Proof of income: the documents that count and who issues each

Proof of income is paperwork that lets someone else confirm your earnings without taking your word for it. A lender, a landlord, a court or a benefits office asks for it before it lends, rents, sets support or pays a benefit. What makes a document strong is its issuer: an employer, the IRS, the Social Security Administration or a bank, not you.

The right document depends on how you are paid. An employee usually sends pay stubs and a W-2. A contractor sends tax returns and 1099 forms. A retiree sends a benefit letter or a pension statement. Many requesters accept a mix, as long as the pieces tell the same story.

Recency matters as much as the type. A year-to-date total is the running sum of your pay since January, printed on most stubs. Mortgage lenders on Fannie Mae’s guide want the latest paystub dated no earlier than 30 days before the application (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation). A landlord or a court may set its own window, so read the request before you pull old files.

Whoever pays you issues the proof: your employer or its payroll service for pay stubs and W-2 forms, each client for a 1099 form, the IRS for transcripts, a pension plan or a government agency for benefit letters. You gather the copies and send them. When an original is lost, the issuer can usually replace it, and the IRS can show the same figures in a transcript.

1. Read the request first: note which documents it names, for which months or years, and whether a transcript is fine.
2. Download recent pay stubs and last year’s W-2 from your employer’s payroll site, or ask HR for copies.
3. Pull IRS transcripts from your IRS Individual Online Account when a return or W-2 is missing.
4. Download benefit letters from the paying agency’s online account, such as Social Security or your state unemployment office.
5. Add bank statements that show the deposits landing, for every month the requester covers.
6. Check names, dates and totals match across the set before you send it.

• A pay stub older than the window the requester set, or one without year-to-date totals.
• A letter you wrote yourself, with no employer, client or agency behind it.
• A screenshot of an app balance instead of the statement the app or bank issues.
• A stub made with an online generator: lenders compare it with the W-2 and the IRS transcript.
• Income from several sources with proof for only one of them.

Match the document to the way the money reaches you. The table lists the usual proof, who issues it and how to get a copy fast.

Each requester sets its own window, and the strictest ones are lenders. Under Fannie Mae’s guide, the latest paystub must be dated no earlier than 30 days before the initial application and show all year-to-date earnings (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation).

The clock keeps running until closing. Fannie Mae says income and asset documents must be no more than four months old on the note date, and older ones must be updated (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03, Allowable Age of Credit Documents). Expect a fresh pay stub request if your closing slips.

For a past year, the most recent W-2 is the one for the calendar year before the current one (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation). A year-end paystub showing the whole year can replace it, and so can an IRS wage and income transcript (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation).

No pay stubs is normal for contractors, new hires, retirees and people paid in cash. You can still prove income, with documents from a different issuer.

• A tax return transcript is the IRS’s printout of the return you filed, and it shows the income you reported for a past year (IRS, Get your tax records and transcripts).
• A wage and income transcript is the IRS list of the W-2 and 1099 forms the IRS received under your number (IRS, Get your tax records and transcripts).
• An offer letter or employment contract if you just started a job.
• Benefit award letters from the agency that pays you.
• Bank statements that show the same deposits, month after month.

If you are the professional asking, list the documents and the period in writing. A vague "send proof of income" brings back screenshots and old stubs. Name the document, the months and the format.

Fannie Mae’s guide asks that income documents be computer-generated or typed by the employer, name the employer and the source, and be complete and legible (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation). That is a fair bar for any requester.

1. Check the name on every document matches the applicant.
2. Check the dates fall inside your window.
3. Compare year-to-date pay with the W-2 and the deposits on the bank statement.
4. Ask about any gap, a new employer or a drop in hours before you rely on the figure.

• Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation: The latest paystub must be dated no earlier than 30 days before the loan application and show year-to-date earnings; a W-2 transcript, Form 1005 or the final paystub can stand in for a W-2.
• Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03, Allowable Age of Credit Documents: Income and asset documents must be no more than four months old on the note date; older ones must be updated.
• IRS, Get your tax records and transcripts: Taxpayers can get return transcripts, wage and income statements and verification of non-filing letters online or by mail.