work things out. Good luck.
We are closing on our loan on April 11. We have not yet filed for 2013. We submitted our 2013 W-2ss. Can the lender make us file before we close?
You would have to talk to your lender, but I think if you are salaried that you should be fine. If you were self-employed they may indeed make you file the returns, but if you are salaried I do not think that you would need to file yet. Hope this helps
My husband was a 1099 consultant for part of the year, and we told our lender this before we ever applied and they haven’t raised it as an issue. I don’t want to stir the pot unnessesarily. We aren’t hiding anythign but I’m concerned it would delay our closing if we brought it up now. Thoughts?
I think I would go ahead and be proactive and bring it up to the lender, and ask them if you are going to have to quickly file. Better to know now than a couple days before settlement 🙂 You may be okay though, but to be certain I would go ahead and bring this up with them. Good luck.
I have a closing date set in 9 days. The lender submitted the 4506 request to the IRS and the IRS would not release 2014 or 2013 because I had filled a Identity Theft Affidavit on my 2013 taxes. After I called the IRS they said they would send me by mail my 2012 & 2013 returns but they couldn’t send me my 2014 because they were still being processed because of the affidavit. They are sending me and my wife’s 2014 verified W2 information with IRS letter head. Do you think this will work for an FHA loan??
That would really be something to ask your lender, and hope that they will make an exception and except what you’re getting on IRS letterhead. You can also try the below link, and see if you can pull up your tax transcripts that way:
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript
How are you ? Im need of some information.. If they pull your transcripts with the 4506 t . Will they see the payment plan with IRS .. If yes will that affect it .. I owe 25,000.00 currently at 500 a month . .. PLEASE AND THANK AGAIN IF ANY CAN HELP
I am honestly not sure, I have never had that situation, so I can’t speak to it. You should ask your current lender and just share it with your loan officer and see what they say.
in my mortgage application i furnished my 2 latest years of filed tax returns, 2012 and 2013. 2014 has not been filed, an extension of time has been filed. I signed the transcript request form for the lender. I noticed the form is requesting tax returns from 2012, 2013, and 2014. Since 2014 has not been filed, will this cause a problem for the loan processing? Will partial info from 2014 such as W2s be provided even though the full return has not been filed?
Hello Kent, you would really need to ask your current lender this question. It depends on the type of loan you’re doing, and different lenders have different policies. Good luck.
Hi. I turned in W2s to match up with the transcript and I believe I may have left a small W2 off my file. I did it at home and there was quite a few w2s as jobs were switched pretty frequently that year. What will happen when my lender sees an extra w2 but doesn’t see it on that year filed.
I don’t know that this is a big deal at all, but I would let your lender know and ask them if you need to do anything to explain it. It really is not a big problem.
Brian: I am applying for an FHA loan. I have been with my current company for 2 years now it will be 3 in March 2016. My 2013 tax return shows that I grossed 32k between 2 jobs. My new job I grossed over 61k with $29,000 in commissions. My W-2 states that I had a (-29,000) loss on a start up business. Can I still get approved for a 200,000 loan showing that one time loss? If not what should I do?
You would have to prove that it was a one time loss, was that from a business that you used to run on the side? And is your current position salary plus commissions? Your credit score, debt ratios and cash reserves will also come into play. There are a lot of questions to ask. You would have to go through the pre-qualification process to really find things out. If you are working with a lender currently, ask them to run your loan through the pre-qualification process and possibly even run it by an underwriter to get things firmed up. If you still have not chosen a lender feel free to contact me directly and we can go through the pre-qualification process to determine exact answers.
Please someone advise!! I received my FHA preapproval, and I’m now under contract with a tentative closing date of August 15th. I’m a nurse and I have been at my FT position almost 3 years and my PT position almost 4. I provided all my w-2 for the last two years and faxed him 2014 tax return. I made 50k and I’m putting down 30k on a 141k home. Yesterday I signed the actual application with estimated numbers and it also had the tax release; for 2014/2013/2012, I realized I never actually filed my 2013 after I had filed an extension. My taxes have always been very basic just my 2 jobs w2 and only deduction was my son for the dependent credit. I read on some sites they only need my w2 b/c it’s not a 1099, but I’m scared if I paper file I’ll be screwed and loose the house! I just paid 500 for the inspection and 475 for the FHA appraisal. Am I going to loose this house and my 2k deposit, I’ve cried all night and I’m embarrassed to even call my loan officer. Please advise! In New York!
Jennifer, don’t be embarrassed. Just go ahead and call your loan officer and explain what has happened and they will guide you. You still have almost a month until closing and I think you’ll find a solution. But you need to get those 2013 taxes filed, you just need to speak to your loan officer to ask them what the best way to do all of this is. It should work out, don’t worry, just be honest.
We closed on our loan and as part of the documents we were asked to sign the 4506T. This was also signed with our loan application. The original one requested the years 2012 and 2013. The one signed at closing also asked for the year 2014. The year 2014 is still on an extension. Why would the lender require the tax transcripts to be pulled again after the closing has already taken place?
I’m not sure why the lender would have requested the 2014 transcripts since they are on extension. If the loan was a jumbo loan they would need the 2014 transcripts. But if your loan is a conforming loan size, they should be satisfied with what it sounds like they already have. Ask them to clarify.
I am currently under contract. I had unreimbursed business expenses for 2012-2014 due to military. I provided transcripts but that wasn’t enough. The lender wanted actual tax return, so that they could view the schedule a. I had all my tax return copies accept 2013. I had to request a 4506. I am currently on standby with a closing date of November 30. I submitted my 4506 on October 25. Do you think I will receive the tax return in time? Is there anyway to get the copies faster. Is there anyway to get the loan approve without the 2013 schedule a? I have been living in a hotel for 3 months trying to close on a home. My son is living with my parents until the process is completed. It is all becoming a bit overwhelming.
Hello Lala, it’s hard to say how long the tax returns will take. Sometimes they come back quickly in less than a week, and sometimes it could take several weeks at least. That’s going to be the luck of the draw. Did you happen to file your tax returns with an accountant? You could ask them for a copy. Or do you software like TurboTax? You can go online access a copy if you use a service like that. That’s about all I can think of. Good luck.
Hi – I am worried after reading these posts. I am trying to purchase a home with a very small loan (30k), it is an FHA loan. I have a good job making 85k a year and low debt to income ratio, but low credit score. I just filed my 2013 and 2014 taxes approximately 1 1/2 weeks ago, and will owe on both. I have an existing installment agreement, and have no doubt that I will be able to make arrangements to include these two years, and it will not significantly increase my debt to income ratio. We are trying to close by December 15, but am worried about the time frame. Is there any way since I have worked at the same company for almost 5 years and my W-2 income is consistent, that the lender will allow me to close without the IRS transcripts? Or, can I provide earlier years to satisfy the requirements? Please help, we will be devastated if we cannot get this loan. Thanks.
As an additional note to my previous post, we have no additional schedules, just the 1040, as we do not have any deductions.
Hello Linda. Thank you for the inquiry. I would ask your current lender if they can do a “W-2 only” tax transcript request. I have done this in the past where if there’s no other reason to see your tax returns and all we are using to qualify you is W-2 income, we may not need to see the entire tax transcript. Then the tax transcript request we ask for is only to verify W-2 income, and we can circumvent needing the entire tax transcripts. But then your lender needs to make sure that nothing else is documented in the file related to tax returns or your delinquent tax filing. This may be a possible solution, ask them about it. Good luck.
Underwriters requirement is that I show proof that I have not filed a tax return. Waited 20 days for a 4506-t from the irs and they can’t give me one. Any suggestions?
If you need a 4506 I have had some clients have luck with going to the closest IRS office and trying to procure one in person.
Hello Brian,
I’m self-employed, and have not yet made quarterly estimated tax payments this year (2015) in order to maximize my available cash for a home purchase (and my income is steadily increasing, so I expect to be able to easily pay it all when I file my taxes, as well as have larger deductions due to the home purchase).
I realized that my lender’s Form 4506 includes a transcript request, which I assume will reveal that I haven’t made estimated tax payments for 2015 (but my 2014 taxes were timely paid and I technically have no outstanding debts to the IRS).
Could the unpaid quarterly estimated taxes for 2015 become an issue? I believe I could make the estimated tax payments now and still have enough reserves though.
Thanks.
You’ll be OK john. The tax years they get transcripts on are the last two years, so they’ll be looking at 2013 and 2014, not 2015. Transcripts are for filed tax returns only. Good luck.
Hello! Applying for a mortgage and realized that when I filed the last two years taxes (2014 & 2015)I entered the gross wages for 2013. I made more each of the two years after 2013. What can I do? Thank you!
Hello Mike. That sounds problematic, you need to file an amended return ASAP to fix it. But that may slow down your lender’s ability to pull the 4506 in time for the loan closing. Talk to your lender about it though, they may have a different response.
I forgot to put one of my husbands w2s on the return totaling almost 16000 and now we are applying for an fha loan will this be a problem once the see the w2s and completed tax returns don’t add up
That will be a problem as all of the W-2s must total the same amount of income as seen on the tax return. You’ll have to file a corrected tax return quickly.
Thank you Brian. I was afraid of that I think I may end up having to pay back some money. What if I was just not to turn in the w2 with the requested documents. I do have other income for the year and w2s
I would talk to your loan officer about that one, since it is them that you are applying for the loan through. I would also talk to your accountant and explain everything fully, if you use one, and get their input as well.
We are currently in the process of buying a home. The loan officer previously asked us for 2013,2014 and 2015 tax returns. We did not have the 2014 tax return and provided them the transcript from the IRS instead. They are now requesting the actual 2014 tax return. (Which says it can take 75 days to get) We are in a 10 day option period that’s nearing an end and if we do not make closing we are charged 100/day until we close. Do they really need both?
Are you self-employed or commissioned or have rental property? There are several reasons why tax returns might be mandatory. If you are salaried and there is no other income then there really is no reason to mandate the tax returns. Talk to your loan officer and see if the tax returns are mandatory, but it is situational, so you will need to talk to your mortgage company for explanations and details. Good luck.
In preparation for buying a home I knew I needed to file my 2013 and 2014 taxes. These were prepared in Feb, but weren’t mailed until March 14th. The contract was also signed on 3/14 and I’m concerned the transcripts won’t be available in time for 4/27 closing. My income is W-2 w/ and more than sufficient and I have no debt. Will timing be an issue here and should I bring this up with the lender, or will it just create concern? 2013 shows owing a few hundred dollars and 2014 a refund of a few hundred dollars. I appreciate any advice.
I would definitely bring it up to your lender. I promise they’re going to figure it out anyway. My guess is that it could be an issue and cause a delay. How fast the IRS processes things is variable. First they have to process your returns, then pulling a transcript which is a separate process takes 3-5 business days. When you talk to your loan officer asked them if you’d be eligible for a “W-2 only” transcript. That may help a bit. Good luck.
Thanks. I tried talking to a tax advocate, but they were quick to tell me they’re only processing 2015 and my only option is to wait 4-6 weeks. I’ll talk to my lender, but any tips on getting an advocate to actually advocate?
That is odd. I could swear that in the last couple months I had someone file 2013 and 2014 taxes, and we got everything done within 30 days. I would call back and see if you get a different answer from someone else. That’s my best guess, sorry there’s not a more direct path.
I’m applying for a VA loan and they want your tax transcripts. I did my 2013 tax return using Turbo Tax and mistyped an income by $5000. I tried to amend with Turbo Tax but was unsuccessful. I figured it would catch up to me with the IRS and forgot about it until this loan process. Will it affect getting the loan and what would be the remedy?
This may affect your loan process. Have a candid conversation with your loan officer and see what they say. The rules may be different lender to lender, and you really need to speak to them about it.
Hello
I applied for a mortgage, they requested 2015 and 2014 returns. I am w2 earner only. I e-filed my 2015 return and the transcript is available, however I filed my 2014 late with payment to IRS. They have cashed my check. Our anticipated closing is 4/29, is there anything I can do? Will this get processed by 04/29. Return was mailed two weeks ago and they did cash my check last week.
