Self-employed pre-approval in Ontario.

Prime lenders qualify on Line 15000 of your T1 General — after deductions. A profitable business can show a thin income figure once write-offs are applied.

Ontario adds its own layer. Two distinct files: GTA/GTHA condo + freehold underwriting, and the rest of the province. Lenders treat them differently on appraisal risk. That matters here because underwriters are already scrutinizing the income side of a self-employed file — a property or program complication local to Ontario can push a marginal file over the edge.

Provincial Land Transfer Tax on a sliding scale; Toronto adds a municipal LTT that effectively doubles the bill inside city limits.

Programs to check eligibility for in Ontario:

• First-time buyer LTT rebate up to $4,000
• Toronto municipal LTT rebate up to $4,475
• Federal First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

• Two years T1 Generals (all pages)
• Two years CRA NOAs (no balance owing)
• Business financial statements or 12–24 months of business bank statements
• Articles of incorporation, T2 corporate return and Notice of Assessment if incorporated
• GST/HST returns where relevant
• Proof your HST/CRA accounts are in good standing

Ontario nuance: Employment letters from Ontario employers are scrutinized for probation clauses; underwriters frequently call HR to verify.

• Status certificate review on condos is non-optional, not a formality.
• Some lenders cap exposure in specific GTA postal codes.
• Property tax estimates on new builds often understate year-2 assessments.

Underwriter view of this scenario: Underwriters average 2 years of NOA income. A strong recent year alone will not carry the file at a prime lender; it will at a B-lender with a fee.

• Two consecutive clean NOAs with no balance owing
• Consistent or growing T1 income (no decline year-over-year)
• GST/HST filings current
• Personal credit kept clean — utilization under 30%

• CRA balance owing on either of the last two NOAs.
• Income that drops more than 20% year-over-year without a documented reason.
• Personal credit utilization above 50% or any missed payments in the last 12 months.