Bank statement loans for California investors, minus the income paperwork.
Built for self-employed investors whose tax returns do not tell the whole story. We qualify on bank-statement cash flow or on the asset itself, with no W-2s and no tax returns. In the highest income tax state in the country, aggressive write-offs are exactly what break a conventional file. Business-purpose only, and every structure is set in underwriting.
Typical figures, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.
How it works
We can underwrite using 12 to 24 months of bank statements, or structure a no-doc loan that leans on the property and your reserves. It fits business owners, 1099 earners, and investors who don't fit a conventional income box.
Why do California tax returns understate so many self-employed investors?
Because California gives you the strongest possible reason to deduct everything you legally can. The state runs nine brackets topping out at 12.3%, plus the 1% mental health services tax on taxable income above $1,000,000, for a 13.3% top marginal rate, the highest in the country. Stack that on federal and self-employment tax and the incentive to run every legitimate deduction is obvious. The problem shows up at the bank: adjusted gross income is the number a conventional underwriter reads, and a well-managed California return can make a strong operator look thin. This program reads deposits rather than net income, so write-offs do not work against you. Bring 12 or 24 months of statements from the account the business actually runs through. Your tax strategy stays your CPA's business, not ours.
Does my LLC or S corp change what I bring to a California file?
It changes the entity taxes more than it changes the documents. On the loan side, statements from an LLC operating account, 1099 income or owner draws all work, and the point is consistent deposits we can read. On the tax side, every LLC doing business in California owes the $800 annual tax under Revenue and Taxation Code sections 17941 and 23153(d), and section 17942 layers a gross receipts fee on total California income: $900 from $250,000 to under $500,000, $2,500 from $500,000 to under $1,000,000, $6,000 from $1,000,000 to under $5,000,000, and $11,790 at $5,000,000 or more. Total income is gross income plus cost of goods sold, so it is a revenue test and not a profit test. We did not verify whether any first-year waiver currently applies, so do not assume one. Ask your California CPA before you form another entity for the next deal.
What is the business-purpose statement I sign on a California loan?
It is the document that puts your loan inside the commercial lending framework. The California Financing Law defines a commercial loan at Financial Code section 22502 as a loan of $5,000 or more whose proceeds are intended for other than personal, family or household use, and the statute says the lender may rely on the borrower's written statement of purpose and need not verify the actual use. That written statement is the business-purpose affidavit in your file. It is not boilerplate we added. It is why every page on this site says business-purpose only and why we lend on investment property rather than on a home you live in. Sign it accurately. If the real use of the money is personal, this is the wrong program and we would rather find that out on the first call.
What else does California add to my closing that a low-doc file should plan for?
An escrow desk, a reassessed tax bill and an insurance quote. California is an escrow state with no attorney required at closing, and independent escrow companies are licensed by the DFPI under the Escrow Law. Practice splits north to south, with the title company typically running escrow in Northern California and a separate escrow company sitting alongside the title insurer in Southern California. On carry, Article XIII A reassesses the property at your purchase price and caps the ad valorem tax at 1% of that value plus voter-approved debt levies, with the base rising no more than 2% a year afterward. And insurance is a live line: the FAIR Plan writes basic named-peril dwelling fire coverage only, so a property placed there needs a companion policy. None of that is unique to a low-doc file, but a low-doc file has less slack. See Orange County or San Diego for local market detail.
What credit score do I need for a California bank statement loan?
640. That is the floor on this program. Because we are not reading tax returns, credit carries more weight here than it does on an asset-based loan, and score moves your leverage and structure above the floor. There is no hard credit pull to start a file. If you are under 640 today, an asset-based fix and flip or bridge loan has no minimum score and is often the better route while you rebuild. Subject to underwriting.
How much do I put down on a California bank statement loan?
From 20%. On a $700,000 California purchase at 80% that is $560,000 from us and $140,000 from you (700,000 x 80% = 560,000). Qualification runs on bank statements or on no income documents at all depending on the structure, and the leaner the documentation the more the down payment and the property do the work. Budget escrow, title and the city and county transfer tax on top of the down payment. Subject to underwriting.
What loan sizes does this program cover in California?
$100,000 to $3,000,000. The floor exists because the fixed cost of a closing eats a smaller deal for both of us, and in California it rarely binds outside the interior markets. The $3,000,000 ceiling is the more common constraint on the coast, where a single asset can run past it. Above that number we will point you at a different structure rather than stretch this one. Subject to underwriting.
More Bank Statement / No-Doc questions, answered on the program page
Local rules move. Every tax rate, fee, ordinance and market figure here comes from a primary source and carries the date we read it, and we correct them as the rules change. Where a number is mid-change or we could not verify it, we say so rather than guess. Before you commit a budget, confirm anything that drives it with the city or county, and talk to your attorney or CPA on questions of law or tax.
Published by USA Mortgage Funding, LLC, NMLS #152588. Researched from primary sources by our team, drafted with AI assistance, and every figure checked against its source before publishing. Where an answer rests on a public record, that record is linked under it. Figures read on 2026-08-12.
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