Running your own business gives you flexibility that a payslip worker never gets, but when you walk into a home loan application, most lenders treat your income like a problem to be solved rather than a strength to be recognised. If you've been operating under an ABN for a year or two, you already know the feeling: the numbers are there, the work is consistent, and somehow the bank still says it needs more.

The honest truth is that lenders can and do approve sole traders every week across Logan, QLD. What changes is which lender you approach, how your financials are presented, and whether your broker knows the policies that differ between lenders on ABN income. Whether you're a tradie who's been running your own outfit for three years, a consultant who recently went independent, or a creative freelancer whose income has varied across two tax years, the path to approval is different from the PAYG route but it is absolutely there.

Our team helps sole traders across Logan, QLD compare lending options across 60+ lenders, matching the right documentation approach to the right lender from the start. The self-employed home loan side of it is where most of the difference is made, and it starts with how your income is read.

Can sole traders get a home loan in Logan, QLD?

Yes, sole traders can get a home loan in Logan, QLD, and lenders approve them routinely. What you're up against isn't a policy that excludes ABN earners. It's a documentation standard designed around employment income, applied to a situation that looks different on paper but works just as well in practice. The lender's question isn't whether you earn enough. It's whether they can verify it to their own standard, and which lender sets that standard most favourably for your structure.

How do lenders assess sole trader income?

Your assessable income is calculated from your tax returns, not from what's sitting in your business account. Most lenders take your net profit after tax across two years, average them, and use that figure as the starting point. If your second year is meaningfully higher than your first, some lenders will weight the average toward the more recent figure rather than splitting it evenly.

The add-back calculation

Where it gets genuinely useful is add-backs. Certain deductions you've claimed against your business income can be added back by a lender before they assess your capacity. Depreciation on tools or equipment is the most common. One-off expenses that won't recur, and the principal portion of any business loan repayment, can also be added back at lenders that run a full add-back assessment. The result can lift your assessable income materially, sometimes enough to shift from a borderline application to a comfortable one.

ABN duration and GST registration

Most lenders want to see your ABN registered for at least two years, and GST registration for the same period. A sole trader who went independent twelve months ago faces a narrower lender panel, though specialist lenders can assess applications from twelve months of trading where the income is clean and consistent and the borrower has a prior employment history in the same field.

What eligibility criteria apply to sole traders?

Lenders assess your application against a set of documentation standards that differ in detail between full-doc and low-doc pathways. Most sole traders use the full-doc route where they can, because the rate is materially better and the LVR ceiling is higher.

What you'll generally need to have in place:

• › ABN registration: active for at least two years, ideally matching your GST registration date.
• › Tax returns: two years of personal tax returns including the business schedule, plus ATO Notice of Assessment for each year.
• › BAS statements: the last four quarters of Business Activity Statements, confirming ongoing turnover consistent with your returns.
• › Business bank statements: three to six months showing regular deposits that match your declared income.
• › Accountant's letter: at some lenders this can substitute for a second year of tax returns where your first year of trading income is strong and growing.
• › ATO tax debt clearance: any outstanding ATO debt is a common application stopper. Lenders want to see the ATO account is clear or the debt is on a formal payment plan.

How much can sole traders borrow in Logan, QLD?

Your borrowing capacity is driven by your assessable income after add-backs, your existing debt commitments, and the lender's assessment rate. The RBA cash rate currently sits at 4.35%, and lenders add the APRA serviceability buffer of 3.0% on top of the actual rate when stress-testing your repayments. That means you're assessed at roughly 9% regardless of the rate you actually pay, which is why the add-back calculation matters so much: every dollar added back to your income moves your assessed capacity at that buffer rate.

CoreLogic data shows Logan suburbs with house medians ranging from around $720,000 in Woodridge and Logan Central through to $835,000 in Loganholme and $880,000 in Browns Plains. At a 10% deposit on an $800,000 purchase, you're borrowing $720,000 and your application is assessed at roughly $720,000 worth of repayments at approximately 9%. That serviceability figure is what the add-back conversation is designed to solve, not the rate.

The APRA debt-to-income framework means banks are also tracking the ratio of your total debt to your gross assessed income. Where that ratio approaches six times income, some lenders hit internal limits even when the repayments are serviceable on paper. Non-bank lenders are not subject to the same cap, which is one reason lender choice matters more for sole traders than for most other borrowers.

Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, mid-2026) and APRA.

Get in touch Need help with a home loan as a sole trader? We're a local team who understand how lenders actually assess your situation, not just your rate. We'll compare your options across 60+ lenders to find the right fit. Chat to Our Team Call 1800 774 756

What government schemes can sole traders use?

Being self-employed doesn't disqualify you from federal schemes, and for a first home purchase in Logan, QLD, several are worth knowing about before you apply.

The options worth considering:

• › First Home Guarantee (5% Deposit Scheme): 5% deposit · no LMI · no income test · Logan price cap $1,000,000 · first home buyers only
• › Family Home Guarantee: 2% deposit · no LMI · single parents or legal guardians · not limited to first home buyers · Logan cap $1,000,000
• › Queensland First Home Owner Grant:$30,000 · new homes only · home value under $750,000 · no income test · citizen or permanent resident
• › Help to Buy (federal shared equity): income cap $103,000 single / $165,000 joint · 2% deposit · government co-owns up to 40% of a new home · Logan cap $1,000,000

The First Home Owner Grant is particularly accessible for sole traders because there's no income test. The documentation hurdle is the same as any other buyer. Transfer duty on an established home in Logan is $0 up to $700,000, which meaningfully reduces your upfront costs at the lower end of the market.

