Can you get a home loan with foreign income while living in Australia?

You live in Australia. Your pay lands in another currency. Banks don't automatically say no. But they won't just trust a currency converter either.

This guide is for people living in Australia. If you live overseas, our Australian expat home loan guide covers a different situation. Your tax return figure or a converter isn't automatically what a bank will accept.

The worked example below shows why we check the lender's calculation before you set a budget. In one specified NAB net-income route, the estimate changed from $546,703 to $185,014 when Australian PAYG was replaced with the same gross salary converted from foreign income. That result depends on the stated tax and income assumptions; it is not a rule for every foreign-income borrower.

See the borrowing-power example and its assumptions. The Westpac comparison alongside it is only a constant-rate sensitivity, not a verified loan limit.

We can compare which suitable lenders accept your currency and income source, then show how much each would count. Get that calculation before setting a price range. Our income and employment guides explain why different income sources need different checks.

US dollars can qualify under both Macquarie and Bankwest's rules below. The currency on your payslip is only one test: your residence, employment location, income type and loan structure also matter.

Macquarie's list is for eligible foreign PAYG while living in Australia. Australian residence, address, mobile number and tax residency are required; expats are excluded. It generally counts 80% of converted eligible income, with extra treatment for variable earnings. Don't extend this list to every type of overseas income.

Bankwest counts 80% of net income in its listed currencies. It may consider other currencies at 70%, subject to approval, but won't accept Chinese yuan (CNY) for this route. Foreign self-employed income is excluded. Your residency, loan purpose and LVR still need to qualify.

Teachers Mutual may be an option for PAYG or rental income in any currency, using 70% of the income. That means it keeps 70%, not that it cuts your income by 70%. We still need to confirm whether it starts from gross or net income, and whether your residency and the loan qualify.

A currency missing from this table isn't automatically rejected. We haven't confirmed the exact lists for NAB, ANZ, Westpac or Granite. Ask us to check your exact currency code and circumstances.

This is a limited comparison, not a complete list of every lender's accepted currencies.

An Australian resident employed by an overseas company is different from a contractor invoicing overseas customers. Foreign rent, dividends and pensions are different again.

Tell your broker where you live, your visa or citizenship, who pays you, what currency and where it lands. Paying into an Australian account doesn't turn it into Australian-dollar salary or change its source.

Keep base pay separate from bonuses, commission and overtime. Lenders can treat variable pay and currency risk separately, so a variable-income reduction may apply as well as a currency allowance.

A lender can convert accepted earnings to Australian dollars and then reduce the amount it uses to allow for currency risk. Rates, methods and reductions vary. Ask your broker to show the conversion and each reduction separately so you know where the accepted figure came from.

Then test your repayments with less Australian-dollar income, not just your best month. A healthy overseas salary can leave a smaller repayment budget when exchange rates move.

Example only, not a current quote or forecast. Say your fixed salary is US$80,000.

The lender's accepted income may differ again after its adjustments. Test your own budget with the lower converted income so a change in the dollar doesn't leave you short.

Our borrowing capacity calculator is a starting estimate and doesn't apply a particular lender's foreign-income rules. Use Moneysmart's repayment calculator to compare payments on different loan sizes once accepted income is clear.

We compared Australian PAYG of $120,000 with foreign PAYG already converted to the same $120,000 gross annual amount. The example borrower is an Australian citizen and tax resident living and working in Australia, not an expat.

We assumed $91,080 annual net income using Australian tax only, without foreign withholding, tax credits or treaty adjustments. The calculator received Australian-dollar figures; it did not convert the currency.

Don't use Westpac's $478,821 as a loan limit. The $71,822 difference holds the variable rate at 6.40% to show the effect of changing the income scenario. At that loan size, automatic pricing increased to 6.45% and the affordability test failed. The displayed figure is a constant-rate comparison, not an automatically priced offer or a fixed-rate loan.

NAB's $361,689 reduction uses a specific net-income route: 60% of $91,080, or $54,648 a year and $4,554 a month, against $7,590 domestic net income a month. Both use 6.48% actual and 9.48% assessment rates. Other NAB routes can use a different gross/net basis, so this isn't every foreign applicant's result.

Common inputs were a single 35-year-old, no dependants, debts or HELP, $3,000 monthly expenses excluding proposed housing, and each lender's minimum living-cost calculation. The property was an owner-occupied house in postcode 4000, with principal and interest over 30 years.

