Sometimes, yes. Asset depletion is a way some loans turn the money you already have into a monthly income figure for qualifying. Instead of asking only what you earn from a job, the underwriter looks at eligible balances in checking, savings, brokerage and sometimes retirement accounts, subtracts what you need to close, and spreads what remains over a set number of months. The result is treated as qualifying income. Most asset depletion loans are non-QM loans, and the rules come from the investor's guide, not from one national standard. Requirements vary by investor and loan structure.
The borrowers who ask about it usually have real money and a thin paycheck. Common situations:
If your income is documented and stable, a standard loan is usually the first thing to check. Asset depletion is a tool for files where the income story does not fit, not a shortcut around documenting the income you have.
Every investor sets its own worksheet. The general shape is the same:
This article does not print a percentage, a divisor or a minimum balance. Those numbers change by investor and by matrix, and an invented number would mislead you. The worksheet in your file is the number that counts, not a calculation from a social media post.
The same money cannot usually be spent twice in the underwriting story. Money used for the down payment and closing costs comes out first. Money the investor requires you to keep as reserves may also be set aside before the depletion math. Large recent deposits still need a paper trail, the same way they do on any loan (Fannie Mae B3-4.2-02 shows how agency loans handle this, and non-QM investors generally ask similar questions). If you are moving large deposits between accounts, keep the statements that show where the money came from.
Fictional example, not a real borrower: a Fort Worth buyer in her early sixties has a brokerage account and an IRA, a small consulting income, and no pension yet. An agency loan using only the consulting income does not support the payment she wants. An asset depletion worksheet takes her eligible balances, applies the investor's reductions for the IRA and brokerage account, subtracts her down payment, closing costs and required reserves, and divides the rest by the investor's divisor. The result, added to her consulting income, is the qualifying income. Two weeks before closing she moves a large amount from the brokerage account into a new annuity. That changes the account the worksheet counted, so the file has to be reworked. The assets have to still be there, in the form the investor counted, at closing.
If your income is irregular rather than low, compare this with bank statement loans and the broader overview of non-QM loans.
If you have meaningful savings and a thin income history, the first step is checking whether a standard loan already works, then comparing asset-based options side by side. Book a call and bring your statements, or start an application.
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026