A frontline T4 is rarely one number. There is base pay, and then there is everything the schedule adds to it. Whether that extra pay counts is the single biggest swing on a frontline mortgage file, and it is where a branch and a broker most often reach different answers.
Base pay
Straightforward. Your rank and step on the salary schedule, confirmed by a letter and a stub. If you are moving up a step during the file, say so, because some lenders will use the higher figure once it is confirmed in writing.
Overtime
Countable almost everywhere, but averaged. The common approach is a two year average from your T4s or a full employment letter, on the reasoning that one heavy year is not a reliable forecast. Some lenders then apply a further reduction. A rising two year pattern is treated very differently from one spike.
Shift premium
This one gets missed constantly, because on many stubs it is folded into regular wages rather than shown on its own line. If it does not appear separately, it can look like it does not exist. An employer letter that confirms the premium and that the pattern continues is usually what fixes it.
Paid duty and court pay
Off duty work paid through the service. It is employment income, it is on the T4, and it is often the largest piece of variable pay an officer has. Treatment varies more here than anywhere else: some lenders count it on the same two year average as overtime, and some will not look at it at all. Documenting it properly is what decides which lender the file goes to.
Retroactive pay
When a round settles late, the award is usually retroactive and arrives as a lump sum, with a new base going forward. The lump is not recurring income and should not be presented as though it is. The new base rate is the number that matters, and the award itself is the document that proves it.
What actually makes the difference
- Two years of T4s, so an average can be built
- A recent stub with year to date figures
- An employer letter that names each type of pay and confirms it continues
- Your collective agreement, where a premium needs explaining
- The arbitration award, if your round settled retroactively
Lender treatment of variable pay is not uniform and it changes. Nothing here is a promise that a particular lender will count a particular kind of pay on your file. It is what we check, in the order we check it.
Your next useful step
Bring the employer, agreement and recent pay. We will work from the document instead of guessing at the income.
