Owners and sole proprietors
Business owners, consultants and other self-employed professionals in Montana whose write-offs keep their taxable income low. Most programs look for an established business.
Montana
Bank statement loans in Montana
A bank statement loan is a mortgage for self-employed borrowers that works out your income from the deposits in your bank statements rather than from your tax returns. We offer them to self-employed borrowers in Montana, as a direct mortgage lender based in New Jersey.
- Direct, licensed mortgage lender
- NMLS #103098
- Equal Housing Lender
Start with your deposits
See how your statements could be read, then talk it through.
Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender
How we lend
Bank statement loans in Montana, from a New Jersey lender
Fidelity Residential is a direct mortgage lender based in New Jersey, licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, including Montana. We make bank statement loans on homes in Montana for business owners and other self-employed borrowers.
You work with us by phone, email and online. Self-employed income takes some explaining: how money moves between your business and personal accounts, what a large deposit was for, why one month was quiet. A licensed loan officer can go through your statements with you before an underwriter sees them.
Census figures
Self-employed in Montana, in figures
In our state-by-state study of Census figures, about 15.2 of every 100 employed workers in Montana are self-employed, above the national 10.0, number 1 of the 41 places we cover (40 states and the District of Columbia), counting from the largest share. About 9 in every 100 work for themselves without a corporation, and 6.2 through one. See self-employed workers, state by state.
Those are the borrowers a bank statement loan is built for: business owners and other self-employed people whose tax returns, after write-offs, show less than the business brings in. Montana’s median home value, $375,800, is above the national $332,700, and about 69.2 percent of its occupied homes are owner-occupied (national: 65.2 percent).
State figures are a starting point. What a program looks at is your own statements, your credit and savings, and the home you have in mind.
Montana at a glance
- Self-employed workers: about 83,000, 15.2 in every 100 employed (national: 10.0)
- With or without a corporation: 6.2 incorporated and 9 not incorporated, per 100 employed
- Median home value: $375,800, owner-occupied homes (national: $332,700)
- Homeowners: 69.2 percent of occupied homes (national: 65.2 percent)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024 (tables B24080, B25003 and B25077). Estimates, not counts.
Who it suits
Who it suits in Montana
Self-employed borrowers whose tax returns show less than the business really brings in.
Builders and tradespeople
Contractors and trades who run their own business and are paid into a business or personal account. If you are paid on 1099 forms instead, a 1099 loan may fit better.
Businesses with a season
Businesses whose deposits rise in one season and slow in another. A seasonal pattern that repeats each year is fine; you explain any month with no deposits.
How it works
How a bank statement loan works
- Statements in place of tax returns. You send complete monthly statements, personal or business, every page, with proof the business is open and a short description of it.
- Deposits become income. Eligible deposits are added up, transfers and other non-business money taken out, an expense allowance applied to business statements, and the rest averaged by month.
- The pattern is reviewed. The underwriter looks at whether deposits are rising or falling, at any returned payments, and at large deposits, which need a short letter.
- The rest of the file as usual. Credit, savings, the appraisal and your debts compared with your income are all checked. It is not a no-document loan.
A worked example, in words. Say you run a contracting business in Montana, and customers pay into the business account.
- The statements. You send one or two years of consecutive monthly business statements, every page.
- What is taken out. Deposits that are not business income are removed: transfers from your other accounts, refunds and loan money.
- The business’s costs. A standard expense allowance comes off the business deposits. If your real costs are lower, a CPA, an enrolled agent or a licensed tax preparer who knows the business can state the real expense share in a signed letter, and programs use that instead.
- The monthly figure. What is left is averaged by month and multiplied by your share of the business.
- The review. The underwriter checks whether deposits are rising or falling, counts any returned payments, and asks for a short letter on any large deposit.
If instead the business pays you into a separate personal account, the deposits there are usually counted in full, with no expense allowance, because the business paid its costs before paying you.
Want the detail? Our bank statement loan guide covers personal and business statements, expense letters and what to prepare, and the bank statement income calculator shows how the deposits you enter would be read, step by step.
