Allowable Age of Credit Documents
Credit documents include credit reports and employment, income, and asset documentation. For all mortgage loans (existing and new construction), the credit documents must be no more than four months old on the note date. When consecutive credit documents are in the loan file, the most recent document is used to determine whether it meets the age requirement. For example, when two consecutive monthly bank statements are used to verify a depository asset, the date of the most recent statement must be no more than four months old on the note date. If the credit documents are older than allowed, the lender must update them. For age requirements related to appraisals, see B4-1.2-02, Appraisal Age and Use Requirements.
Allowable Age of Federal Income Tax Returns
For some types of sources of income, Fannie Mae requires lenders to obtain copies of federal income tax returns (personal returns and, if applicable, business returns). The “most recent year’s” tax return is defined as the last return scheduled to have been filed with the IRS. For example,
| If Today’s Date is.... | Then the Most Recent Year’s |
|---|---|
| February 15, 2013 | 2011 |
| April 17, 2013 | 2012 |
| December 15, 2013 | 2012 |
Exceptions
- For business tax returns, if the borrower’s business uses a fiscal year (a year ending on the last day of any month except December), the lender may adjust the dates in the above chart to
determine what year(s) of business tax returns are required in relation to the application date/disbursement date of the new mortgage loan.
- For loans with income validated by DU, lenders may rely on the age of tax transcript methodology provided by the service. See B3-2-02, DU Validation Service.