You should ask your current lender if they can get “W2 only” transcripts. They should not need your tax returns unless you are self-employed, have rental property, earn commissions or something else of that nature. Otherwise, I think expecting the IRS to process a tax return, and then allow enough time for them to pull a full tax transcript, may not happen.
Hello,
I am going to apply for a Heloc interest only loan. I do have some tax liability that I have been paying down and there is no lien but I’m afraid if I disclose it I will get turned down. Does what I still owe show up on the 4506 form?
Thanks
I’m not sure how that works on an equity line as we do not do those types of loans. I would ask your lender if this is going to be an issue, they’ll know best.
Hi,
I am approved for an FHA mortgage loan, but the lender is waiting for the 4506-T from the IRS in order to close. It has already been 5-6 business days and we still don’t have it and we are supposed to close this week. I electronically filed my taxes on 4/18/16, but we set up a payment plan to pay the balance due. The IRS website indicates that if you file electronically with a balance due, the transcript may not be available until the end of May! Anything I can do to speed this up? Also, will the payment plan affect the closing of the loan? Will they make me pay the balance due before we can close? Thanks!
Hello Jenny, the only thing that I would suggest that may speed things up is if you contact the IRS and get a “taxpayer Advocate”. Sometimes a taxpayer advocate can help expedite things. Good luck.
Thanks, Brian. Do you think that setting up an IRS payment plan will affect the closing of the loan? Do you think they will make me pay the balance due to the IRS before we can close? Thanks!
I really don’t know, as I have never been faced with that scenario myself. But the taxpayer advocate should be able to comment in detail. Good luck.
HI,
My wife and I are self employed . We went into a lease purchase with 15K in ernest funds two years ago. We had to wait until we could show two full years of tax returns which was Jan of this year. We applied 99% of the income to my wife as she had the better credit score of 649. Income of 132000 only debt is credit cards at 8K and car loan at 30K . our taxes were filed married jointly and now the broker is stating that my past Tax debt will show up on the 4506T and the loan will be denied out right. Anyway around this? We need to close by June 30th or we stand to lose the 15K . If we amend the returns to file separate is this Fraud? I don’t want my previous negligence be the cause of us losing this home.
Hello Michael. Thank you for the inquiry. If you have applied most of the income to your wife because she has the better credit score, why don’t you talk to your lender about taking you off of the loan application entirely, pulling a new credit report in just your wife’s name, and doing the loan in her name alone but with both of you on title. Then your tax debt should not be an issue since you’re not on the loan application. I hope that works. Good luck.
Hi Brian ,
Thank you for the reply . I am not on the loan at all . We are trying to get my wife’s name to cover home . I get cars and any business loans type of thing . I won’t be listed on the title . The only thing that even has my name on it is the joint returns for 2014 and 2015 when we started the business . All other years I filed married filing separately as I was the sole provider and contracted in IT .
If you are not on the loan I don’t see how they can have a concern about your tax obligations. That seems silly. I would talk to some other lenders in your area and see if someone else can give you a different opinion, and maybe you can have the loan assigned to another lender, if your current lender doesn’t decide they can do it.
I have been approved for mortgage loan and signed 4606 form. The problem is, I amended my lax return and I understand it can take up to 18 weeks or longer to process through the IRS. Honestly, I didn’t even give the original filed 1040 to my lender because it was incorrect. I assumed all he needed was my corrected form with accurate information and my W2’s and 1099.
I’m working on a tight closing schedule (divorce situation). How much of a problem is this? The IRS should have record of my amended return even though they have not processed it,correct? Or does the entire processing have to happen first?
Thanks!
First, I would talk to your lender and get their take on this. Different lenders will interpret the guidelines in different ways.
Having said that, I don’t think it will take anything like 18 months to process your amended tax return. If it starts to drag on I would suggest contacting the IRS and getting assigned a “tax payer advocate”. I have had some clients do this and have seen these advocates have good success in expediting things if needed.
Thanks for the advice! IRS told me up to 18 weeks on amended returns ( seems drawn out) I was just afraid it wouldn’t show in their system yet and my incorrect 1040 would be the only thing sent in transcript ( which would look really bad) don’t need anything else to go wrong. This process has been a nightmare anyway. ( student loans and guidelines for them with mortgage apps) I’m sure you’re familiar! Thanks again
Hi Brian-
My husband and I are set to close on a home on 07/25/2016 and it was just brought to our attention that he forgot to add one of his employers to his returns in 2014. He filed on his own and we’re not sure if this will be a problem. It is a difference of about $5,000, but he did claim the income from the other employer and his scholarships, so that matches up. Will this be an issue?
That actually should not be an issue at all. If you’re going to close on July 25 I imagine you have loan approval. If you have loan approval that means they’ve already pulled your tax transcripts. I’m guessing you’re OK. You may want to bring it up to your loan officer but I think they will say the same thing, and tell you not to worry about it.
We are set to close on 8/5 and yesterday my LO said we owe for 2015 and we still owe for 2011, 2012, 2013 what can be done at this point if anything. Can we have all tax years combined and make monthly payments?
I think you would have to talk to your lender’s underwriter to see if they would approve you making payments, as that would impact your debt ratios to service that debt. Some lenders may make you pay off all the back taxes in their entirety. Talk to your lender and see what they say, because every lender will probably treat it differently.
Hello Brian. I am to close on a house assuming I get a loan. The closing date is september 2. I am a 1099 employee and a w-2. The lender says my w-2 cannot be used b/c I have not been with the company for 2 years. I e-file my 2015 tax return last week. I also mailed in my 2014 last week as well. I am worried that the 2014 will not be processed in time. I do not owe as I made payments for 2014 when my income was only a 1099. Do you have any advice? Should I consider this deal as one that is not going to work? How long does it normally take to process the 2014? What happens with the 4506 I had to sign? I am my own worst enemy I think.
That is not necessarily accurate, you can use W-2 income to qualify for a new mortgage if you have been on the job for as little as 30 days, and if the job is a full-time position. If you get W-2 income that is based on hourly or commissions or something variable of that nature, then yes, it may not be allowable to use. If you’re worried about the IRS processing your tax returns quickly enough to allow your lender to pull the tax transcripts, I would contact the IRS and get what they call a “taxpayer advocate” and get them to try and expedite things for you. Good luck.
We’re buying a home and are in escrow, supposed to close on 9/9/16. The underwriter informed us there was an error on our taxes for 2015. We filed ourselves using turbo tax. This was the first year I had to file a schedule c as I started to do some work as a contractor and have a 1099. We mistakenly filed my w2 salary as a schedule c also, only my husbands w2 was reported as a w2. We had an accountant assist us in completing the 1040x to correct it. I took it to the IRS and had it stamped on 8/3/16. I wrote a letter of explanation explaining that it was a simple error of entering the income in the wrong line. We do not owe anything when filing the 1040x, it all works out the same. I submitted the stamped 1040x along with my w2 and 1099 and a letter of explanation explaining the error. I’m getting very worried about this. I called and asked for a tax advocate once my 1040x showed up online as being received. I was told the tax advocate may not be able to assist in having it completed in our time frame, but once the advocate has been assigned they can instruct me further. I was told that in some cases the lender will be able to approve the loan and get the transcript after closing. I did not use the income from the 1099 job for qualification. What are your impressions of our odds here? Side note: never filing taxes ourselves again!
Hello Amanda. I would speak to your loan officer directly and have them talk to the underwriter in advance of submitting the loan for final approval. My guess is this is a non-issue since you do not owe any taxes and you’re simply making a correction. But you really need to get a determination from the underwriter as early as possible. Good luck.
We have been pre-approved for an fha loan. We were told to go find a house and everything was good and we did. My husband had two salaried jobs for 2014 and 2015. We supplied the w2’s to those, only thing is we were starting a business on the side but ended up failing with a 27,000 loss and was claimed on his taxes but we don’t have a w2 for this bc it never really got off the ground. Will this affect our chances of getting the loan now?
Yes, this could have an impact on your loan approval. I would contact your lender and ask them if you can do what is called a “W-2 only” transcript. If you’re not currently self-employed, and not counting any self-employed income to qualify, you don’t necessarily need full tax transcripts. And getting the W-2 only transcripts might avoid the discussion of the business loss. I would have this conversation quickly with your loan officer and see what their counsel is. Good luck.
Hi someone has used my information for the past 3 years and I finally got it under control i hope but my transcript does not match because of them I would have to mail in my tax return to file and I’m self employed what do I do I’m preapproved for a fha and they are requesting transcripts
Hello Tessa. I would contact the IRS and ask if they can assign you a “taxpayer advocate”. This is a person that might be able to expedite things, and make sure your transcripts are OK. Good luck.
I was supposed to close on my house on Oct 7th. On Oct 5th, the mortgage lender reached out to me about not being able to obtain my W2 transcript for 2015. I contacted the IRS and they informed me that my employer (school district) did not file W2’s for 2015. My closing has been delayed and now buyer may take legal action against me and we could lose the house. What kind of legal action can I take against my employer for not filing the W2’s until just the other day when I made them aware of this issue.
I’m sorry to hear about this. But I am not in a position to offer you any legal advice. You need to contact a real estate attorney. Good luck.
Hi-
I am due to close on my house in a few weeks-I was just informed by my underwriter that there was an error in my 2014 taxes. I mistakenly entered my 2013 w2’s into my 2014 return. I know we need to file an amended return but I’m terrified this means losing the glair since we are so close to closing. I have my father cosigning on the house and he has more than enough funds. Will this be enough to remedy it?
You would have to ask your loan officer and the underwriter this question. Different lenders may have a different response. If they’re going to have trouble pulling your tax transcripts because of this issue, then I would contact the IRS and ask to be assigned a “taxpayer advocate” to try and expedite any corrections the lender might want.
We are due to close on our VA loan on Monday. We were the victims of tax fraud and we were notified by the IRS in March. We waited until that was resolved to try buying our first home. Knowing that our lender couldn’t get our tax transcripts I went down to our local IRS office and got them. I took them to our lender and thought everything was on track untill I received a call from the lender saying our 2014 tax transcripts don’t add up. I went and got our copy and sure enough nothing on our transcript matches. It says we made 21,000 more than we did has only 2 people we would have had us and 2 kids making it 4 standard deductions. We didn’t get a refund but they got a 4,996 dollar refund. We were never notified of this by the IRS. I was on the phone with the IRS for over an hour and the guy couldn’t see where anything was ever sent stating that we were the victims of fraud. Our tax account transcript does show out correct income but still has all the fraudulent info on it too. All the IRS did was make some corrections on it to make
It come out to the correct amount we owed and didn’t correct our actual return. I’m so upset we wrote a letter of explanation to the underwriters but that can’t be looked at until Monday morning we are being told we’re still closing at 10:00 on Monday but I don’t see how. We don’t even have the final numbers yet of how much we need to bring to closing. A lot of this delay was due to the VA appraisal not being done on time. They didn’t get it turned in until Thursday afternoon. So do you think we will be closing still on time or will they want our tax return to be corrected first. I plan on going down to our local tax office to show them their missed tax fraud and get it resolved as soon as I can but wasn’t sure if this will be an issue to close on time since it wasn’t our fault.
I should say the tax fraud we were notified of was for 2015 we sent in all the necessary documents to prove who we are and got that resolved. The tax fraud we were never told about was for 2014. We never even knew because we filed and paid. Thank you for any advice.
Hello Lori. Wow, that is a real mess. Will you be closing on time on Monday? That is really hard to say. This problem is going to be situational, and is really going to be up to each individual underwriter. I’m not sure what our underwriter would say, I’d have send a whole mile to them in order to get an accurate response. Anything else I would say here would just be a guess. I think you’re going to have to wait Until Monday and see what happens. Good luck!
Thank you we have been honest and truly had no idea until Friday at 4:30 so there wasn’t much I could do about it at that point. So I guess I will just wait and see what they say. Thank you for your help.
