Uber, DiDi, Ola, Uber Eats, DoorDash
Home loans for Uber and rideshare drivers in Melbourne
Driving for Uber or delivering for Uber Eats is real income, and lenders will use it. The catch is that you are self-employed in their eyes, so they want to see it through an ABN, tax returns or activity statements rather than payslips. We work with a lot of drivers across Melbourne's south-east and know exactly what each lender needs to see.
Why banks get it wrong
You are a small business, whether or not it feels like one
Every rideshare driver in Australia has an ABN and is registered for GST, because Uber requires it. That means lenders assess you as self-employed. Walk into a bank branch and say "I drive Uber" and the person across the desk often does not know how to treat that, and the application stalls.
The lenders that do understand it want three things: how long the ABN has been active, what the income looks like on paper, and whether rideshare is your main income or a second job on top of employed work. Each of those changes which lender is right and how much they will count.
Full-time drivers can be assessed on as little as one year of tax returns with some lenders, or on BAS and bank statements under a low-doc arrangement. Drivers doing it as a second job usually have half the income counted, though a few lenders count all of it after twelve months. Presenting it properly is the difference between a yes and a maybe.
- We know which lenders accept one year of ABN and one tax return, and which want two
- Low-doc options using BAS, bank statements or an accountant's letter where tax returns are thin
- Second-job rideshare income counted at the highest rate a lender's policy allows
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Twenty years inside Australian banking, including senior roles at ANZ, before starting Exceed Finance. Plain answers, no pressure.
The numbers that matter
At a glance
General information only. Lender policies change and your full situation has to be assessed before any lender will confirm what they will do. Our service is free to you on residential home loans and everything is disclosed in writing.
Where we can usually help most
The driver situations that come up again and again
Full-time driver, one tax return
Some lenders accept a single year of ABN history and one tax return. Others want two. Your year-end timing matters, and we can tell you whether to apply now or wait for the next return.
Driving on top of a day job
Your employed income carries the application and the rideshare is added on top. How much of it counts depends on the lender and how long you have been driving.
Deductions ate the profit
Fuel, car, insurance and depreciation are all deductible, which is great for tax and bad for borrowing power. Some lenders add back depreciation and one-off costs. We show them the real picture.
Car loan on the vehicle
A rideshare car often has finance on it, and that repayment counts against you. Sometimes restructuring it before the home loan changes the whole outcome.
Where our clients are
Across Melbourne, and Australia-wide
We are based in Dandenong South and a lot of our clients are across Melbourne's south-east, but everything can be done by phone, video and secure upload, so we help clients anywhere in Australia.
Other situations we write about:
Simple from start to finish
How it works
Free chat
We work out your goals and what you can actually borrow.
We compare
We search 35+ lenders and shortlist the ones whose policy fits your situation.
We apply
We package and submit your application, and chase it for you.
Settlement
We see it through to approval, and stay in touch afterwards.
Common questions
Questions we get asked a lot
Can I get a home loan if Uber is my only income?
Yes, with the right lender. You will be assessed as self-employed. Most lenders want the ABN to have been active for at least twelve months and want to see one or two years of tax returns. Where the returns are not there yet, some lenders accept business activity statements, bank statements or a letter from your accountant under a low-doc arrangement, usually with a larger deposit.
I drive Uber on weekends on top of my full-time job. Does that income count?
Usually, in part. Most lenders count around half of second-job rideshare income, because they treat it as less reliable than your salary. A few lenders will count all of it once you have been driving for at least a year and can show it in your tax return. We will tell you which lenders those are and whether it is worth waiting for the twelve-month mark.
Do I need to be registered for GST?
You already are, or should be. Uber and the other platforms require every driver to hold an ABN and register for GST from the first dollar, regardless of turnover. Lenders will look at your BAS lodgements as part of the picture, so keeping them up to date matters more for a home loan than most drivers realise.
My tax return shows a low profit because of car expenses. Will that hurt me?
It can. Lenders assess self-employed borrowers on taxable income, so heavy deductions reduce what they think you earn. Some lenders add back depreciation, interest on the car loan and genuine one-off expenses, which lifts the figure back up. Talk to us before your next return is lodged if you are planning to buy in the next year or two; a little coordination with your accountant can make a real difference.
How much deposit will I need?
It depends on how the income is documented. With full tax returns, some lenders lend to 95 percent of the property value, the same as an employed borrower. With low-doc evidence such as BAS or bank statements, most lenders want 20 percent or more. First home buyers may also be able to use the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, which does not exclude self-employed applicants.
Do you charge for this?
Our service is free to you on residential home loans. Everything is disclosed in writing before you commit to anything, and as a licensed credit representative we operate under Best Interests Duty, which legally requires us to act in your interests rather than our own.
Will talking to you affect my credit score?
No. A conversation with us, and the work we do comparing lenders, involves no credit check. A credit enquiry only happens when an actual application is lodged with a lender, and we do not lodge anything until you have chosen to go ahead. The point of doing the work first is so that the application that does go in is the right one.
Find out what your driving income gets you
Tell us how long you have been driving, roughly what you earn and whether it is your main income. We will tell you which lenders would look at it and what to lodge. Free, no obligation.