The $1m property and $500,000 loan were starting references, not each result's final LVR. These examples aren't purchase budgets, approvals or verified US-dollar quotes. Tax, exchange-rate rules, eligibility and pricing can change the outcome.

Where income eligibility or calculator treatment is unresolved, we won't use a figure to set your budget. A lender excluding foreign income doesn't mean your total borrowing capacity is $0.

Start with your contract, recent payslips and bank statements showing the payments, plus anything that explains a different employer name, payroll company or transfer service.

For ANZ, start by gathering foreign-income evidence covering the last 3 months, which is generally what it asks for. Having those documents doesn't mean every overseas income source will be accepted.

Our ANZ home loan review covers the broader loan features. We still need to check your currency, employment and accepted income before comparing a loan.

Before relying on ANZ, we need to check whether your employment and currency qualify, how the income is converted and how much the bank will count. Having the paperwork is only the starting point. A foreign salary and overseas rent need separate checks, even if both arrive in the same account.

Talk to our team before setting your property budget. We can compare accepted income across suitable available loans, identify missing evidence and explain the gap between your payslip and the bank's borrowing figure.

Depending on the arrangement, the lender may want tax returns, notices of assessment, business accounts or translations. Ask what's needed and how far back before paying for translations. Don't assume a foreign tax return will be enough on its own.

For contractor income, bring the contract and business records as well as incoming payments. One big overseas client doesn't make you an employee for lending purposes.

If you're a PAYG employee of an overseas employer and have a current Australian residential address, Macquarie may be an option. You'll need payslips. It converts eligible foreign-currency income to Australian dollars and counts 80%. Accepted overtime, commission and bonuses then receive a further 80% allowance; that extra reduction applies to accepted variable earnings, not your base pay.

For a hypothetical bonus worth A$10,000 after conversion, those two allowances leave A$6,400 for assessment. That is accepted income, not extra borrowing. The documents must be in English or translated by an Australian-domiciled registered translation service.

For this Macquarie route, you need to live in Australia, have an Australian address and mobile number, and be an Australian tax resident. It excludes expat lending and doesn't allow a negative-gearing benefit against foreign income. Living overseas needs a different assessment from the onshore salary discussed here.

Overseas pensions, rent and investment income need separate checks and cannot be your sole or majority income on this route. We check the income type, currency, evidence and current product eligibility before treating it as an option for you.

NAB cuts qualifying foreign base PAYG or contract income by 40% when working out what you can afford. This route excludes foreign bonuses, overtime, rent and self-employed, company or trust income, so a large overseas income may count for much less.

NAB's usual maximum is 70% LVR; specified Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent-resident cases can reach 80%. Construction and cash out are excluded, and property restrictions apply. Check eligibility before relying on 80%.

On a $1m purchase with a matching lender valuation, those ceilings mean a $300k or $200k contribution before costs. That $100k gap comes from the deposit rule, not an income calculation or a promise of approval.

ANZ generally counts 80% of eligible net foreign income after conversion.

Gross salary and net income are different starting points. We check the tax treatment and exchange-rate basis before comparing these percentages with another lender's result. Our Bankwest home loan review covers its other product features and restrictions.

ING and ubank don't accept foreign income through the routes compared here. If you need that income to qualify, their advertised rate won't solve the problem.

Our ING home loan review and ubank home loan review cover their broader offerings. We compare lenders that can accept your particular income before spending time on rates.

Living here, your visa and being an Australian resident for tax aren't interchangeable. Australian tax residents generally declare worldwide income. Temporary-resident exceptions can apply, but employment or services income can still be taxable, and foreign tax paid may need considering.

Ask an accountant and keep consistent records. A tax result doesn't require a lender to accept the income.

Foreign income can narrow your choice of lenders or products, but there's no single deposit rule for everyone paid overseas. Check your residency, property, income type and loan amount together. Ask whether the lender accepts your income before setting a deposit target.

A bigger deposit shrinks the loan, but doesn't fix an income source the bank won't accept. If you're comparing first home buyer loans or low-deposit options, get the income checked first. Buying a rental property also means checking the investment property loan alongside your overseas earnings.

Disclose overseas loans, credit cards and other commitments. Australian statements may not show their repayments.

Send our Brisbane mortgage brokers your income source, payment currency and recent records before committing to a purchase. We can check suitable options and explain the gap between what you receive and what counts for the loan. Call Hunter Galloway on 1300 088 065 or request a free assessment.

If you're seeking pre-approval, have those assumptions checked before relying on the figure.