We are set to close escrow 11/8. We found out today our 2015 taxes are still processing due to a form that we had to send in because of our ACA healthcare. We had to file an extension on our taxes because it took forever to get the info needed to even file. It is causing a delay in our loan and closing. We don’t want to lose the house, but I’m reading that most people aren’t getting their refunds until 6-8 weeks after they’ve submitted their 1095a. We only sent ours in within the past couple weeks. We don’t even care about our refund at this point. We just want to be able to close on our home. Transcripts won’t go through because it says “processing”. Are there any options for us? I see you mention W-2 transcripts, is that something that would be available if our transcript says processing? I can’t believe this is happening so close to closing. Everything else about our loan has been rock solid. Thank you.
I would contact the IRS and ask them to assign a “taxpayer advocate” to your case, and sometimes they can expedite things. I’m not sure that they’ll be able to expedite things this fast in the scenario that you have with the amount of time that you have, but it’s worth a try.
You could also try and get them yourself, you may be able to pull the transcripts faster than your lender, see: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript
Thank you Brian.
The tax advocate said they’re unable to help us until it’s past the 8 week time frame they give for processing. They said there is no expediting a transcript.
When we go to the website the transcript isn’t available because it is processing.
I did contact my local irs office and they were able to tell me that it should be completed by the 11/14. I’m hoping this date is true and not just a date thrown at me to appease me.
We are also working with the lender to allow our w2 transcripts for closing and give them the full transcripts as soon as they become available. What a mess.
We are hoping the seller will give us some time if the lender can’t accept only the w2’s in the meantime.
I’m hoping one of those two options pans out.
I hope the timing works out. In the meantime you may want to explain all of this to your realtor and the sellers, and see if you can negotiate a potential extension, just in case. Tell them it is a worst case scenario, but you would rather talk about it in advance now, rather than the night before closing.
I have been through a long process on trying to close for a house, I finally get to the very end closing date and they tell me after this 5 month process I owe the irs 2500, durning this process I have had to come up with 15k I am out of funds. I have called the irs to set up a payment plan but the underwriter states you have to have paid 3 payments already the closing is 11/30? Any suggestions??????
I think you need to pay off the $2,500. Can you either get a $2,500 gift from family to pay this IRS bill off? Or can you borrow against a 401k/retirement account to pay it off?
In 2015 was pregnant and filed my taxes via TurboTax desktop. In my brain I swore I saved my 2015 tax return, but I did not. I can’t find it anywhere. Originally I was filing for a conventional loan, so the tax returns were not critical. We couldn’t make the conventional loan work, so we switch to FHA. We received a conditional approval but because in 2015 there was a small business loss, they are requesting the 2015 tax return. The business hasn’t conducted any business since 2015. The IRS website says it takes up to 75 days to get the tax return, is there any way to get the tax return expedited elsewhere or with the IRS? We were supposed to close on 11/23, but with this tax return request an extension will be required, I just don’t know how long of an extension. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Hello Daisy. If you filled out your tax returns using TurboTax, I believe you can log into your TurboTax account to retrieve a copy that way. If you don’t have an account you should get a login, and see if they have your tax return on file still. If you don’t find it contact them and see if there’s a way for them to pull it up. That would be my best advice. Good luck.
I have several years of tax returns completed but not filed yet. I owe money on all but the most recent. I want to refinance my house and then file all the returns and pay them with the money I pull out of the house. It appears at least the past 2 years must be filed. Can I get a loan while I still have not paid the taxes and am not on an IRS payment plan?
As far as I know that would not be possible.
My husband and I are two weeks away from closing on our home the lender is requesting a letter of explanation for 2014 & 2015 business loss we don’t have proof will that forfeit our loan
You’ll have to share with your lender’s underwriter what the reason is, they may or may not require proof, it depends on the reason for the losses. Good luck!
I didn’t file for 2011-2015. I decided to take care of my past mistakes, hired a CPA, and knocked it out. 2011-2012 I actually had refunds that we were able to apply forward to 2013-2015. 2013-2015 I amended my wife’s returns to add me to avoid paying fees (we married in 2013). This was all done December 14th with my balance minus 11/12 refunds paid in full. My CPA says the IRS has been “processing” since January 4th I believe, and this could be a 16 week process. I have since paid him more to stay on top of it.
I have informed both mortgage companies I am dealing with that my transcripts still aren’t available. One has said we must sit and wait, the other has said all I have to do is go to the local IRS office and have my amended returns stamped in order to obtain full approval. My CPA informed me that since I did not submit my amended returns in person to the IRS, they are likely to not stamp or notarize them.
I have entered a contract today with $5k in earnest money and a 30 day close. I feel as if I done all I can but I’m worried about losing the $5k in earnest. Any advice to ease my thoughts?
I think what I would do if I was you would be to contact the IRS and get what they call a “Taxpayer Advocate”, explain the situation, and see if they can expedite anything on their end. See the below link to look into that:
https://www.irs.gov/advocate
There is little communication through the local TAS. My 2013 records have been adjusted now, just waiting on the 14/15. My loan officer has informed me that I can refile in person and have the IRS time stamp the returns, but my CPA advised against that. I talked with my mortgage co this morning about my CPA putting a file together concerning my records and noting all payments have been made, and notarizing it. She is going to run it by her underwriters and seemed optimistic. I should state my mortgage co is a rather large portfolio lender that I have current and previous loans with.
Can you see any of this working out?
Hello James. Thank you for the inquiry. I can see this working out since your lender is a portfolio lender, but if they were a traditional Fannie Mae lender I’d think you might have a problem. I hope it works out. Good luck!
We have a closing date of 2/28. Last friday 2/17, our tax transcript was given to our lender by Equifax. It showed we did not file taxes in 2014. This was very confusing because we always file online with HR block, and, when I called HR block, they indicated that we did file. We owed taxes that year and I do not see that fund were deducted from our bank account by the IRS. I pulled my own tax transcript from IRS and it does show that we did not file.
I am worried that we will not make the closing date, and am wondering what the best way to file and pay now to prove to our lender that we have filed. The local taxpayer assistance centers are appointment only and off today for the holiday. I may file by mail and pay estimated taxes online, and save all receipts and documents as proof that we have filed.
The lender is a traditional Fannie Mae credit union lender. Thank you for your help. Any advice is appreciated.
I really don’t have an answer, and any answer is going to need to be specific to the lender that you are dealing with. I would ask your lender first thing tomorrow morning what’s the best path forward. I don’t think I would file by mail, however, if I were you. Talk to your lender, and then you may want to contact the IRS to get a tax payer advocate assigned to try and expedite things. Good luck.
Hi there,
My spouse and I are looking to buy a home. I filed my taxes for 2014 and 2015 late but did file and am current on all payments. Do you think this will affect my ability to get a loan in my name? Any advice is much appreciated!
Hello Elizabeth. It depends on when you filed. Did you file a week ago or a month ago? The lender is going to need to be able to pull tax transcripts on your tax returns, that is the issue. It could take at least a month or even a couple of months, for the IRS to process everything to get to the point where a lender can pull the transcripts. If you recently filed I would contact the IRS and ask them to assign a “taxpayer advocate” to you, and work with that person to see what you can do to expedite the processing of your recent tax filings. Good luck.
Hello I have applied for a mortgage and I was preapproved. I was told that my docs are in underwriting. I currently have a prepayment plan with the IRS for moneies owed in 2015 and will be adding my 2016 debts to the prepayment plan. DO I still have a chance of being approved before I pay out the monies for inspection, CL-100, and appraisal?
There are lenders who will approve your loan even when you are still on an IRS payment plan. It depends on a lot of variables. And they will likely count the IRS payment into your debt ratios, depending on how many payments you have left. I would talk with your lender and ask them what they think. Good luck.
Stressed…signed paperwork yesterday including 4506 form, we are hoping to close on 6/30 and need to move out of our rental soon after. I was cleaning up some paperwork and noticed when the tax prep company attempted to efile my 2015 return it was rejected (I recall her saying someone else was claiming my son who’s in college), I didn’t give it much more thought as it was late and she was going to keep trying to efile this return as well as my 2014. I got money back but as I look it over today it was only for 2014, my 2015 was never filed. I filed 2016 myself and got a return. It’s Saturday so I cannot reach the lender and I’m stressed out. Should my first call Monday be to IRS or lender? How bad will this impact us? Any suggestions?
Your first call should definitely be to the IRS, ask for an IRS tax advocate. Once they assign an advocate to your case, ask what they can do to expedite the processing of the 2015 tax filing. And your second call should be to the lender, let them know what is going on, let them know what you have done, and see what they say. Good luck.
Thank you, Brian!
I just signed 4506 tax release form for 2015 and 2016. I owe taxes from 2014,2013,2009 totaling around 8k. I have no tax liens and have not set up a payment plan with the IRS. Nothing showed up on my credit report. The IRS are keeping my refunds until debt is paid. They kept my refund for $3800 in 2016. Will the 4506 tax transcript release show this or will the loan officer just compare wages earned to wages filed and if it does show up will this terminate my contract for getting a house?
Your tax transcripts will show any taxes due, yes. The underwriter will want to know you have the cash to cover the taxes due, or they may want to see documentation showing the IRS has no plans to file a lien, and is OK simply taking any refunds from you each year until the debt is paid.
My husband has a va commitment letter and is in underwriting. We file our taxes together we are both w2 earners. I also have a large loss of side business. One condition of commitment is 4506 t. Will my business loss effect our loan approval if the loan is just in his name? Due to close on the 19th
If your name is not on the loan, you should have no worries.
Me and my husband got a preapproval and currently under contract closing date is July 13/2017. Recently found out he owe taxes in the amount of 20,000 from 2007, 2008, 2009, for not filing. It’s not on his credit will the underwriter deny our loan? Can we lose our earnest money? We didn’t find out until we went to get a transcript, also it doesn’t appear that he owe on the transcript.
You would have to talk to your loan officer about that, each lender may handle that differently.
I have a question…if the underwriter asked for a 4506t for my son that does not have anything to do with the loan what does that mean? And they want to know if he works. I told them no but he has in the past. What will the 4506t show and what if he is working?
I’m not sure why they would ask for a 4506 on your son unless he is on the loan. If he is not on the loan, I see no reason why you should provide it. Ask them for more detail.
I dont either. I actually feel uncomfortable.I have been approved for the loan with conditions and that was one of the conditions. I just asked the processor why and she said because he is 18.my closing date is july 14 2017. Im scared of whats next. What would be the next step
You need to tell her them they need to give you a better answer. If his name is not on the loan application, I see no reason for him to sign a 4506. It makes no sense. Ask them for a detailed, thorough and exact explanation. To just say, “because he is 18” is not an answer.
My husband and I just got a preapproval for a va loan. In order to proceed they need my 2015/16 returns and are also requesting our tax transcripts. I owe for both years and called the irs to set up a payment plan with them (I owe under 3,000 for both years). The IRS then gave me some bad news, apparently they never accepted my 2015 return and, to add insult to injury, they say that I still owe from 2013. I explained to them that I had a refund in 2014 and they sent me a letter stating that I owed them money. I brought the letter to my tax preparer and they told me that the IRS rook my refund to cover the previous year. Now I find out that my refund was never applied and apparently the tax preparer took off with my refund. The company I filed with no longer exists and according to the IRS it’s now a civil issue and they said I’m still responsible to pay. I’m beyond devestated!!! I don’t have a lien, it’s not on my credit report thank GOD. The IRS put a hold on my account and they are giving me time to send in my 2015 return so I can get on an installment plan to pay off all that I owe. Is this going to be a huge issue if I can provide proof of all of this to my loan officer? I’m so nervous we will get denied now. I’m doing the right thing and taking steps to fix this, but I’m so worried that this will hold everything up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Hello Amber. You really need to bring all this up to your loan officer and ask what their underwriter thinks about all this. However, why would you be providing tax returns? Are you self-employed? Do you earn commissions? Do you have rental property? If you’re just salaried you should only be providing pay stub’s and W-2s. Then you can ask your lender about getting “W-2 transcripts” instead of a “tax transcripts”. Hope that helps. Good luck.
