Doctor mortgages: built
around the income you’re
about to earn.

It’s a mortgage qualified under a lender’s dedicated medical-professional program rather than a standard salaried product. The core difference is that the lender uses a projected qualifying income from your signed employment or practice contract — typically well above current or residency pay — and applies physician-friendly rules to your line of credit and student debt. Programs like this exist at several major banks and at some broker-channel lenders. We confirm the exact terms against the current program for your lender and specialty before you rely on any number.

Yes — that is the central feature of a physician program. Rather than using your trailing T4 or residency stub, the lender qualifies you on a projected qualifying income supported by a signed contract or confirmed practice placement. We never quote a specific projected figure on this page because it varies by lender and specialty and changes over time; instead we confirm the exact qualifying income against the current program for your lender and specialty when we structure your file.

Some physician programs allow insured purchases with the federal minimum down payment (5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the rest up to $1.5M); others cap at 90% loan-to-value. We confirm the cap for your lender. That means many physicians buy earlier and with less cash than they expect. On uninsured or higher-value purchases the down payment requirement rises, and we model both routes so you can choose.

This is one of the biggest affordability levers. Most lenders count a credit line by its balance (CMHC uses 3% of the outstanding balance for unsecured lines), but some use the full limit on certain files. Physician programs commonly count your Professional Line of Credit on its outstanding balance instead — so an unused or partly-used line stops dragging down your qualifying ratios. We make sure the file is placed with a lender applying balance-based treatment.

Medical student debt is the other classic obstacle, and physician programs soften it — depending on the lender it may be excluded, deferred, or counted at a reduced payment in your debt-service ratios. The treatment varies by program, so we confirm it against the current rules for the specific lender we place you with rather than assuming a single standard.

The structure is similar but the income story differs. Family physicians are often fee-for-service or in a group practice, while specialists may be hospital-employed, on an alternate funding plan, or running a practice — and many specialists arrive straight from a fellowship with little trailing income. The lender’s projected-income approach is built for exactly these situations; we match your specialty and employment type to the program that reads it most generously.

How you pay yourself out of a medical professional corporation is a mortgage lever, not just a tax decision. Salary (T4) reads most cleanly to lenders; dividends (T5) are accepted over a two-year average and several lenders gross them up; retained earnings left in the corporation are usable with the right lenders. We model salary-only, dividend, and blended structures, and where there’s time we’ll flag points to discuss with your accountant before your next filing. See our self-employed mortgage page for the deeper incorporated-income mechanics.

These programs are designed for new-to-practice physicians and typically apply during residency or fellowship and up to about 24 months after you finish (varies by lender) — and in many cases you can qualify before you start, on a signed contract or confirmed placement. If you’re still in training, see our medical resident mortgage page, which covers qualifying during residency itself.

Yes. A refinance is uninsured and limited to 80% of your home’s value, so the 5%-down rules do not apply; physician pricing and PLOC treatment may still help. Physicians refinance to access better pricing, to pull equity for a practice buy-in or to consolidate higher-rate professional and student debt at mortgage rates, or to move from an alternative lender they used early in training back to a prime physician program. We model the refinance and the break costs, if any, so the move is clearly worth it before you commit.

On a properly placed insured physician file, pricing is competitive with — and often the same as — a standard salaried borrower, because the lender is using the program to win a high-value long-term client, not to charge a premium. We compare bank physician programs and broker-channel options on your file. Rate-beat offer: if you bring a written, current offer from one of the six largest banks for the same product, term and amount, we will try to beat it or pay you $500. Conditions apply; see our rate-beat guarantee page. Our compensation comes from the lender on funding and is always disclosed.