Seasonal income is annual income that arrives unevenly, and a mortgage file has to present it that way. Lenders qualify seasonal workers on averaged tax-return income — typically two years — supported by an employer letter confirming the seasonal pattern and your expected recall. Employment insurance during the off-season is a normal part of the pattern and is not held against you when the documentation tells the whole story from the start.

Presenting the pattern clearly

Bring two years of T1s, Notices of Assessment and T4s, a letter from your employer stating your trade, seasons worked and return expectation, and recent pay stubs from the current season. If you work for several employers across a season, union dispatch or hiring-hall records help knit the year together. Gaps explained by the season are fine; gaps unexplained are what slow files down.

Budgeting the payment across the year

Qualifying is only half the subject. Lenders will test the payment against annual income, but your household lives month to month: many seasonal borrowers bank the in-season surplus deliberately so winter payments are pre-funded. Some choose payment schedules that match the rhythm. Raise cash flow, not just approval, in your first broker conversation if your income is seasonal.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

A note on rates

Posted rates are a starting point, not the final word. Rates are sometimes negotiable depending on the person and the situation, and we work with multiple lenders who offer different products and sometimes more competitive rates than any single posted table shows. Contact us and we will shop across lenders for your file — call Travis Bannert at (780) 720-8240. Any rate quoted for your file is based on an application and lender approval — it is confirmed only when a lender reviews your full application.

Start with a check, not a guess

Run your numbers through the Pre-Approval & Refinance Check — that page is the fastest way to sign up for a review of what you qualify for, what documents you need, and what your payment would look like on the homes you are actually watching in Edmonton and across Alberta.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use EI income to qualify for a mortgage in Canada?
Seasonal EI as part of a documented recurring work pattern can be considered by some lenders alongside employment income. Standalone EI without a work pattern generally cannot.

Thinking about this move in Edmonton or anywhere in Alberta? Call Travis Bannert at (780) 720-8240 — I will try to call you this week, or reply with a good time and we will set a phone appointment to walk through your file step by step.

By Travis Bannert, Mortgage Broker
Travis Bannert, Mortgage Broker | Next Door Mortgages, BFL Dominion Lending Centres | (780) 720-8240 | nextdoormortgages.com