Thank you for your response!
I work in sales and I am hourly plus commission. My commission makes up about 60% of my yearly income.
I got pre approved for a FHA loan and they pulled my transcripts from 2016 and 2015, I filed my taxes through TurboTax but was just told by my lender that my 2015 taxes did not go through. Our closing date is set for December the 22nd and I was just told that I need to file my 2015 taxes. My lender told me to go to the local IRS office and get my tax returns stamped and filed. I have an appointment in the morning, and I think I may owe 1000 or $1,500, will this affect me getting my loan or will I have to pay that off in full before I get the loan approved?
They may want you to pay that amount off, or at least show that you have that cash in reserve to pay it after you go to closing. Talk to your lender and ask, as the opinions can vary. Good luck.
Hello,
I had started a business in 2013 and had a ton of personal issues happen since as well as the business growing a little faster than I was prepared for on the paperwork side. I had a great year and at the same time paid my accountant to finish my back taxes for 2015&2016. I was preapproved for an FHA loan and disclosed to him the taxes were just finished and I will be paying the IRS in full before closing while still having my entire down payment in the bank and available. Obviously I know I may have some penalties and interest but hope to be able to get them waived. Well the penalties at least. I am supposed to close on the loan the first week of February. At that point I will be able to prove payment of the back taxes. Just not penalties and interest if any or if even calculated at that point. Will this affect my closing?
That is a really good question. I think as long as you can prove that you can have everything paid off prior to closing, you may be OK from an underwriting standpoint. But if you’ll have penalties and interest left, They may either want all of that paid off too, or may want you to get on a payment plan with the IRS to pay that amount of penalties and interest back. And whatever the monthly payment is on the IRS payment plan they will count against you in your debt ratios. This is a bit of a complicated issue and one that you should definitely have your loan officer speak to their underwriter about.
Brian, your information is very helpful. here is my situation. I owed taxes for 2012, my new husband and I are preapproved for a va loan and are about to go through underwriting. my question is we filed our 2016 returns under an extension in October and owe 6293. we paid 1693 with the return and will have the funds to pay the balance before closing. will the tax transcripts reflect this? I have been paying online and have proof of the payments but I still don’t know what is owed from 2012 and have tried to get the information. the irs was taking my refund (before we were married) but i’ve never received a letter or anything else showing what i owe prior to my marriage.
I do believe the transcripts will show the amount you owe, yes. Ask your lender, but this may be OK, but they may want documentation on the monthly payments, and then would count the monthly payment into your debt ratios. If you qualify carrying that monthly payment, you’d still be OK. Otherwise, they’d ask if you could pay it off. Lenders vary on this topic, so talk to your lender. Good luck!
Brian, we are in the process of a USDA home loan. My husband just e-filed his 2015 and 2016 taxes. He will now owe money. At the time of the application we had stated no taxes were owed. Since they havent processed his taxes yet we can not sign up for a payment plan with the IRS yet. Also transcripts will not be available until end of May since we didn’t pay any of the taxes owed. Now my loan processor stated rhat as of December 2017 USDA is not requiring tax transcripts. Do you know if this is true. I provided them with the copies of our taxes filed for the past 2 years and no one has ever asked about the taxes owed on my husbands. We are set to close on March 5th and already paid for the home appraisal. I am afraid this is not gping to work out and we are going to loose this house.
Hello, thanks for the question. I honestly don’t know the answer, as I have never done USDA loans. So I don’t know if they have different rules. I’d ask to have that put in writing, from a supervisor or underwriter, and that will give you some peace of mind. Good luck!
Brian, I am currently under contract to purchase a home. I’ve provided the bank with all requested documents including my last 2 years of tax returns. I have unfiled taxes from 2013. Will I encounter an issue securing the loan? Will the irs reject the banks request for tax transcripts for 2015 and 2016 because I have not files 2013?
Hello Mark, thanks for the comment. Having unfiled tax returns for 2013 should not cause a problem in your lender’s ability to get tax transcripts for 2015/2016. However, if they find out about the unfiled 2013, if that gets reported to them somehow, they’ll want evidence that you don’t owe back taxes and interest and penalties for that year, and that there is no tax lien for that year. Hope that helps. Good luck.
Hello Brian, I have been reading these questions and your answers for an hour. They are fascinating. I found you when I was looking for an answer to this question: My fixed commercial building loan is 16 years old and I have never had a late payment, late real estate tax payment or anything like that. I received a letter in the mail from the bank a few days ago, telling me that I must send them my copies of tax returns yearly from now on. Do you think that is a legitimate request? The top of the form says “application.” I called the loan officer and he said that new banking regulations “strongly suggest” that the bank do get them yearly from all mortgage holders.I feel it is a little invasive.
Hello Ginene, thank you for the inquiry. I actually just heard from a client of mine last week who has a commercial building. They said that their lender asks for a financial statement annually now. So I do think on commercial loans that lenders are starting to check in on their mortgage holders to get some sort of annual financial check up. While it is invasive, I think it may be part of the terms of your mortgage note that you have to provide financial information into the future upon request. You may want to push back and ask them to show you where they’re allowed to ask for something like this, but my guess is they have that language written into some of your original closing documents.
Thank you, Brian. I got up at 3:00 a.m. in the morning and read my mortgage note and sure enough, it is there. So, nice of you to answer back from someone who isn’t a client. You are very cool! ~Ginene
You are welcome 🙂
Stay in touch as needed going forward.
Hello
The bank just informed me that the tax transcripts don’t match the tax returns I provided.
how can I resolve?
Hello Luisa. I’m not sure I have an answer to that. That’s probably a better question for whoever filed your tax returns. If you have an accountant I would ask them. If you file the taxes on your own, I would contact the IRS and ask how the transcripts could possibly different from what you have filed. That sounds odd. Sorry I do not have a better answer.
Hi Brian,
we got pre-approved for an FHA loan, put an offer, earnest money and the inspection is being done as I write this. I have not filed 2015, 2016 or 2017 but have on paper. I provided these returns during pre-approval. We came clean to our mortgage broker this morning on if I should file, will there be time before closing, etc. Closing is June 6th. 2 questions: Are we able to get earnest money back? and what are the chances of them underwriting the loan without my tax transcripts? I provided all w-2s, same job for 7 years, plus alimony received in divorce document. Current husband has everything in order. Thanks Brian! I can’t believe I am not alone in my dilemma.
I’m not sure how long it would take the IRS the process those returns so that your lender could pull up the tax transcripts. That sounds like a question for the IRS. I would contact them and see if there’s a way to expedite the processing of your recent filings for those three years. As far as getting your earnest money deposit back you should talk to your realtor about what your risks are in this situation. I couldn’t comment on that. I don’t believe that the underwriter will approve the loan without the tax transcripts, so contacting the IRS to expedite this would be your next best step. You might want to start by going to this link to get an IRS taxpayer advocate: https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate. Good luck.
Hi Brian,
An friend of mines is getting an home loan. She noticed on her taxes that it have an different amount on the federal withholding then it does on her w-2. The lender has already requested her transcripts from the IRS. What can she do about that n to get everything taking care of do she can get the home loan?
Hello. I’m not sure if having different federal withholding is going to be a problem. I would bring this to the attention of your lender and ask them if they can expedite pulling the tax transcripts, and then see if it is a problem. But your loan officer might talk to their underwriter and determine that it’s not a big deal. Good luck.
Hi Brian,
Is underwriting only receiving the years requested on form 4506-t and are the tax transcripts and account transcripts the same ones I see when I log onto IRS website?
Yes, the lender is only receiving data for the years requested on the form.
And the transcripts are the same ones that you see on the IRS website, yes.
Hi Brian,
Conditionally approved for mortgage. COE 6/27. IRS is telling me they don’t have my 17 extension which I have electronic proof of filing. My 16 return was filed late (3/18) electronically. IRS told me last week they never received it. I have the electronic receipt it was filed in March. My accountant resent it, and they now have it. But it doesn’t translate to a transcript until they process it which they now say can take 6 weeks. So..will they close with the electronic receipt and a letter from my cpa and proof I paid taxes, or will this delay my close?. What can I do? Will they give me a letter saying they have it but it’s not processed? Would that even help? Does filing a return late preclude me from a mortgage? It’s a self funded portfolio loan. Thx 🙂
You would have to ask your lender their requirements to get transcripts on a portfolio loan. I cannot speak for them. I would think they would require the transcripts, I don’t think a letter from your CPA and electronic receipts would suffice, but again, you’ll have to ask them. They’ll have their own requirements. One thing to ask them if they do require transcripts, if you are salaried and not self employed, is to ask them if they can get “W2 transcripts” instead of “tax return transcripts”. I wonder if the IRS would be able to process W2 transcripts faster? Good luck.
Brian,
We are under contract for a purchase. I have unfiled taxes since a divorce a few years back when I lost all my deductions. Do most lenders still do “W2 Only” transcripts? I am afraid that the 4506 may blow this chance for the home purchase.
I do believe all lenders can still do W2 transcripts. I know we do. Of course there may be other reasons they require the full tax transcripts, if you have rental property, or a side business, etc. Ask your lender, and hopefully they’ll allow it.
My boyfriend and I are trying to buy a house and we are having to sign the 4506. I have no problems but he hasn’t filed in a few years. His CPA has been filing extensions for him and they are filing the returns. Is this going to be a major issue for our FHA Loan? Could there be any way to help the situation?
That will be a problem. I would recommend filing the returns ASAP, and then contacting the IRS and see if you can get what is called a “taxpayer advocate” to see if they can expedite the processing of those returns. Good luck.
I’m looking to start the home buying process very soon. When reviewing my tax return from 2016 I noticed that the amount of the Federal Income tax withheld is incorrect. However, I still received a refund from the IRS. Because I mistakenly inputted the incorrect Federal Tax withheld on my return would this be a problem for getting approved for a loan? My income has all been reported correctly.
I don’t think that will be a problem. But if you need to fix something I would file an amended return ASAP and ask the IRS to process it as quickly as possible.
I am in the process of buying a home. I am employed and self employed. I was approved with both income. I signed 4506t and realized that I forgot to add my self employment income in my taxes.Can I correct my taxes.Please, let me know what to do?. What if I have to pay back money can I set up a payment plan.If that going to hurt me in my loan? Please help
Different loan types, and different lenders, may have different rules.
I’d get with your current lender and ask them about this ASAP.
If you have to file an adjusted tax return, ask the IRS for a “taxpayer advocate” to help expedite any fixes needed.
This site may help: https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate
But first talk to your lender and see what they say.
I have an issue. I am employed and self employed. I Signed 4506t. My tax preparer give me a copy of my taxes. I gave it to the loan officer.That show both income.Than, he realized that he only file my employed income. What can I do. The 4506t is not going to be correct.Can I correct my taxes. I don’t want to tell my loan officer. What can I do? The bank already did the appraisal. I suppose to close on July 18. Help
Go ahead and tell your loan officer, you should never hide anything from them.
Your loan officer may tell you to immediately file a corrected tax return with your preparer.
There may be enough time left for the IRS to process everything.
Also, maybe see about getting a taxpayer advocate at the IRS to help expedite things: https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate
Good luck.
I already filled my amend. But getting a tax
Advocate in Massachusetts, is not possible.They told me I have to wait 18 weeks.I close July 18.How can I find a tax advocate.
Wow, 18 weeks for a tax advocate is ridiculous. They must be really overwhelmed, that, or understaffed. I think the only thing you can do is let your lender know the issue, and see if they have any workaround. I can’t think of anything else.
Hello, I read through every single comment on here starting back from April 2012. It has been very informative, so thanks a lot Brian!
My situation, applied for a home 4-9-18 for a foreclosure using a Fha 203k limited. Still haven’t closed due to a bunch of hiccups that had nothing to do with me. During application lender asked for 4056t. I filed my taxes for 2017, 2016 back in February (so I had thought.) Im scheduled to close now on 6/13/18 – lender had told me I was conditionally approved in email but we were still waiting on appraisal. Over the phone after appraisal (appraisal came back low so had to get sales amendment) stated my income had already been verified so things should go smoothly once we get sales amendment.
