source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b1-1-03
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03 — Allowable Age of Credit Documents
    and Federal Income Tax Returns
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03 — Allowable Age of Credit Documents
    and Federal Income Tax Returns.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b1-1-03-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b1-1-03-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03 — Allowable Age of Credit Documents and
    Federal Income Tax Returns
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03 — Allowable Age of Credit Documents
      and Federal Income Tax Returns
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/selling-guide
    snapshot_id: 5f7b8b79da595d76
    fetched_at: '2026-05-25T14:09:57Z'
    content_hash: sha256:98cf85a02861bbe84914a0e339b327c8fc131869a8a573882007bbeea60c5701
    paragraph_quote: 'B1-1-03, Allowable Age of Credit Documents and Federal Income
      Tax Returns (04/02/2025) Introduction This topic contains information on the
      allowable age of credit documents and federal income tax returns. Allowable
      Age of Credit Documents Allowable Age of Federal Income Tax Returns Allowable
      Age of Credit Documents Published May 6, 2026 153 Credit documents include credit
      reports and employment, income, and asset documentation. For all mortgage loans
      (existing and new construction), the credit documents must be no more than four
      months old on the note date. When consecutive credit documents are in the loan
      ﬁle, the most recent document is used to determine whether it meets the age
      requirement. For example, when two consecutive monthly bank statements are used
      to verify a depository asset, the date of the most recent statement must be
      no more than four months old on the note date. If the credit documents are older
      than allowed, the lender must update them. For age requirements related to appraisals,
      see B4-1.2-04, Appraisal Age and Use Requirements. Also see B2-3-05, Properties
      Aﬀected by a Disaster for exceptions to the allowable age of credit documents
      for loans impacted by a natural disaster. Allowable Age of Federal Income Tax
      Returns For some types of sources of income, Fannie Mae requires lenders to
      obtain copies of federal income tax returns (personal returns and, if applicable,
      business returns). The “most recent year’s” tax return is deﬁned as the last
      return scheduled to have been ﬁled with the IRS. For example, If Today’s Date
      is.... Then the Most Recent Year’s Tax Return would be... February 15, 2023
      2021 April 16, 2023 2022 December 15, 2023 2022 The following table describes
      the requirements for documenting the most recent year''s tax return based on
      the application date and disbursement date of the loan. The disbursement date
      coincides with the tax ﬁling dates required by the IRS (see footnotes). The
      dates below can be adjusted to account for a tax ﬁling extension announced by
      the IRS, provided the borrower is eligible to take advantage of the extension.
      The loan ﬁle must always include the last tax return ﬁled by the borrower and
      the minimum number of years of tax returns as noted in the Selling Guide. Published
      May 6, 2026 154 Application Date Disbursement Date Documentation Required Published
      May 6, 2026 155 Application Date Disbursement Date Documentation Required October
      15 1, [current year minus 1] to April 14 2, current year October 15 1[current
      year minus 1] to April 14 2, current year The most recent year’s tax return
      is required. The use of a Tax Extension (IRS Form 4868) is not permitted. April
      15 1, current year to June 30, current year The most recent year’s tax return
      is recommended; however, the previous year(s) is also acceptable. In the event
      the most recent year''s tax return is not obtained, the loan ﬁle must include
      a completed and signed IRS Form 4506-C for transcripts of tax returns provided
      by the borrower to the lender. July 1, current year to October 14 2, current
      year The most recent year’s tax return is recommended; however, the previous
      year(s) is also acceptable. In the event the most recent year''s tax return
      is not obtained, the lender must perform all of the following: • Obtain one
      of the following documents from the borrower: ⚬ copy of IRS Form 4868 (Application
      for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) ﬁled
      with the IRS, ⚬ proof of the e-ﬁling of Form 4868, or ⚬ conﬁrmation of electronic
      payment(s), including the conﬁrmation number, of all or part of the estimated
      income taxes. • Review the total tax liability either reported on IRS Form 4868
      or paid by the borrower and compare it with the borrower’s tax liability from
      the most recent year obtained as a measure of income source stability and continuance.
      An estimated tax liability that is inconsistent with previous years may make
      it necessary for the lender to require the current returns in order to proceed.
      • Obtain IRS response from the ﬁling of IRS Form 4506–C conﬁrming that no transcripts
      are available for the applicable tax year. (Alternatively, lenders may, at their
      own discretion, rely on borrower- provided evidence that no transcripts are
      available for applicable tax years when that evidence is obtained directly from
      the IRS website). Note: Any documents provided by the borrower must clearly
      identify the source of information including identifying information in the
      Internet banner on the document. Published May 6, 2026 156 Application Date
      Disbursement Date Documentation Required April 15 1, current year to October
      14 2, current year April 15 1, current year to December 31, current year January
      1, [current year plus 1] to April 14 2, [current year plus 1] The most recent
      year’s tax return is required. The use of a Tax Extension (IRS Form 4868) is
      not permitted. Exceptions For business tax returns, if the borrower’s business
      uses a ﬁscal year (a year ending on the last day of any month except December),
      the lender may adjust the dates in the above chart to determine what year(s)
      of business tax returns are required in relation to the application date/disbursement
      date of the new mortgage loan. For loans with income validated by DU, lenders
      may rely on the age of tax transcript methodology provided by the service. See
      B3-2-02, DU Validation Service Or the April/October ﬁling dates for the year
      in question as published or extended by the IRS. 1 Or the day prior to the April/October
      ﬁling dates for the year in question as published or extended by the IRS. 2
      Recent Related Announcements The table below provides references to recently
      issued Announcements that are related to this topic. Published May 6, 2026 157
      Announcements Issue Date Announcement SEL-2023-04 May 03, 2023 Announcement
      SEL-2021-11 December 15, 2021 Announcement SEL-2020-07 December 16, 2020 Subpart
      B2, Eligibility Introduction This subpart describes Fannie Mae’s mortgage, borrower,
      and property eligibility policies and occupancy type requirements. Chapter B2-1,
      Mortgage Eligibility Introduction This chapter explains the requirements related
      to mortgage eligibility. Section B2-1.1, Occupancy Types'
  judgment: false
