Asset depletion: assets divided into income.
A divisor turns the portfolio into monthly qualifying income the desk can read like a paycheck.
Eligible balances are verified and haircut by type.
Balance divided by the program's months equals monthly income.
We pick the desk whose divisor flatters your mix.
In short
Key takeaways
- The divisor decides everything: $945,000 of eligible assets is $2,625 a month at a 360-month desk and $11,250 a month at an 84-month desk. Same statements, four possible answers.
- The divided figure stacks. Social Security, pensions, annuities, and wages all sit next to it on the income line, and the combined number runs through a normal DTI.
- Assets are documented, not drawn: nothing is spent or pledged, and the account keeps compounding after closing. Expect 15 to 25% down as of mid-2026, with seasoning on recent large deposits.
- Files with nothing to stack belong on the asset qualifier page instead: same statements, no income line anywhere, and a coverage test where this page has a divisor.
Written and reviewed by the Intel Loans, Inc. lending team · NMLS #2858705Updated July 2026
What this desk looks at
The same two million dollars is a different income at every desk. The divisor is the whole negotiation.
Common programs divide over 60 to 120 months.
Access rules change what counts before 59½.
Depletion can sit on top of W-2, rental, or pension income.
Settled, documented money. Recent windfalls get questions.
The divisor
The divisor, desk by desk
The formula is division. Post-haircut eligible assets divided by the program’s month count equals monthly qualifying income. A 360-month desk reads the portfolio as a thirty-year paycheck; an 84-month desk reads it as a seven-year one, and the seven-year paycheck is more than four times larger.
No desk advertises which number it runs, and the divisor is set by the program, not negotiated inside it. That spread is the entire shopping argument. The table below runs the same $945,000 of eligible assets through the four divisor variants we see across the desks we broker to as of mid-2026.
Nothing gets spent to produce these numbers. The account keeps compounding at your custodian; the division happens on paper, once, at underwriting, and the output is tested inside a normal DTI like any documented salary.
| Program divisor | The division | Monthly qualifying income | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 360 months | $945,000 divided by 360 | $2,625 | The common default across depletion desks |
| 240 months | $945,000 divided by 240 | $3,938 | A middle variant at some wholesale programs |
| 120 months | $945,000 divided by 120 | $7,875 | Fewer desks; often paired with age or retirement conditions |
| 84 months | $945,000 divided by 84 | $11,250 | The richest math; usually higher down payment and tighter credit overlays |
Insurance eats the divisor from the payment side
The divided income runs through a normal DTI, so a heavy wind and hazard premium sits on the payment side of the same test. In the worked example a $400 monthly insurance line is small change against the $13,650 of stacked income an 84-month file carries and nearly a sixth of the $2,625 a 360-month desk divides out. The stingier the divisor, the more the premium matters; if you are buying in Florida, our Florida insurance guide shows what lenders require.
The haircuts
Haircuts first, division second
Division comes second. First each asset class takes a haircut, the same classes the asset qualifier desks use: a dollar of cash survives the haircut whole, a dollar of stock loses 10 to 20 cents before it reaches the numerator, and a retirement dollar loses 20 to 30, more if you are under 59½. A $1,050,000 brokerage statement enters the divisor as $945,000.
The table shows the haircut and the division working together, with $500,000 placed in each class at a 360-month desk. Read the monthly column. That is the only number the DTI ever sees.
The rest of the box is familiar non-QM territory as of mid-2026: 15 to 25% down, credit floors that set the LTV ceiling, and seasoning on any recent large deposit. A wire that landed last month gets sourced before it gets divided.
| Asset class | Typical haircut | Monthly income from $500,000 after the divide |
|---|---|---|
| Checking, savings, money market, CDs | Counted near 100% | $1,389 |
| Marketable securities in a brokerage account | 80% to 90%, priced from the most recent statement | $1,111 to $1,250 |
| Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s | 70% to 80%, with age conditions | $972 to $1,111 |
| Business accounts | Counted only up to your ownership stake; most desks hold the figure out of the numerator until a CPA letter shows the business can run without that cash | Set per program, no standard figure |
| Crypto and private company stock | Excluded from the numerator at nearly every desk as of mid-2026 | $0 |
Inside the file
What the underwriter reads, and when money seasons
What the desk collects is short: sixty days on every checking and brokerage account headed into the divisor, and the most recent quarterly for anything held in a retirement plan. Each check you stack brings its own paper: the Social Security award letter, the pension statement, the annuity contract, the pay stub if you still work.
This file, unlike the qualifier version, carries an income section and a DTI worksheet. The divisor’s output sits on the income line next to the documented checks, and the underwriter tests the total against the payment the way any full-documentation file gets tested. The program borrows conventional plumbing and swaps only the income source.
Seasoning attaches to recent arrivals, not to the account itself. $900,000 that has sat at your custodian for years divides on day one, while a $300,000 wire from last month’s house sale needs the closing statement that explains it, and some desks want it parked 60 to 90 days before it counts.
Worked example
A Naples widow at two divisors
Hypothetical example for illustration only, not a quote or an offer. A 63-year-old widow in Naples holds $1,050,000 in a brokerage account and receives $2,400 a month in survivor Social Security. The house she wants carries a $3,900 full monthly payment, PITIA, on the quote under review. Here is her identical file at two desks.
A $3,900 payment against $5,025 of income fails the DTI test at nearly every desk. The same payment against $13,650 clears with thousands of dollars of monthly room. Nothing about the borrower changed between those rows; only the divisor did, and since each program fixes its own month count, the one move she controls is which programs read the file first.
