source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b3-3.1-01
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-01 — General Income Information
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-01 — General Income Information.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b3-3.1-01-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b3-3.1-01-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-01 — General Income Information
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-01 — General Income Information
    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: 'B3-3.1-01, General Income Information (03/04/2026) Introduction
      This topic contains general information for income, including: Stable and Predictable
      Income Continuance of Income Veriﬁcation of Income for Non-U.S. Citizen Borrowers
      Non-Occupant Borrower Income Nontaxable Income Income Paid in Virtual Currency
      Reduced Income Documentation Requirements for High LTV Reﬁnance Loans DU Documentation
      Requirements Stable and Predictable Income A stable and predictable ﬂow of income
      is a foundational element in loan underwriting. The lender must document income
      is stable, has a documented history of receipt, and is reasonably expected to
      continue. Continuance of Income Borrowers must be qualiﬁed with income the lender
      can reasonably expect to continue for the foreseeable future. The lender must
      evaluate the likelihood of continuance based on the nature of the income and
      supporting documentation. If the income does not have a deﬁned expiration date
      and the applicable history of receipt of the income is documented (per the speciﬁc
      income type), the lender may conclude that the income is likely to continue
      and the lender is not expected to obtain additional documentation, unless there
      is information to the contrary. If the income source does have a deﬁned expiration
      date or is dependent on the depletion of an asset account or other limited beneﬁt,
      the lender must document that the income is expected to continue for at Published
      May 6, 2026 301 least three years from the note date. Additionally, when an
      asset account is the sole or majority source of qualifying income, the lender
      must assess the borrower’s ability to continue repaying the loan once the income
      source expires or the asset is depleted prior to loan maturity. If the lender
      is notiﬁed that the borrower is transitioning to a lower pay structure, for
      example due to pending retirement or a new job, the lender must use the lower
      income amount in qualifying, and must determine that the lower amount is stable
      and predictable. See Chapter B3-3, Income Assessment for topics with additional
      information and requirements for continuance of income. Veriﬁcation of Income
      for Non-U.S. Citizen Borrowers Borrowers who are not U.S. citizens must meet
      the same employment and income veriﬁcation requirements that are required for
      borrowers who are U.S. citizens, regardless of the type or source of income.
      For information on a borrower earning foreign income, See B3-3.2-02, Standards
      for Employment-Related Income.For non-U.S. citizen borrower eligibility, see
      B2-2-02, Non–U.S. Citizen Borrower Eligibility Requirements. Non-Occupant Borrower
      Income Income from a non-occupant borrower may be considered in qualifying for
      both DU and manually underwritten loans provided the income meets the same standards
      as required for occupying borrowers. For information about restrictions to the
      down payment, DTI, maximum LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV that apply to loans with a non-
      occupant borrower, see B2-2-04, Guarantors, Co-Signers, or Non-Occupant Borrowers
      on the Subject Transaction. For manually underwritten loans, this income can
      oﬀset certain weaknesses that may be in the occupant borrower’s loan application,
      such as limited income, ﬁnancial reserves, or limited credit history. However,
      it may not be used to oﬀset signiﬁcant or recent instances of major derogatory
      credit in the occupant borrower’s credit history. The occupant borrower must
      still reasonably demonstrate a willingness to make the mortgage payments and
      maintain homeownership. Nontaxable Income The lender should give special consideration
      to sources of income that may be nontaxable. The lender must verify that the
      particular source of income is nontaxable, using documentation such as award
      letters, policy agreements, account statements, tax returns or any other documents
      that address the nontaxable status of the income. Any exceptions to the required
      documentation can be found within the details of each speciﬁc income type. If
      the income is veriﬁed to be nontaxable, and the income and its tax-exempt status
      are likely to continue, the lender should develop an “adjusted gross income”
      for the borrower by adding an amount equivalent to 25% of the nontaxable income
      to the borrower’s income. If the actual amount of federal and state taxes that
      would generally be paid by a wage earner in a similar tax bracket is more than
      25% of the borrower’s nontaxable income, the lender may use that amount to develop
      the adjusted gross income, which should be used in calculating the borrower’s
      qualifying ratio. Published May 6, 2026 302 Income Paid in Virtual Currency
      Any income paid to or earned by the borrower in the form of virtual currency,
      such as cryptocurrencies, is not eligible to be used to qualify for the loan.
      Reduced Income Documentation Requirements for High LTV Reﬁnance Loans For certain
      high LTV reﬁnance loans, the lender is not required to follow the income documentation
      requirements described in this Chapter. Additionally, DU oﬀers a reduced level
      of income documentation for High LTV Reﬁnance loans. See Chapter B5-7, High
      Loan-to-Value Reﬁnance Option for speciﬁc requirements. DU Documentation Requirements
      DU indicates the minimum income veriﬁcation documentation required to process
      a loan application. This level of documentation may not be adequate for every
      borrower and every situation. The lender must determine whether additional documentation
      is warranted. If the lender is unable to determine the stability of the borrower’s
      income on the basis of the available documentation, the income must be removed
      and the loan resubmitted to DU. When employment or income is validated by the
      DU validation service, DU will issue a message indicating the required documentation.
      This documentation requirement may diﬀer from those described below. See B3-2-02,
      DU Validation Service for more information. Refer to DU Job Aids for information
      regarding data entry to DU. Recent Related Announcements The table below provides
      reference to recently issued Announcements related to this topic. Announcements
      Issue Date Announcement SEL-2026-02 March 04, 2026'
  judgment: false