Source: Housing Australia and Queensland Revenue Office.

How do mortgage brokers improve outcomes for sole traders?

The lender choice decides the outcome for sole traders more than for almost any other borrower type. Three policy differences move the number, and they're not published anywhere you can easily compare them.

• › Add-back scope: some lenders add back depreciation only; others include one-off expenses and the principal on business loans. That policy difference alone can shift assessable income by tens of thousands of dollars.
• › One-year versus two-year history: most lenders require two years of returns, but a small number accept one year where an accountant's letter confirms the business is ongoing and income is trending upward. Applying to a two-year-only lender when you've only been trading for thirteen months is a decline that sits on your credit file.
• › Income-year weighting: where the second year is materially stronger than the first, some lenders weight toward the more recent figure rather than averaging. That's a different assessable income, not a different borrower.

Knowing which of those three policy differences applies to your specific structure before lodging an application is what a broker's panel access is actually for.

When does a sole trader home loan not make sense?

If your tax returns show low profit because you've maximised deductions in the last twelve months, you may find your assessable income is too low to support the purchase you have in mind, even after add-backs. Some sole traders run their deductions hard in years they're not planning to borrow and pull them back in years they are. If that's the position you're in now, it's often worth waiting for the next return to reflect the cleaner income before applying, rather than pushing an application through on a year that's working against you.

Where your ABN is less than twelve months old, the mainstream panel is very narrow. Specialist lenders can assess you from twelve months of trading, but the rate is higher and the LVR ceiling is lower than a full-doc application. If your business is young and the purchase isn't urgent, twelve additional months of consistent trading will open substantially more of the market to you.

What approval challenges do sole traders face?

The hurdles that most commonly slow or stop applications:

• › ATO debt: an outstanding tax debt without a formal payment plan is a near-automatic decline at most mainstream lenders. Clearing or formalising this before applying is the single most effective thing a sole trader can do to improve their application position.
• › Income dip in the most recent year: where year two is lower than year one, lenders average downward and some weight toward the lower figure. Timing the application to follow a stronger tax year is a legitimate and meaningful strategy.
• › Lodgement gaps: a tax return not yet lodged, or lodged but with an NOA not yet issued, stalls the assessment. Most lenders need the NOA, not just the return. Lodging on time and not requesting extensions in the year you plan to borrow is straightforward planning that matters.
• › Business and personal finances mixed: sole traders who run personal spending through the business account give lenders a harder read on what the business actually earns. Clean separation between accounts is worth maintaining in the twelve months before applying.
• › Multiple credit enquiries: applying to several lenders directly, each of whom pulls the credit file, stacks enquiries that reduce your score over time. Comparing through a broker means one conversation, not five pulls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can sole traders use a 5% deposit to buy in Logan, QLD?

Yes, sole traders can access the First Home Guarantee with a 5% deposit, as long as you're a first home buyer and the property sits under $1,000,000. There's no income test, and self-employment doesn't disqualify you.

Do lenders use my gross revenue or net profit to assess a sole trader?

Lenders assess your net profit after tax, taken from your personal tax return business schedule. Add-backs for depreciation and one-off expenses can increase that figure at lenders who apply a full add-back policy.

What if my income has varied significantly between my two tax years?

Lenders typically average across both years, though some weight toward the stronger year where income is growing. A broker identifies which lenders on the panel apply the most favourable approach for your specific two-year pattern.

Is a low-doc loan the only option for sole traders?

No. Most sole traders with two years of clean tax returns and BAS access the full-doc market, which carries better rates and higher LVR ceilings than low-doc. Low-doc is the pathway when documentation genuinely can't meet the full-doc standard.

Does an ATO payment plan affect my home loan application?

A formal ATO payment plan is generally acceptable to most lenders, provided the debt is disclosed and the plan is current. An undisclosed or informal arrangement is treated as outstanding debt and will usually cause a decline.

Should I use a mortgage broker or go directly to my bank as a sole trader?

A mortgage broker, every time. Your own bank assesses you against one set of policies. A broker compares add-back rules, income-year weighting and ABN history requirements across a wide panel, which is exactly where sole trader applications live or die.

Your Next Steps

Getting your home loan right as a sole trader isn't just about finding a lender who'll say yes. It's about finding one whose policies treat your income structure fairly, so the capacity you actually have is the capacity they assess. The add-back calculation, the income-year weighting, and the ABN duration requirement all interact differently across the panel, and knowing which combination works for your returns before you apply is what turns a difficult application into a straightforward one.

Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your situation? Contact the Cube Loans team or call 1800 774 756. We'll canvas our 60+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.

About the author Nevada Matthews Mortgage Broker and Co-Owner, Cube Loans Nevada Matthews is a mortgage broker and co-owner of Cube Loans, helping first home buyers, investors and business owners across Loganholme and the wider Logan region. He started broking in 2019 and was named New Broker of the Year (QLD) in 2023, and operates under Cube Central Pty Ltd (Credit Representative 472851), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192. Meet Nevada → LinkedIn

Cube Loans, Loganholme and Logan, QLD, Cube Central Pty Ltd, Credit Representative 472851, authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192, General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.