The honest part
What an asset depletion loan costs you
Formula income costs more than paycheck income. An underwriter who trusts a divisor instead of a paycheck charges for the trust, so depletion pricing sits above agency loans for an otherwise identical borrower. If your Social Security and pension already clear the DTI without the division, a conventional file usually wins on price, and we will tell you when it does. The division is worth paying for only when it changes the answer.
The common divisor is stingy. At 360 months, $945,000 of eligible assets produces $2,625 a month, and even a $2,000,000 portfolio produces about $5,556. The 84-month figure is the one people remember from pages like this; the 360-month figure is the one most desks actually run. The richer divisors exist, and they usually arrive with higher down payment asks and tighter credit overlays attached.
The down payment fights the divisor. Fifteen percent down is the floor, not the norm: most depletion desks want 20 to 25% as of mid-2026, and the check comes out of the very accounts being divided. Write a $130,000 check at the closing table and a 360-month file just lost $361 a month of qualifying income before the underwriter opens it. Recent money adds a wait on top, since large deposits season before they divide.
How depletion compares
A published calculation, not an underwriter's mood.
It adds to real income instead of replacing it.
Here the math makes income. There the pile itself qualifies.
From statements to closing
Know your divisor before you write the offer.
Tell us the account types, rough balances, and every monthly deposit you can document. Four income figures come back, one per divisor, with the desks that run each one named.
List the accounts and the checks
Round balances by account type, plus every monthly deposit you can document: Social Security, pension, annuity, wages. Ballpark figures are enough to run all four divisors; the credit pull waits until you pick a desk.
We haircut and divide
The same portfolio produces four different income figures at 360, 240, 120, and 84 months. We run all four and show you which desks run which number.
We test the stacked DTI
Divided income plus documented checks, measured against the target payment. In coastal and high-premium markets that payment includes a heavy wind and hazard line, so we price the insurance before promising you a number.
Statements, appraisal, clear to close
Two months of statements per counted account, plus the award letters and pension statements behind each stacked check, then a standard appraisal. Nothing needs employer re-verification, so the paper you already gathered sets the pace.
Adjacent moves
If this isn’t quite your file
Questions we actually get
How do I choose between asset depletion and asset qualifier?
Three sentences decide it. If checks already arrive every month, Social Security, a pension, an annuity, or wages, depletion converts the portfolio into additional income that stacks on top of them. If the file should carry no income line at all, the asset qualifier coverage formula qualifies the portfolio by itself. Send the balances and the deposit list; the reply shows the stacked DTI next to the coverage test so you can see which file clears.
Does the lender freeze or draw from my accounts?
No. The division happens on paper at underwriting, and no draw schedule follows it: the program never requires a monthly distribution, before closing or after. What moves the number is the balance itself. Pull $50,000 out of a 360-month file and the numerator drops by $50,000, which takes $139 a month off the qualifying income; the same withdrawal at an 84-month desk takes off $595. Desks re-verify balances near closing, so time large purchases for after the closing date.
Why does my age change the monthly figure from an IRA?
The penalty age is the hinge, and the discount runs before the division. Under 59½ a desk assumes an early-withdrawal haircut, so a $400,000 IRA might enter the numerator at 60%, which is $240,000 and divides to $667 a month at 360 months; a few desks leave it out entirely. Once you can reach the money penalty-free, the count rises to the full 70 to 80% band: the same account at 75% enters as $300,000 and divides to $833. Send your birthdate with the balances and we compute the four divisor figures on the haircut you actually get.
Can wages or rental income stack with the divided amount?
Yes, and stacking is the program’s reason to exist. W-2 wages, documented self-employment income, lease-supported rental income, and annuity payouts all sit on the income line next to the divisor’s output. A borrower with $2,400 of Social Security and $2,625 from a 360-month division qualifies on $5,025 a month, not on either figure alone. If the portfolio is the only thing in the file, price the asset qualifier version instead.
Last month's wire is not counting yet. When does new money join the divisor?
Sourced money divides sooner. Bring the settlement statement or estate letter with the wire and several desks count the deposit inside 30 to 60 days; without that file the money sits out of the numerator entirely, and at a 360-month desk every $100,000 excluded is $278 a month you cannot stack. The stricter programs want 3 to 6 months regardless of documentation as of mid-2026. Money that has already sat at your custodian never re-seasons; the clock only attaches to arrivals the underwriter has not seen explained.
What happens when I refinance later?
The division runs again on the balances you hold at that time. $945,000 that divides to $2,625 a month today divides to less after five years of drawdowns, while market growth and new Social Security or pension income push the other way. Rate-and-term and cash-out files both re-underwrite the stack from scratch. Run the refinance break-even calculator before paying a second set of closing costs.
See what the divisor makes of your accounts.
One portfolio, four possible monthly incomes. We run the haircuts and every month count we broker to, then put the resulting figures in writing.
This is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit. All loan approvals are subject to credit review, underwriting, and property evaluation. Programs, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
Intel Loans, Inc., NMLS #2858705. Licensed in Florida. Verify our licensing at nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Assets used to qualify are documented, not pledged, escrowed, or restricted; lender formulas and eligible-asset definitions vary by program.
Worked examples on this page are hypothetical illustrations for education, not quotes or offers. Your figures, including taxes, insurance, and payment amounts, will differ.
Divisors, haircuts, and seasoning requirements are program-specific and change over time; the month counts shown are variants observed across wholesale programs as of mid-2026, not any single lender's terms.