I was speaking with irs today as I am on an installment plan and they advised never received 2016. I did my research and realized I was suppose to print and mail. Im afraid to speak with my loan advisor because we are literally a few days away. (I am a w2 employer for last 7 years, I make 88k yearly with 24k of that coming from a guaranteed bonus of 2k monthly)
question.
1. Do you “think” I am in the clear already?
2. Should I tell my loan advisor?
3. Could telling my loan advisor jeopardize my chance of closing?
4. is my loan advisor required to share info with underwriter?
Whew, that is a tough one.
1. It sounds like you may be in the clear, but I am not 100% certain. You should ask your loan officer if your loan is “clear to close”. If it is, then you are good to go. If not ask him what items are remaining for you to be issued the clear to close.
2. If they say you are clear to close then there’s nothing else to talk about. If they are still waiting for your tax transcripts to come in, then yes, I would tell your loan officer.
3. I don’t think telling your loan officer would jeopardize anything.
4. Your loan officer’s requirements are to make sure the loan meets all the necessary requirements. I would tell them the story freely if needed. But again, if your loan is clear to close, there’s nothing to discuss. If it is not clear to close and they are not waiting on tax transcripts, then there still nothing to discuss.
I would also ask them, if they still need tax transcripts, if they can just get “W2 transcripts” instead of “tax transcripts”. Given your situation that may make it easier, because they likely have your W-2 on file, even if you have not filed your complete tax return.
I hope that helps. Good luck.
Brian I am blessed to have come upon this website. Your information has been more valuable then gold, thanks again! You need to open up a YouTube channel – I am sure your subscribers would hit the millions. We are just the people bold enough to speak openly, but there are many more who are just lurking who I am sure would subscribe. 🙂
Thanks Terry!
I actually do have a YouTube channel, I don’t update it frequently though:
https://www.youtube.com/user/getloansTV
And I have something on my own website which I call TucciTV:
https://www.getloans.com/tucci-tv/
Anyway, thank you for the compliments. Good luck with things.
Hi Brian, This is the first year in a long time that I would have been entitled to a tax refund but I got a letter from the IRS stating that the refund was applied to taxes owed from 2012. The letter stated that I still owe a few thousand dollars but that I needed to do “nothing” – my lender is only getting tax transcripts from ‘17, ‘16, ‘15 and ‘14 (I did not make enough income to file in 2014 or 2015 and 2016 I owed taxes which I paid in full). I’m confused as to why the IRS has never come after me for 2012 and still isn’t asking me to setup a payment plan or anything. Do you think this will even come up in the 4506 results from 2014-2017? If it does, can’t I just pay the IRS at that time so it doesn’t affect my DTI?
Hello Olivia. That is a really odd situation you have. It almost makes me wonder if that letter from the IRS is a scam of some sort. It’s an odd letter to get. Nonetheless, I have a few questions. I would ask your lender why they’re getting tax transcripts for so many years. I’ve never heard of a lender going back more than the last two years for tax transcripts. I’m also confused why the IRS didn’t come after you for the 2012 back taxes, they’re notorious for not missing a penny. I think I would get an IRS taxpayer advocate to try and sort that mess out, and confirm that this letter is real. As far as the issue coming up in the 4506 results or not, I can’t guess at that answer, but I think the taxpayer advocate could help: https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate
I took your advice. Underwriting approved the loan. Thank you
I am in a home loan process and I will like your help. What is better a fixed rates or adjustable rates.I hope you can help. Thanks
Hello Ann. That is really hard to say. It depends on your appetite for risk, and how long you’re going to live in the home. If you’re going to live in the home for the long haul, like seven years or longer, I would personally do a fixed-rate mortgage. But again, you need to think about your appetite for risk, how long you guess that you’ll live there, and then decide. Good luck.
That is great news! Good luck in your new home 🙂
My boyfriend is purchasing a house and is supposed to close at the end of the week. He got a call from the bank that the IRS states something different from the W-2s he submitted for last year. He had worked for his friend and when he called to see if the business tax returns were filed, his friend is not communicating with him. My boyfriend already filed his taxes and had no issues. Is this something that could cause the loan to fall through so close to the closing? We know the lender is going to try and get the underwriter to “push it through” but I’m concerned about any future ramifications. Thank you!
It is really hard to say what is going on until your boyfriend’s friend response. Does the income on your boyfriend’s W2 match what he believes he earned from his friends business that year? You should find out from your lender if the IRS is claiming that they have figures that are higher or lower than what is on the W-2. Either way, that might be an issue that hold things up. It’s really going to be up to the individual underwriter. So you’re going to have to wait for the lender to attempt to push it through and see what happens. Good luck.
To answer your question, yes, the W-2 matches what my boyfriend believes he earned. His friend wasn’t always on the up-and-up with things so my boyfriend didn’t stay there long, but long enough to get caught up in situations he didn’t dream of. Because of that, my boyfriend had been keeping time sheets and such. The lender said the figures were lower than what the W-2’s reflected. Thank you for giving your two cents!
It sounds like your boyfriend’s friend was a little shady. Hopefully they’ll be OK that the friend was reporting less income, to pay less social security taxes, and that he was the bad guy, and not your boyfriend! And hopefully the lender realizes you reported accurate figures, and doesn’t hold it against you.
Hey! First of all, you are a blessing to all of us for answering all these questions! Thank you!
I am closing on a new build house on August 24th.
I signed the 4506-t with the lender yesterday which is requesting my 2016 and 2017 tax returns.
I filed 2017 (which went to a prior year balance owed), but I have not filed for 2016 and I am sure I owe for that year.
Do you think this will present a problem with the lender? Any suggestions on what I should do?
Thanks again!
Katlyn
Thank you Katlyn, that’s very kind 🙂
I do think that may present an issue. But if you earn a salary and are not self-employed, have no side business, and have no rental property; you should talk to your lender about doing an “W-2 only” transcript request. That may help. Ask your lender and they’ll confirm whether or not that is a good idea, but this is something you should address with your lender right away.
Good luck!
Hey Brian,
Thanks for the quick response! I am a salary employee, but a small portion of my income is based on commission. Would they still be able to do a W-2 only transcript request? Also, does it raise any red flags when I ask a lender to do a W-2 only transcript request?
Thanks again!
Update!
The lender has stated that she can do the W-2 only instead of 4596-t!
Should I be in the clear with that, or is do you think the 2016 return not being filed is still an issue?
Thanks again Brian! You are a real lifesaver!
That won’t raise a red flag, this is a pretty common step in the mortgage industry if you don’t have any rental property and if you’re not self-employed.
It’s hard to say, but I don’t think the W-2 transcript is going to show anything related to taxes that are due. So you may be OK, you’re going to have to wait until they say the W-2 transcript is in and see what they say. I hope it works out!
Good afternoon, I have a question I just started down the process of doing a refinance to remove my in laws, from our house, since I went through a bump in my credit a few years back, well I have fixed that and the mortgage is now in the process. My loan officer sent me the loan paperwork and I signed a 4506 T, I am a w2 employee and make over $150k and the refinance amount is only $120k on an appraise value at $190k, however I have not filed my 2015,2016 taxes because of a dispute on my ex claiming my our kids when she wasn’t supposed to, I did login to the IRS site and downloaded the wage and income transcript from the IRS site and sent to the lender, do you think those will be sufficient or will they still pull the return transcripts? I am meeting with a CPA tomorrow to get these past taxes cleared up, I am concerned since I need to get my in laws off the house ASAP. Thank you
Hello Chad. The lender will definitely pull the transcripts still, it is a requirement. But you should ask your lender if they can get away with pulling only “W-2 transcripts” as opposed to the full tax return transcript, that may alleviate the problem. I would be honest with them and let them know what’s going on, and the W-2 transcripts might be a workaround. Good luck.
Hi, thank you for all the helpful responses and info! My husband and I are set to close on our house in a couple weeks. It is a VA loan. In my husbands name, title will be in both of our names. We filed our taxes jointly for the first time this past year (2017) and I had a (surprise) offset because of student loans. Will this be an issue when this goes into underwriting? Or will it not be an issue since the debt was under my social and I am not on the mortgage?
Thank you in advance!
The debt should not be an issue for the debt ratios since you are not on the loan. But when you say you had a surprise offset, what does that mean? Does that mean that you got a surprise tax refund?
No, it means it was surprise that there was an offset. I graduated over 5 years ago and loans were paid in full (or so I thought). I wasn’t aware of any student debt until this tax offset. Again, it has been years since my loans had been paid and had never come up in prior tax returns or anything. Here nor there. I’m just hoping this won’t be an issue come underwriting. Thank you!!!
Hi Brian,
My husband just finished signing everything with Quicken and they are finalizing the paperwork with the underwriting staff. We were told by the executive VP there was no issue with him being verified and they verified all his stuff because he was moved to a salaried, but commissioned, position within the company in May 2017, and he had provided everything for 16 and 17’s paystubs and W2s. As I’m sitting here reviewing things on my computer, I noticed that his return for 16 appears have never sent (we filed married but separate that year). Now, I am not on the loan because I was discharged from chapter 7 in December, but I worry this issue with the 2016 return will cause a problem with his FHA loan.
We actually spent this evening on the phone with the loan officer from Quicken signing all the documentation for the loan.
Do you have any suggestions as to what to do with the return from 16, and how to proceed forward? We filed married joint last year (2017). Again, Quicken has all the stubs and W2s they asked and everything was already verified by the staff all the way up.
Hi Brian,
Your answers are truly very appreciated! I am scheduled to close on August 31st. I am the only one on the loan and I have filed taxes religiously. I don’t owe taxes and never have. My husband, who is not on the loan, owes taxes for 2009 and 2010…before we got married. My file is going to manual underwriting, it’s a VA loan. Will that cause me any issues when they request the transcripts?
Hello Kaci. I believe they’ll need that 2016 tax return filed ASAP, so they can get the tax transcripts. But talk to your loan officer ASAP and see what they say. Good luck.
Hello Kelli. If you’re husband is not on the loan, I don’t believe this will be a problem. Good luck!
Thank you so much Brian. You are very kind to take your time to answer all of our questions. 😊
Thank you for replying! Should he owe anything would that wind up causing delays, do you think?
It won’t cause an issue as long as he can pay any taxes due. Even if he had to get setup on a payment plan with the IRS that may not be a problem, but the lender/underwriter would likely put that payment into the debt ratios, and he’d have to be able to qualify carrying that extra debt.
Hello,
I am going through the underwriting process for a fha loan. They requested my 2015 and 2016 taxes which I have filed and paid. I just found out I did not file my 2010 taxes, it’s been so long I can’t remeber what happened. I don’t have my w2 and my employer no longer has it. I sent in a form to the irs to get the information. Will I be okay with the two years worth of taxes or will I need to get the 2010 taken care of prior to closing
This should not present a problem. Usually an underwriter will only go back the last two years, 2016 and 2017. I assume if they have asked you for 2015 and 2016, that means you have not filed for 2017 yet? Regardless, they should not go back as far as 2010, so it sounds like you should be OK. Good luck.
Hi Brian, I just found out I owe taxes for 2010 and it’s too much to pay at once. I’m scheduled to close next month with a VA loan. Do you know if a w2 only transcript would suffice? And would the 2010 balance show up that I owe the IRS?
I’d check with your lender, and run the situation by them. You’ll need to let them know if the IRS is going to put you on a payment plan, and then they’ll see if you can qualify carrying that payment. Or ask them if a W2 transcript will work in your scenario. Good luck.
I am pre-approved for a mortgage and they asked me to sign a 4506 t form to request transcript from IRS for the past 4 years I filled 2017,2016,2014 i didn’t filled 2015 will that be an issue
Hello Deborah. I would ask them if they really intend to pull all four years. I think that’s just a catchall in case they need to, but lenders usually don’t go back more than two years, which would be 2016 and 2017. So I’m guessing this won’t be an issue, but I would confirm with them that they’re only going to go back two years even though they’ve requested approval for transcripts for four.
