Using RSU Income to Qualify for a Mortgage

If a big chunk of your pay comes as restricted stock units (RSUs) — common for tech and senior corporate roles — you've probably discovered that not every lender knows how to count it. Done right, your RSU income can qualify you for substantially more home. As a broker licensed in Texas and Florida, here's how RSU mortgages work.

The RSU income problem

Your base salary is easy to document. RSUs are trickier: they vest over time, their value moves with the stock, and a cautious lender may ignore them entirely — leaving high earners qualifying on base pay alone. The fix is working with lenders that have clear guidelines for equity compensation.

How lenders count RSU income

Lenders that accept RSUs generally look for:

• A vesting history — often a two-year track record of RSUs vesting, showing the income is real and recurring.
• Continuance — evidence that RSUs will keep vesting (your grant schedule and remaining unvested awards).
• Averaging and valuation — income is often averaged over the recent vesting history, sometimes with a conservative haircut for stock-price volatility.

Meet those and your RSU income can be added to your base to raise your qualifying income and your debt-to-income picture.

What documents you'll need

• Recent pay stubs and W-2s showing vested RSU income
• Your RSU grant/vesting schedule and remaining unvested awards
• Brokerage statements showing vested shares
• Sometimes an employer letter confirming continuance

Who this helps

Software engineers, product and design leaders, and senior corporate employees at public companies — anyone whose total compensation is well above base because of equity. It also pairs with jumbo financing, since equity-heavy earners often buy in higher-cost markets.

The Texas and Florida angle

Austin and Miami have booming tech and finance scenes full of RSU earners, and no state income tax makes equity comp go further. As always, higher Texas property taxes and Florida insurance feed the payment, so we build the full number into what your total compensation supports.

Julia Kovalskiy is a residential mortgage loan originator (NMLS #2661068) licensed in Texas and Florida. This article is educational and is not a commitment to lend; programs, terms, and eligibility vary by lender and individual circumstances.