Short answer
Restricted stock units (RSUs) can count toward mortgage qualifying income — but not automatically, and not all RSU income is treated the same. The rules around documentation, vesting history, and continuance requirements are specific enough that many tech buyers learn the details only when they are in underwriting, sometimes producing a pre-approval that does not hold up. Understanding how your lender is likely to treat your RSU income before you start the home search — not after you are under contract — is the kind of preparation that prevents painful surprises.
What makes RSU income different from salary
Lenders like predictable, documentable income. Base salary is straightforward: regular, consistent, easy to verify. RSU income is different. It arrives in chunks tied to a vesting schedule, varies in value with the stock price at vesting, can be significantly higher in one year than another, and depends on continued employment at the same company.
For a lender evaluating your ability to repay a mortgage over 30 years, RSU income raises questions that base salary does not: will it continue, will it be at a similar level, and how do you document that the vesting will persist?
How conventional lenders treat RSU income: the basics
For conventional loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the most common loan type for higher-priced Greater Seattle homes — lenders follow specific guidelines for RSU income. Fannie Mae's requirements for restricted stock units and restricted stock employment income are detailed in Selling Guide B3-3.3-07 (updated March 2026). Buyers should confirm the exact treatment with their specific lender, since guidelines can vary by lender and loan type, and Freddie Mac maintains its own parallel standards. This is not lending advice.
Time-based RSUs (most common for tech employees). Time-based RSUs vest on a schedule tied to continued employment — a four-year vesting schedule with annual or quarterly cliff vesting is common. For these to count as qualifying income, lenders generally require a minimum of 12 months of receipt history from the current employer, documented through W-2s and pay stubs showing the vested shares were received as income. The lender also needs to see that the vesting is likely to continue — typically demonstrated through a vesting schedule showing remaining unvested RSUs at a similar level for the next three years.
Performance-based RSUs (tied to company or individual metrics). These require a higher bar: generally a 24-month receipt history, documented on W-2s from the same employer, plus continuance documentation. Performance-based grants are harder to qualify because future vesting depends on performance conditions that cannot be guaranteed.
Income calculation. Lenders generally average the RSU income received over the past two years of W-2s to arrive at a qualifying annual figure. If you received $30,000 in RSU income in year one and $60,000 in year two, the average is $45,000 — not $60,000. A single large vesting event does not automatically become your qualifying income baseline.
Stock valuation. Fannie Mae uses a 200-day moving average of the stock price; Freddie Mac uses a 52-week average. The qualifying income calculation is based on this averaged price, not the market price at any given day.
Employer requirements. To use RSU income under standard conventional guidelines, the employer must be a publicly traded company on a major exchange such as the NYSE, NASDAQ, or Dow Jones, or an equivalent foreign exchange.
The situations that cause problems
New to your current employer. RSU income requires a history at your current employer specifically. If you joined a new company six months ago — even with a large grant that will vest over four years — you may not have enough vesting history at the new employer to qualify that income yet. Switching companies in the year or two before buying creates a gap in the documentation chain.
Switching companies. Your RSU history from your previous employer does not carry over. If you left Company A after two years of vesting and joined Company B last year, your RSU income from Company A does not count — and you may only have one year of Company B vesting history, which may not be sufficient depending on the grant type.
Variable vesting amounts. A large cliff vesting event in one year followed by a smaller quarterly schedule in the following year can produce a two-year average that overstates your ongoing income. If you received an unusually large grant in a particular year and the subsequent vesting schedule is at a lower level, a lender averaging two years of W-2s will see the higher figure — but your future vesting schedule may not support that average. Discuss this with your lender explicitly.
Unvested RSUs. RSU grants that have not yet vested are not income. A large unvested RSU balance on your brokerage statement represents future potential compensation — but lenders do not count unvested value toward qualifying income. If your compensation narrative relies heavily on future vesting, the pre-approval figure based on today's vested income may be lower than you expect.
Stock price decline. If your company's stock has declined significantly since the grant date, the value of RSUs vesting in future years may be lower than historical vesting events. A pre-approval calculated on historical RSU income may reflect a higher income basis than what will actually vest going forward.
What documentation to prepare
When you sit down with a lender, expect to provide:
- Two years of W-2s (all sources, including RSU income)
- Recent pay stubs documenting current base salary and any recent vesting events
- Your RSU Award Agreement or grant documentation showing the vesting schedule
- An employer letter or HR documentation confirming remaining unvested RSUs and projected vesting (if the lender requests it)
Lenders vary in what they require. Ask your lender early in the process what documentation they need for your specific RSU situation, and get a clear explanation of how they are calculating your qualifying income. If the number they use is significantly higher or lower than your own estimate, understand why.
How this connects to your actual budget
Article #5 in this series — Pre-Approval Is Not Your Real Budget — addresses the broader question of DTI limits vs. actual comfort. RSU income adds a specific layer: your pre-approval may be calculated on an RSU income basis that does not reflect what will actually vest in the years ahead. If your RSU income has been unusually high due to stock appreciation, a large initial grant, or a single vesting cliff, and your forward vesting schedule is more modest, a pre-approval that averaged historical RSU income may overshoot your actual future income picture.
The question to ask yourself (not just the lender): if my RSU income drops by some amount next year — because the stock declines, because the vesting schedule steps down, or because I change employers — can I still comfortably service this mortgage on base salary and any other reliable income? That stress test matters more than the maximum approval figure.