I just signed the contract to buy a house that will be delivery in February/March 2019.
I will use my 2017 and 2018 Income tax for the loan approval.
My lender authorized to use them since it o Lya takes 45 days to be approval on my loan.
My biggest concern is that I was reading and a return with installment plan can take until May 2019 to be process and the transcript available.
If that happens I will lose all the money I paid for down.
I have W2 and 1099 from my company. And I will also have both for 2018.
I am so afraid to lose my money and the house I chose.
Do you think it’s possoble to be approved without a 4406T on time for 2018?
I would have a candid conversation with your loan officer about this. And ask them if they can pull a “W2 only” transcript, that may help. Good luck.
Hi Brian. I am in the process of purchasing a home. The loan officer requested 2016-2017 Tax returns. Both tax debts Are paid however the only remaining debt due is interest charges total of 1800 which will be paid Friday. . I haven’t even submitted the offer yet so I am assuming that my payment will process in time for lender to pull the transcripts. However after speaking with the IRS they noted that I have unfiled tax return for 2008-2011 which I didn’t file because I was receiving unemployment and didn’t think I needed too if I met income requirements. My question to you is when they pull my transcripts will not filing back taxes for 2008-2011 hurt my chances of my loan? When pulling my transcripts will they see that I didn’t file?
Since the mortgage lender won’t go back that far, that should not be a problem. But I would mention it to the loan officer to confirm. Good luck.
Ok so just curious. I am going through the underwriting process and I have turned in all required documents. I have been issued a commitment letter with conditions and have satisfied them. The one thing i am nervous about is my tax transcripts. I have a W-2 that is missing from my taxes. Will this create an issue? And also would they issue a commitment letter without reviewing my taxes yet. More or less I am concerned I may lose the house due to this. Please HELP my nerves!!!
If they still did not have your tax transcripts that would likely be a condition on your loan approval commitment letter. But to be 100% sure, just have an honest conversation with your loan officer and ask them your question. My guess is that you should be just fine.
Hi, im in the process of buying a home and im married. I will be the only one on thr loan due to my husband has bad credit. We were married in 2024, my tax preparer (neighbor) has filed us single. Will this be an issue in the underwritting process?
That should not be a problem, but I’d check with your lender to be 100% sure. Good luck.
I am closing on my home in about 30 days. I have submitted all documents, but realized that I submitted my original 1040 for 2017. The tax company I used to file my self-employment taxes says that there was a computer error and that they needed to amend my taxes. I didn’t receive any documentation, but they said there wasn’t a huge difference. I’m just worried that the original 1040 that I submitted to my lender will not match the 1040x that will be sent to my lenders after they request the 4506-t form. Will this be a huge problem? I feel like if I bring it up to them now after all of this time, they could think I was trying to hide something when in reality I’m in the loss because I’m not exactly sure what the company I used did with my taxes. I just remembered now that the 4506-t form was requested of me. Please inform. Thanks!
I would not worry about this. We ask for amended tax returns all the time. They will definitely notice that the tax return that you gave them doesn’t match the tax transcripts. In which case they will ask you why, and for an amended return. So simply bring it up now, never hesitate to have an honest conversation with your lender. Get them the correct tax return, and tell them that your tax preparer said there was some sort of error, and a minor correction was needed. I don’t think it will be a big deal. I’d talk to them and see what they say. Good luck.
Hi Brian, First and foremost i want to thank you for taking time to read my question.
I just a got an email from the Lender stating that my loan is back from underwriting and It is now with their processing department? There was only one condition and that was the appraisal we were waiting for and it finally came back today. so Does this mean Im in the clear and approved? I have been nervous wreck because of unfiled 2010 taxes.
what steps happen now that that underwriten is completed and loan is now with the processing department?
Thank you for your time
Hello Laura. Thanks for the inquiry. I would ask your lender to confirm all this. What we issue is a “conditional loan approval” after underwriting is done. Then when all of the loan conditions have been met, whether that is an appraisal condition or anything else, we tell clients that the loan is “clear to close”. So you should ask if all of the conditions have been cleared, and are you now “clear to close”. If so, the next step would be for them to move the file to the closing department, where they prepare all of the closing documents. Good luck.
Hi Brian i contacted you earlier. So i am not clear to close yet. The loan officer said i am approved with 2 conditions.One is the appraisal which is done and the other is a letter asking why 2 finance companies ran my credit. They are asking about 2 credit inquiries i have on my credit report. One is a mortgage company as i as looking around for a lender and the second one is a finance company for an auto back in July. Will they contact the finance companies that i applied for? They asked only for a signed letter explaining those inquires?and if credit was extended? Thank you so much again.
I think you can just tell the truth on those reasons, that doesn’t sound alarming to me. Tell them you were shopping around for a mortgage, that’s not against any rules. And it sounds like you were car shopping but did not buy one? So tell them you were looking for a car, but decided not to buy one. All of that should be fine. Sounds like you’re getting much closer to that clear to close! Good luck.
Good Morning Brian,
So i turned in the conditions and I got an email from my lender requesting for a signed 4506T Transcripts once again. A duplicate of what i signed before it went into underwriting? When the file goes to underwriting shouldnt they already have a copy of my transcript? Or are they requesting twice to look at it again? or did my file go to underwriting without the transcript? Im confused. and such a wreck. I understand they need to do all this to get me the loan however to request the signed form once again? Thank you so much
I’m not sure why they would be asking for that again. I don’t know that I have an answer for you. Maybe they lost the first one? I think I would call them and ask them for clarification.
Ok Will do. I did find it strange. since i already have a Conditional Approval? Question: Isnt it required that they have the transcript before it goes to underwriting?
While it is preferred to have the transcripts before it goes to underwriting, it is not required.
Hello and good morning
I have a question,
I an currently in escrow and owe taxes for 2017. I filed late last year as u extended it to october of 2018. Filed my taxes and asked for an extensuon which i was granted as i received a noticed in the mail saying i have until april 28th of this year to pay what i owe which is around $1100. We are currently in underwriting. I submitted the notice i received from the irs stating my extension was accepted. Will this cause my fha loan to be denied? Will i have to pay off balance before escrow closes or even pay it through escrow? We’re so close to closing and want to avoid loan denial if theres anyway. Thank you!
Hello. An underwriter may ask for one of a few things. They may want to see evidence of what the monthly payment will be if you are or will be on a payment plan. Or they may want you to pay it off. Or they may at least want to see that you’ll have the cash left over after settlement to satisfy it, but may not require you to pay it off. It depends on a lot of variables. Good luck!
Hi,
I received letter from the irs that i owe back taxes for 2016 and 2017 but when I filled my tax return in 2018 the irs didnt take what i owed out of my 2018 refund. I don’t have a payment plan set up or no liens filed against me. I am in the process of buying a home with VA loan brand new construction that will not be ready until Apr-June 2020. The lender wants copies of my 2017-2018 tax returns. I believe i owe apprx around 5-6k but I have 3 kids and each year i get a nice return back. When i file my 2019 tax return i hope they can take whatever i owe from that so i can clear my debt with the irs. I am also active duty military that has been in service for 1.5 yrs. can I request a w-2 transcript only since im salary? i am worried they will deny my approval because of these irs problems
Hello Darrick. I’m not exactly sure how your lender will handle this situation. I would ask your loan officer to check with the VA underwriter in advance, and see what they say. Good luck.
Brian,
Bless you for your time. I read through all 200+ comments.
Today is Friday 3/27/20 10:50 PM.
My wife and I are FHA closing on April 30, with a COVID-19 Addendum signed for an added 10 days if need be. Our appraisal is set for Monday 3/30/20.
Our close date is April 30.
We received conditional approval yesterday 3/26 and we had to share 2018 & 2017 transcripts with lender via IRS signed release form. I then realized we had back taxes:
2018: unfiled
2017: $5,865 owed
Immediately, I E-filed the 2018 at H&R Block and that shows owing $2,100. I logged into our filing-jointly IRS.gov account and it doesn’t show 2018 yet. Of course, we have our own paper copy.
I imagine we will need to pay the $7800+, which won’t be a problem, however my LO is telling me to not pay IRS anything until his underwriting department hears back from them.
There is no lien or garnishment, so I’m totally unsure how lender will approach this.
Please advise!
Regards,
Paul
I think we will be ok, but just wanted your take. COVID-19 has put an unprecedented spin on all this.
Hello Paul. Thank you for the inquiry. The good news is you have a lot of time until your closing date to react to whatever the underwriter from your lender may require. Each lender may respond to this type of thing differently. So I’m not exactly sure what will happen. My guess is that they would require you to pay off the amount owed from each year. Hopefully you have the cash to do that and still go to settlement at the end of April. I think that would be the worst case. I hope things work out well. Report back with any news or other questions. Good luck.
We have a close in or before April 23rd because our timeline is so tight on having to be out by the 28th. We just got our loan docs to sign and the tax request form was included. With everything all but shut down I read somewhere that they just have to have the form signed not necessarily have the transcripts before closing. Is that true? We failed to file our 2016 returns and now I’m terrified this will be bad for closing…. they actually requested 2018, 2017, 2016. We also got a letter from the IRS right before they shut down saying one of our returns had a mistake, will that he on the transcripts even though we haven’t been able to answer the letter yet?? We didn’t underreport they have to have an error on our file.
Hello Cindy, thank you for the inquiry. I would check with your lender, while typically the transcript forms ask for multiple years, lenders typically only require the last two years. I know for loans that we are doing in 2020 we would only typically ask for 2018 and 2019 transcripts. I believe the language that you’re looking at on the transcript form is templated and they will not actually go back as far as 2016.
But it is correct that the mortgage agencies have gotten more lenient with requiring transcripts at closing, and will allow the lender to get them after closing.
Good luck!
Hello, I’m currently under contract for an fha loan and have a loan closing scheduled in two weeks, have stumbled across this forum and am now a little concerned. part of initial docs signed was a 4506t and i owe back taxes for 2018. i tried to make an installment for the taxes but for some reason nothing ever processed and irs never started taking payments. this is my first time buying and didn’t know this could impact my chances im not under lien or levy. will they require me to pay this or can this impact me?
if i have the cash to pay the taxes in full ($3700) how long will it take to show up and will they still allow me to close the loan if i can make pymt in full?
This may not be a problem if you have the cash to pay the back taxes due. Immediately talk to your loan officer and ask them to consult with the underwriter and see if they want you to pay it in advance of closing, or if they want to have you give the money to the title company and have the title company take care of it at settlement. Hopefully there will be a way to resolve it, but just have an honest conversation with your loan officer ASAP.
brian thank you for replying so quickly, and i appreciate the advice.
one last question.
i just noticed on the 4506t they requested 2017 tax returns as well and i provided a verification of non file that year from irs site because i only worked for 3 months in the year.
will that be sufficient or will i have to file a return for that year as well?
thank you again for everything.
Those forms request 3 years of info as a template, but underwriters only look at the last 2 years.
I am set to close on 5/26, I was told underwriting was done, but then they requested the Acct Transcripts for 2017, 18, 19. I filed 2019, but hadnt filed 17 & 18. As soon as the loan officer found out, he had me complete the returns. He wanted me to go to a local IRS location and have them “stamped” as accepted for proof that they were filed for underwriting. However with the COVID19 situation, no office is open for live support. Filing a paper return could take 6-8 weeks and I only have 2 weeks. Is there anything I can do to get them accepted right away or get the loan underwriters to approve based on the return paperwork and w2 & earnings transcript only? PLEASE HELP. Going to lose earnest deposit, appraisal, inspection. Was never told by loan officer this would be a problem.
Hello Josh, I am afraid I can’t think of any solution. But are you self employed, or do you own rental property? If you are just salaried, and have no business or rental property, ask them if they can pull W2 transcripts instead of tax transcripts. They may accept that, and they may be able to pull those regardless of when you filed. Hope that helps. Good luck.
