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My accountant minimises my tax. So why does the bank say I can't afford anything?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 3 September 2026 · 3 min read

The two minute version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

What your accountant is paid to do

Your accountant is very good at minimising your tax, because of course we don't want to hand over more money to the ATO than what we need to. Their primary goal is getting your taxable income as low as possible: through the structure of your business, through expenses in the business, buying assets so you can depreciate them, getting finance so you can write off the interest, all these things.

None of that is wrong. It's exactly what you want from an accountant, right up until the day you apply for a home loan. Then the same return that saved you tax is the document the bank uses to decide what you can afford.

What the bank is looking for

Your accountant does not dictate how much the banks will let you borrow. The banks work conversely to your accountant. They actually want to see as much profit in the business as possible, because ultimately profit is the be all and end all when you're figuring out how much you can borrow.

So if your accountant is getting your net profit all the way down, the bank is going to look at that net profit figure and kind of squint and go, well, you can't really afford this loan on paper because your profit's really low. The bank's not reading your bank balance or your lifestyle. It's reading the number at the bottom of the return.

Some of what the accountant took off, the bank will add back: depreciation, interest on business debts already counted elsewhere, one-off costs, super above the compulsory rate. But most of it stays off. A genuine expense is a genuine expense, and the bank treats it that way. The years the bank looks at and how they're averaged decide the rest.

Two sides of the same business

It's very important to understand that your accountant and a mortgage broker will often look at two sides of your business. Your broker wants you to show as much income as possible so we can get the required loan amount for whatever you're looking to do. Your accountant is interested in minimising your tax obligations.

So for you that means the conversation has to happen before the return is lodged, not after. If you know a purchase is coming in the next year or two, tell your accountant. A slightly higher taxable income for a year, and a bit more tax paid, can be the difference between the loan you want and the loan you're offered. Once the return is lodged, the number's the number.