Be ready
What you need for a bank statement loan in Montana
You need to be self-employed, usually for two years. Your credit, housing payment history, savings, the appraisal and your debts compared with your income are still checked, and for a home you live in the lender must find that you can repay the loan. Most borrowers can start with these.
- Complete bank statements for one or two years of consecutive months, every page, as your bank issues them, not a transaction printout
- Recent business statements showing the transfers to you, if you use personal statements
- Proof of the business, such as a letter from your CPA or tax preparer, an operating agreement, a business license or a state filing
- A short description of what the business does, where it works from and how many people it employs
- An expense letter or profit and loss statement, if you use one, signed and dated by the preparer
- A note on any large deposit and on any month that looks unusual, such as a quiet winter month
- Statements for the down payment, closing costs and savings after closing
- Photo identification for each borrower
Do not send tax returns unless your loan officer asks: in most programs, tax returns in the file turn the loan into a full-documentation loan. Paid on 1099 forms instead? See bank statement or 1099 loan.
Bank statement loans at a glance
- Homes: the home you live in; many programs allow a second home, and some a rental property.
- Credit score and loan size: credit scores from 620 at some programs; loans from $100,000 up to $4,500,000 at some programs. The share of value you can borrow tightens as the loan grows, and a loan officer can tell you which fit your file.
- How long it takes: often about three to four weeks; the statement review and the appraisal set the pace.
Credit and loan-size figures as read on 7 October 2026 from the program documents on file; they are due for review by 12 November 2026. Each is one program’s own limit; they do not all come together in one loan, and they are not an offer or a loan decision.
Questions
Questions from Montana business owners
Do you lend on bank statement loans in Montana?
Yes. Fidelity Residential is a dba of PFN Lending Group, Inc. (NMLS #103098), a direct mortgage lender based in New Jersey and licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, including Montana. You can check the licences on NMLS Consumer Access (opens in a new tab).
My business is seasonal. Does that count against me?
Not on its own. Deposits are averaged by month, and a seasonal pattern that repeats each year is fine. Months with no deposits need a short explanation, and a fall in deposits over the period can mean the more recent months are used.
Do I need to send my tax returns?
No. The statements take their place for your income. If tax returns go into the file, the loan usually has to be reviewed as a full-documentation loan, so tell your loan officer which route you want.
Should I use personal or business statements?
It depends on how your money moves. If the business pays you into a separate personal account, personal statements are often simpler; if customers pay into one account for everything, it is treated as a business account. A loan officer can compare both.
Can I get a mortgage with bank statements in Montana?
Yes, for self-employed borrowers. Bank statement loans are for business owners and other self-employed borrowers, usually with two years of self-employment, and some programs accept a shorter record with past work in the same line. You give complete monthly statements, personal or business, with proof the business exists and a short description of it. Your credit, savings, the appraisal and your debts are still checked. See what to prepare.
Should I use one year or two years of statements?
Both are widely accepted. If your deposits have been rising, one year gives the higher average; if they have been steady, or an earlier year was stronger, two years smooths the figure out. When deposits are falling, programs use the more recent year anyway. The bank statement income calculator shows both.
What happens to a large deposit?
You write a short letter explaining it. If it fits your business, it counts; if it cannot be explained or does not fit, it is left out. Transfers from your own accounts, refunds, loan money and gifts are never counted as income.
Do overdrafts or returned payments rule me out?
Not on their own, but each one is counted, and many of them, or recent ones, can make a program unavailable. An overdraft covered automatically from your own linked account, with no fee, usually does not count.
Can I buy a second home or a rental with a bank statement loan?
Many programs allow a second home, and some allow a rental property. If the rental’s own rent can carry the payment, a DSCR loan uses the rent instead of your income, for business purposes only.
Can I refinance or take cash out?
Yes. Bank statement programs allow refinances, including cash-out refinances, within each program’s limits.
What if I have had a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Programs set a waiting period after a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale, and the period differs by program. Tell your loan officer the dates so the right program can be chosen.
Talk about a bank statement loan in Montana
Get a quote online, or call and go through your statements with a licensed loan officer.
This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, income, property and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.
Reviewed by Robert Shamie, CEO, NMLS #241428 · Last reviewed:
Fidelity Residential (PFN Lending Group, Inc., NMLS #103098) is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 years in business.