Due to close in Late July and they had me fill out 4506…
In pulling all my info for 19 & 18, realized that 17 taxes were not filed.
The requested last three year on 4506 but asked for all my w2’s for last two years….
Am I screwed?
They always put three years on the form but they typically only pull two years. So they only should be pulling 2018 and 2019. I think you’re safe, but you might want to double check with your loan officer. Good luck.
Hi I am under contract and have closing date at the end of next month. Loan docs requested transcripts for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. I actually owe back taxes from years prior to the transcripts they are requesting and do not have payment plan in place. Will they see that I owe back taxes? If so, will this prevent me from closing?
If you owe back taxes from years prior to the tax years that they are requesting in the transcripts, then no, they should not see those old years nor the back taxes and you should be OK. Good luck.
Hi, due to close 8/31/20 and applied for fha loan. My tax transcripts for 18/19 have been requested. I’m concerned because I have a business loss for both years (no longer have the business) and no way to provide documents for it. Any idea on how this will work? My income is over 60K and my current debt to income ratio is at 41%. I can’t go over 45%. Please help
If you are a salaried wage earner now, also with a side business that showed a loss, you should ask your lender to pull “W-2 only” transcripts. If you’re self-employed which of course means you’d have to show your tax returns to show your income, and if you have a loss in the last but are not showing $60,000 in self-employed income, that would be an issue. Talk to your lender about your situation and see if they can pull the “W-2 only” transcripts. Good luck.
Ok, thanks. To be clear, I’m not self employed. The 18/19 years I was a full time salary worker and invested in a business that fell through. I should let my lender know this and to ask them to only pull my w-2 transcript correct?
Also, should I explain in detail why I’m requesting a w-2 only request? I’m not even sure how to word it.
Correct.
Hello Brian, i have been reading all this and it has been very helpful. My husband has been approved for an FHA loan and signed a transcript form for 2019, 2018 and 2017. 2018 transcript is available but 2019 is not. He mailed in paperwork to the IRS on 4/29 and due to the pandemic the IRS says they are back logged. Would a letter be sufficient for my lender and pull them post closing. He is a salary employee and has no rental/other income. When speaking to the IRS they also informed me that 2017 were not filed and I could overnight but again they are back logged. He is due a refund and has not ever owed the IRS. What are the options to close the loan? I have been with the lender on our first home that just sold since 2005. My stomach is in knots and not sure what to do. Thank you, Regina Peterson
Hello Regina. I don’t know that a letter is going to be sufficient, to then pull them post closing. Any lender that I know of is going to want them prior to closing. I would have a candid conversation with your loan officer and ask them to speak to their underwriter to see what alternatives might exist. Good luck.
My husband and I are due to close 9/24, paid for the inspection, attorney and earnest money. Have good credit and down payment money, full time good paying jobs. They recently requested the 4506 form for 2017,2018 and 2019. I realized my husband forgot to add a W2 from 2018. Will this cause us to get denied for the loan?
Hello Melissa. Are you saying that your husband forgot to add a W-2 back in 2018 when he filed your taxes? Or are you saying that your husband forgot to add a W-2 to the loan paperwork when you applied for the loan? I don’t know that either are a major roadblock to getting mortgage approval, contact your loan officer and let them know the details, and they can confirm everything with the underwriter. Good luck.
Hey Brian,
I just got cleared to close but in order to fund the loan they need my tax transcripts. I filed my taxes this year and then found out I was missing a 1099 that was in the amount of $1100. I amended the return with a CPA. The CPA added some expenses associated with the missing 1099. Due to covid my amendment hasn’t processed with the IRS cause they have been closed down. Its such a small amount that I had to amend but I am worried that my loan won’t go through since the amended return hasn’t process and doest reflect on the tax transcript. The bank knows I had to amend the return but I am kind of panicking. Any advice?
Hello Simone. I’m afraid I don’t have any advice for you. I’m not even sure how our underwriter would respond to that one. Just be real honest with your lender and ask them to figure it out ASAP, and if it’s going to be an issue ask them for options to get it fixed. Good luck.
Hi
Im set to close on my loan Nov 24th … I’m just filing my 2019 taxes a few days ago …. I’m salaried w2 employee with no other income. I did fill out the tax transcript form with all other papers.
My question is if they were having an issue getting my 2019 transcript, wouldn’t that have come back as a condition by now.?
You should be fine, just make sure your lender orders a “W2 Only Transcript”.
I have a request to have my tax transcripts for the past 2 years i was self employed for the prior 10 years but have since got a w2 where this year ive made 50k. the lender is just saying all they need is confirmation that my taxes have been paid for those years. ive provided bank statements show that they have been paid and shown the irs website transactions. they insist that they need those transcripts directly from the irs…is this normal…i feel like the underwriter we have is specifically looking for reason to decline my loan
They are simply following a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/FHA/VA requirement. It should all work out if you are otherwise qualified.
We are in process in buying a home but we had to send in 3 years of taxes and I filed my bf 2017 as his 2019 which we need to buy the home not know we had to sign for a transcript from irs we need to amend the 2019 but they want us to sign the papers to close and idk if we amend it if it will look bad bc it’s not at all right from what we showed the bank is it even worth doing it or will it get us introuble for lying even though we didnt mean to send in the wrong year and give them the right year
Hello Laura. That is hard to say. Different lenders will have a different take on this. Please talk to your current lender and ask what they think. Good luck.
Im thinking about going this week to get a mortgage preapproval but I’m wondering if I should wait a bit. I filed my 2015-2018 taxes in September 2020 and only the 2018 has been processed and transcripts are available online for 2018 and 2019 and 2020. It has taken almost 7 months to just get the 2018 return processed so no telling when the irs will get to the other returns. I’m wondering if they will ask for 4 years of transcripts or of 2018-20 will be enough.
Hello Wes. Lenders usually only want the last 2 or 3 years worth, I have not seen a lender require 4 years. You should be OK, but ask your lender to confirm. Good luck.
We are in the process of refinancing, and we are both salaried employees. We have filed our 2018 tax return, and it has been amended by the IRS… We owe more than we paid. We filed an extension for 2019, and have filed, but it has not been processed yet. Is the 2018 return going to ruin our refi chances?
I believe they will only require your 2019 and 2020 tax years. But check with your lender to confirm. Good luck.
First of all thank you for this resource. My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a house (FHA) and we’re under contract with a tentative closing date of 4/9. We’ve done our due diligence. Good credit score in the 700s, no debt (only credit cards which we pay off monthly) and up to date filed taxes. He will be the one responsible for the mortgage while both of our names will be on the title. He’s 2 salaried jobs and provided our lender with w2s and requested 2018 and 2019 tax returns. We thought we were in the clear until our LO asked about a company listed on our 2019 return. It apparently was listed as operating at a $44,000 loss by our tax preparer. This was at the height of the pandemic and we filed online. The returns were submitted without our signature (although we asked about it prior and have that in writing). We’re now in a position where we are victims of tax preparer fraud. Since we have no idea of this company and have never owned it, the lender wants a LOX from the tax preparer. Requested the information and now she seems to be MIA. We explained all of this to the LO. Our dti still looks good but this unexplained business has us at a standstill. I’m not sure what we could do now. We will be filing a complaint with the IRS for this tax preparer. Can you advise? I truly feel taken advantage of.
Hello Kelly. Thank you for the question. My first question to your lender would be why did they order tax transcripts instead of W-2 transcripts. If your husband only has W-2 jobs, I don’t know that they would need the entire tax return. Beyond that, ask them what they’re going to need from you to prove that this is a company that you’ve never owned. Good luck.
Hello. Thank you for the opportunity to ask my question/concerns. Married couple, 1st time home buyers, just received “conditional approval” on a conventional loan with a scheduled closing date of MAR 24th. I am the lead on the loan (self-employed salaried/W-2 S-Corp with partner since 2013) Husband is salaried/W-2 employee. Credit scores Low to mid 700s. We provided all requested initial documentation that included complete W-2s, Check Stubs, complete personal tax returns for 2018 & 2019, and the same for business/Schedule K-1 returns prepared/filed by CPA. Like the majority of comments our concern is with the IRS 4056 that we signed requesting 3 different tax/wage reports for YR: 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017. Why 4 YRS? We submitted completed 2018 & 2019. Have not yet submitted 2020. What does this mean? We have an outstanding balance due on 2017 but no lien, garnish, nothing. Your thoughts/suggestion? Thank u so much.
For some reason the mortgage guidelines call for the “ability” to go back four years on tax transcripts, but in practice they normally only go back two. So I believe that you’ll be fine. Good luck.
Hi me and my fiancé have applied for a fha loan with a closing date of 4/1 and they have requested tax transcripts for 2018 2019 and 2020 do you think it’s going to be an issue if 2018 have not been filled but 2019 and 2020 have both been filled ?
I would ask your lender to confirm, but normally they would only ask for transcripts for the last two years, 2019 and 2020. So you may be OK, but you really need to confirm with your own lender. Good luck.
MARRIED COUPLE JUST SIGNED CLOSURE DISCLOSURES(CONVENTIONAL LOAN)YESTERDAY (WED) AND ARE IN 3-DAY WAITING PERIOD. NO CONCERNS ABOUT CREDIT SCORE, EMPLOYMENT, OR INCOME CHANGES, BUT HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT IRS 4056 THAT WAS SIGNED A WHILE AGO. WE SUBMITTED COMPLETE 2018 & 2019 TAX RETURNS AND THEY REQUESTED PROOF OF PAYMENT STUBS TO THE IRS FOR THOSE 2 YEARS AND WE PROVIDED THOSE TOO. HAVE NOT FILED TAX YR 2020. WE HAVE A BALANCE DUE FOR YR 2017. AT THIS POINT IN THE PROCESS CAN THEY STILL BE WAITING FOR TAX TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE IRS? HAVE NOT BEEN MADE AWARE OF ANY OTHER CONDITIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I have seen lengthy delays at the IRS as far as generating transcripts. I would ask your lender if that’s what they’re waiting on this point. But I can confirm that it’s been a problem for us. Good luck.
Hello, what would the reason be for getting a 4605-T request when we have
NO loan applications in the pipeline? Our home mortgage was settled and approved over a year ago?? No new loans requested by my wife and I, yet someone is requesting our tax transcript?? How can we find out who needs to know this (and why?)
Confused,
Matthew
That does sound like an odd request, I’m not sure why somebody would request this post closing, especially as much as one year later. Contact the company that did your loan. Or if they sold your loan I would contact the loan servicer and ask them (or ask both to be safe). I can’t think of a reason why this would be needed, so if you can ask the loan originator and the loan servicer and if both of them say they have not requested it, then this may be fraud related and you should contact the IRS and tell them to stop the request. Or if one of them confirms they have requested it, they can confirm why.
Is it possible that a 4506-T request could be made fraudulently? We have no loan applications pending and wonder if we should just disregard the request? This mailing came in an IRS envelope looking legit, but I don’t want to grant access to our tax returns blindly if this is someone trying to commit fraud. The number on the form when I call sounds fishy… not an automated IRS menu, but some guy with a Texan accent?
737-800-7661
Thanks for any help!
Matthew
I didn’t realize you had been contacted through the mail, I thought it was through a more official channel. When you google that phone number it’s a scam.
Don’t respond to the inquiry, and I would report it to the IRS.
Hello i have run into a problem. I have never filed taxes having never met the minimum taxable income required to file. I applied for a Discover credit card and they have sent me a 4506-C form and are threatening to close my account/s if i don’t fill it out. I’d rather not fill it out because I dont see the point if I’ve never even filed taxes. I think I failed to mention to them that most of my income is non-taxable. Should I call the credit card and try to explain or should I just ditch them and let them close the account? Is it worth the hassle? Thanks for any help!
Hello Joanna, providing tax transcripts for a credit card is a little outside of the scope of what I do. As a mortgage lender I don’t have specific knowledge on your situation. I think I would call the credit card company and ask them for specifics on why they need this. There must be some other way they can document your income, perhaps if you sent them W-2s for example? Check in with your credit card company and see what they say. Good luck.
I closed on a loan for our new home Dec 2020. I recently received notification from my loan originator (3mos laters) they are not able to sell my loan to an investor because I have outstanding 2019 taxes. The balance that we owe I guess was missed by underwriting even though we provided our tax filings and the IRS transcripts requested. The loan originator is now saying we must get a payment plan approved by the IRS so that they can sell our loan to an investor and if we don’t, we will have to do our mortgage over again.
I don’t believe there is any fraud on our part, we provided all the documentation they requested. The loan was approved and funded. Im at a loss as to how this could happen so far after close. What recourse do we have? Paying the tax obligation (it is not a lien, and we send what we can to IRS when we can)/or a payment plan is not an option. We will pay the tax debt off in full when sell our current home which is on the market now. Please any advice you have would be appreciated.
I don’t know that this is something that I can advise on given that it is legal in nature. I believe there are loan disclosures that say a lender can ask you for things post closing, that you signed at loan application, saying that you would agree to help them post closing if needed. What they’re asking for is a big ask, of course. I’d just ask them if they can wait until you sell your home when you’ll satisfy the lien in full. If they won’t and want to get on a payment plan, consult an attorney on your options.
I closed on my house loan back in Jan of this year. I received an email today from our bank saying that they needed me to fill out and sign this form (4506). I don’t feel comfortable signing this now 3 months later that gives authorization to look at my IRS filings. Shouldn’t this have been done prior to closing? What are my obligations?
Hello Randy. I don’t think it’s a problem for you to do this, plus you sign loan disclosures when you apply for a mortgage that says you would possibly permit these types of things post closing. And they may have actually done you a favor by closing your loan without the tax transcripts being in hand by settlement. The IRS has been delayed in processing these, so they may be doing it late just because the IRS couldn’t do it back when you went to closing.
Hi Brian:
My loan was approved based on 2 years of tax return 2018 1nd 2019. It turned out that my 2018 does not show on the IRS transcript, I mailed it in during the shut down, they said they would not know how long it take to process. At the meantime my loan is closing soon pending on the transcript of 2018. I asked the underwriter about replacing my 2018 with 2020 tax return, he said because of the COVID-19 guidelines it will delay the loan closing. I did not know what Guidelines he is talking about. Would please clarify for us.
Thank You So Much
I’m not sure what guidelines they are talking about either. I would ask your loan officer to get the underwriter to be more specific and clarify. But if you were going to use your 2019 and 2020 tax returns instead of 2018 and 2019 tax returns; they would still need to be able to pull the tax transcripts up on both years. Hope things work out, good luck.
Hi Brian:
My husband and I applied for a mortgage. The lender requires 2 years of tax return 2019 and 2018. We have 2019 transcript but we are still waiting for the 2018 due to COVID 19 backlog with IRS. I am salaried with W2 and my husband has 1099 with social security which We put on the loan application. For FHA do we need to have tax return for 2 years when the lender could verify our incomes already based on the W-2 and the 1099.
Your reply is greatly appreciated.
Thank You so much
I do believe they’ll need two years of tax transcripts, so you should ask your lender if there is an alternative option or a Plan B just in case those don’t come up.
Have you come across where a lender closes the loan with a cash reserve put into an escrow account and it will be released on a certain date when a missing piece of document is given to the lender post closing because the time is of the essence to close.
Thank you Brian
No, I have never seen a lender accept a cash escrow account for needed paperwork. I can’t see anyone ever allowing that.
Hello. I am trying to refinance my mortgage via a broker and 4506-C is one of the forms I was given to sign. I don’t anticipate any issues with the information that the form requests from the IRS. However, lines 5-8 on the form are blank. I am told this is a common business practice that allows for this same form to be sent to many institutions at once for comparison and I will be given another form later on with details filled in. How would you proceed in this situation, would you sign it?
I’m not sure why they would leave it blank, we fill ours out. I don’t see how it would harm anything to sign it, but I would ask them why exactly they couldn’t fill it out and specify the correct information. They can still copy that form and give it to any other parties that need it, as long as the information is correct.
Thank you so much for all of these replies! I’m not sure you can advise our situation other than to wait on the IRS, but it’s worth a shot. We (FTHB) are currently trying to close on a house with a jumbo loan with W2 income. We filed our 2019 taxes late in March 2021 by mail (11 weeks ago). We are due a refund and have received nearly all state tax refunds we requested at the same time. However, the IRS still has no record of our 2019 taxes (no transcript online, no information of “where’s my refund”, no “processing”, no information when we call, and we can’t get a tax advocate because there’s no IRS record that we’ve filed). We have the certified mail receipt that the IRS office received a package from us, but I’m assuming our taxes are in a pile in a warehouse somewhere as part of the ~1million pieces of unopened mail that the IRS has yet to process. The lack of a transcript only came up late in the underwriting process, as we had always truthfully answered yes when asked if we had filed. But of course, the lender cannot confirm that the 2019 tax returns we supplied them are the same returns that the IRS has (and will eventually process). We’ve already ruled out refiling the taxes in person, and I think our loan officer has ruled out just asking for the W2 transcripts (those do exist) since its a jumbo loan. Any advice? Thank you so much for your time and thoughtful responses!
Wow, that is a tough one. Sounds like you have thought of the few things I would have told you to try. On a Jumbo loan you may be stuck. I wonder if you can find any lender that would do a Jumbo loan with no transcripts at all? I know we have no resources for anything like that, but maybe calling around to some other lenders might yield a solution? Sorry I don’t have more for you. Good luck.
Thanks so much! It’s helpful to hear an honest opinion – this is concordant with any jumbo underwriting guidelines I can find online (I’m well aware this is not the full universe of guidelines), which all state somewhere that 2 years of transcripts are required (even if they aren’t required for income verification).
HI. We are in the middle of getting a mortgage loan and just found out we the lender will pull need to pull our 4506 from 2019. We had to mail our return do to an ippin issue and with covid we could not get ahold of anyone to reissue it. Well we called the irs and they told us that they cant even see our return for that year and transfered us to the compliance departmet. We were advised to resend the return. (not sure how that is going to postpone our closing do to they will probably take forever to get it processed. However they did say they can see our wage and income transcript. Is that the same as the 4506 or is that totally separate. We owe for 2019 so this time im sending in payment along with my return (didnt do that the first time, only sent the return and was planning on setting up a payment plan. Fingers crossed since we do not have to wait for them to actually process a refund that they will get it done faster
The wage and income transcript is the same as the 4506, so hopefully that means progress is being made and your lender will get it quickly. Good luck!
I was preapproved and I am now going through the homebuying process. I submitted all of my paperwork. I get paid on the books. Apparently the last two years of tax returns there was a W-2 missing. So my tax returns for the past two years show less than what I actually made. As of now I do not owe any money to the IRS. Will this be an issue with the underwriter approving my loan?
Different lenders will likely handle this situation in different ways. Go ahead and report this to your loan officer ASAP and ask them to check with the underwriter to see if this might be an issue. Good luck.
Thank you for your reply. I just found out also that I have a overpayment from 2018 for uneploymnet. Not sure how that happened. Do lenders look at that or can they see that? Should I try to set up a payment arraignment with the overpayment office.
If you over paid the IRS I don’t think that’s an issue. I do think a lender would see that, but I don’t think it’s a problem. Or if you mean that you’re underpaid and you still have an outstanding tax liability that you need to set up a payment arrangement for to pay off the amount that’s owed to the IRS, that’s another story. I would ask your lender how to handle that. If you put it on a payment arrangement I think they would have to add that to your debt ratio, so you would have to report and document the monthly payment to your mortgage lender and make sure that you qualify with that monthly payment. Good luck.
HI again. Im actually talking about state unemployment compensation. I was laid off for a few months in 2018 and filed for unemploymnent. I just got a letter this week that they overpaid me. The letter is dated for 6/14/2021 but says I had to appeal by march 2020 so that doesnt even make sense. It has now gone to the offset program. I have been trying to get ahold of the unemployment office but keep getting disconnected. I wasnt sure since its is state if the lender would see that or not.
Oh OK, now I understand better. I don’t think something on a state level like that is anything that the lender is going to see. I would certainly keep contacting them to resolve the issue, but I don’t know think that will factor into your application. I would mention it to your lender anyway to see what they say.
Ok great. And yes I have been calling everyday just cant get a person on the phone. I wasnt sure since now I have an state offset if that would affect it or not. I dont believe there is a judgment or lien as I have not gotten anything in the mail regarding that.
Hi there, I noticed that others have had the same issue as I am dealing with, having to do with tax transcripts, and the IRS being delayed. We are self-employed and in the process of getting a refi (Conventional) and were at the end of the process, closing disclosure was sent, I sent it back and told lender there was a mistake on it. They were going to send the disclosure again and then said they needed a tax transcript for 2020 before sending another disclosure. I e-filed our return this year, but have not seen the transcript online on the IRS website yet. I do have an email from the tax company we used showing that our e-filed return was accepted by the IRS. I have heard that it could take months to get this transcript and we really need this loan to go through ASAP. We were told the underwriter basically said tough luck! Isn’t there anything that can be done to send them the transcript after closing??? Maybe sign an affidavit? Thank you for any help or advice!
I hear there may be lenders that don’t require these tax transcripts. I know that we would require them, but I’ve heard of a couple self-employed clients that went to lenders that did not require them. I’m not sure how that’s possible because I thought everybody required tax transcripts. But you might want to make some phone calls and see if you can find a lender that doesn’t require them, and that may be a solution. I can’t think of anything else I’m afraid. Good luck.
Hello,
I applied and was approved for a va home loan. I am self employed and submitted 2 years tax returns (my income from employment is under $14,000), in addition to my award letters from va and social security prior to approval.
I am scheduled to close 11/8 and the lender sent me a request for a signed 4506c. I always download my transcripts directly from my irs account every year,so I sent my transcripts directly to the lender.
Lender called me on Friday and stated that a signed 4506c is a va requirement and not having this will delay the closing. But, as far as I can tell this is not a va requirement but could be a lender requirement. I said I could literally log in to my irs account at closing or whenever, supervised and obtain any information they require but am not comfortable giving third party access to my account. She insisted the va will require a signed 4506c.
Is this a va requirement that you know of or is this really a lender requirement that they are trying to disguise as a va requirement? My self employment income is a very small amount compared to my compensation and social security income.
I believe this is needed due to your self-employment, regardless of how small that income is of your total income. I have not heard of mortgage borrowers having a problem after giving a lender access to their 4506.
Hello! We closed escrow on a refi back in Dec 2020. I just got an email from the lender requesting 4506-T this morning. It is now Oct 25, 2021. Is this normal practice to request this document almost a year after closing escrow?
Thank you in advance!
I would not say that’s a normal practice, but it does happen on occasion. There can be a need for a lender to check something this long after closing. And there are disclosures that you signed that give your permission to make this sort of a request, even after closing.
We have been conditionally approved for our home loan. We have received our closing documents. They have attempted to retrieve transcripts for my husband who is 100% disabled and has not filed nor has to pay taxes for 10 years now and they insist they have to receive his transcripts before we can close and we are now on our 2nd extension for not closing on time and even though we have our closing documents we were told we cant close without transcripts and at the last dang minute.. what on earth is going on here, we have provided proof of everything and even provided his very last tax returns over 10 years ago.. will a non filing letter fix this? We were told our loan is still under review and that even though we received our closing documents those will change again… we are newbies at this loan stuff and no one wants to willing give us information about what is what and we are basically fed up at this point in time. Asking anyone questions to understand this process is pulling teeth.Please help! Thank you for your time.
It may be that they need the tax transcripts to confirm there are no other sources of income, or a possible business that may be losing money.
While your tax returns show that sort of information, part of the reason to get transcripts is as an anti-fraud measure, to see if the IRS transcripts match up to the tax returns on file.
I’d insist to talk to a branch manager at your lender to get better clarification, as different lenders may have different policies, and I can only guess at their reasoning.
Good luck.