Yes, you can use Airbnb income to get a home loan in Australia, but most lenders won’t count all of it. They usually count a share of your gross short-stay income, often somewhere around 70% to 80%, and they want to see a track record first. Some lenders won’t accept short-stay income at all, so the lender you choose matters as much as the income itself.
We manage more than 75 short-stay properties across Melbourne, and owners ask us this question all the time, usually when they’re refinancing or buying their next property. This guide covers how lenders look at Airbnb income, what paperwork they ask for, and what you can do to make your income easier to use. It’s general information, not lending advice. Lender policies change often, so check the details with a mortgage broker before you apply.
How lenders treat Airbnb rental income differently from normal rent
A long-term lease gives a lender something simple to work with: a signed agreement and the same rent every week. Short-stay income moves around. A Melbourne apartment might be close to full during the Australian Open and the Grand Prix, then sit half empty for a few weeks in winter. Lenders read that variation as risk, so they discount it.
The discount is often called shading. A lender takes your gross rental income and counts only a percentage of it when working out what you can afford to repay. Shading applies to normal rent too, but short-stay income is usually shaded harder because of vacancies and seasonality. Macquarie’s published broker credit guidelines, for example, count standard residential rent at 95% of gross rental income but short-term stay and holiday letting properties at 80%. Other lenders sit lower, and some only accept short-stay income through a specialist policy.
| Long-term rent | Short-stay income | |
|---|---|---|
| What the lender sees | A lease with a fixed weekly rent | Income that changes month to month |
| Typical evidence | Lease and rental statements | Tax returns, owner or platform statements, bank statements |
| Share of income usually counted | Commonly 80% to 95% | Often around 70% to 80%, varies by lender |
| History usually needed | Often none for a new lease | Commonly 12 to 24 months |
How much Airbnb income will a lender count towards your borrowing capacity?
Even after shading, a well-run short-stay property can still show more usable income than the same property on a long-term lease. Here’s an illustration using round numbers. These figures aren’t a quote, and your lender’s numbers will differ.
| Long-term lease | Short-stay (Airbnb) | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual income on paper | $31,200 ($600 a week) | $60,000 |
| Share the lender counts | 80% | 70% |
| Income used to assess the loan | $24,960 | $42,000 |
In this example the short-stay income adds about $17,000 a year to the income the lender recognises. That can make a real difference to how much you can borrow, but it isn’t the whole picture. Lenders also test your repayments at a rate above the one you’d actually pay, count your other debts and living costs, and some will only use the net figure after management fees, or an average of your last two tax returns. If your second year was much stronger than your first, an average can pull the number down.
If you want to know what a property like yours earns before tax and lending enter the picture, our guide to how much you can earn from Airbnb in Melbourne breaks down real income ranges by suburb and property type.
What documents do lenders ask for?
Lenders want proof that the income is real, that it has lasted, and that it’s likely to keep going. Expect to be asked for most of the following:
- Personal tax returns and notices of assessment, commonly for the last one or two financial years, showing the short-stay income declared.
- Owner statements or an Airbnb income statement covering the same period, ideally month by month, so the lender can see the seasonal pattern.
- Bank statements showing the payouts landing in your account.
- Proof the property can legally be used for short stays, such as strata by-laws or confirmation that no council or owners corporation restrictions apply.
- Details of any management agreement, if a manager runs the property for you.
The figures should line up. If your tax return says one number, your statements say another and your bank deposits say a third, expect questions. A clean record is one where the income in each document can be traced to the others without any explaining.
Why statements from an Airbnb property manager help
When you self-manage, your evidence is usually a platform earnings report plus whatever records you keep yourself. That works, but income spread across Airbnb, Booking.com and direct bookings can be hard for a lender to piece together.
A property manager produces an independent record. Every month our owners receive a statement showing booking revenue across every platform, each cost taken out, and the amount paid to them. Because the statements come from a third party and follow the same layout every month, they’re straightforward to hand to a broker alongside your tax returns.
A statement doesn’t guarantee a lender will accept your Airbnb income for a home loan. That decision is the lender’s. What it does is make the income easier to verify, which is usually where short-stay applications slow down. If you’re weighing up whether to bring in help, our comparison of whether to self-manage or hire an Airbnb manager covers the costs on both sides, and our guide to how much Melbourne Airbnb managers charge explains what fees usually cover.
Buying an Airbnb investment property
This is where many buyers get caught out. If you’re buying a property you plan to run as a short-stay, most lenders won’t count the Airbnb income you expect to earn, because there’s no history yet. They’ll usually assess the purchase on long-term rent instead, often using a rental appraisal from a local agent, or ignore the rental income altogether.
Plan the purchase so it works on long-term rent alone, and treat short-stay income as the upside. Before you sign a contract:
- Get a long-term rental appraisal so you know the figure the lender is likely to use.
- Read the strata by-laws and owners corporation rules. In Victoria an owners corporation can ban short stays in a building by special resolution, although the ban can’t apply to a lot that is the owner’s principal place of residence.
- Check the local council’s rules, since some councils have their own registration or limits.
- Factor in Victoria’s 7.5% Short Stay Levy, which applies to stays of under 28 nights and changes how you price on each platform.
Our guide to short-term rental legal requirements covers the rules by city, and the Short Stay Levy guide explains how the levy works on Airbnb and Booking.com.
Declaring Airbnb income and tax
Lenders use your tax returns as the main proof of income, so income you haven’t declared is income they can’t count. Hiding it also isn’t realistic anymore. Under the ATO’s Sharing Economy Reporting Regime, platforms such as Airbnb have reported short-term accommodation bookings to the ATO since 1 July 2023, including the property address and the number of nights booked. The ATO matches that data against what hosts declare.
Declare all of it, including cleaning fees guests pay, and keep records of any private use of the property, because that affects which expenses you can claim. This isn’t tax advice. Talk to an accountant who works with short-stay owners, ideally before the end of the financial year rather than after.
Do you need a mortgage broker?
For short-stay income, a broker is usually worth it. Lender policies on Airbnb income vary widely, they aren’t always published, and they change. A broker who has placed short-stay loans before will know which lenders accept the income, what percentage they count and how much history they need, and can match your application to the right one instead of you applying to several and collecting declines on your credit file.
To be clear, Holiday House Manager is not a lender or a mortgage broker, and we don’t give lending advice. What we can do is give you clear, consistent records of what your property earns. If you’d like an estimate of what your property could earn as a short-stay, get in touch for a free appraisal, or read more about our Airbnb property management in Melbourne.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Airbnb income if I’ve only just started hosting?
Usually not yet. Most lenders want to see the income in at least one tax return, and many want two. Until then, they’re likely to assess the property on long-term rent or leave the income out. Keep good records from the first booking so you’re ready when you have the history.
Do banks count Airbnb income from renting out part of my own home?
Some do, but it’s treated more cautiously than income from a whole investment property, and fewer lenders accept it. You’ll still need the income in your tax returns. A broker can tell you which lenders will consider it.
Does Airbnb income count as rental income for a loan?
For most lenders, yes, it’s assessed as a type of rental income. The difference is that it’s usually shaded more heavily than long-term rent and needs more evidence, because it changes from month to month.
Will a lender want to see my tax returns?
Almost always. Tax returns and notices of assessment are the main evidence lenders use for short-stay income. Platform or owner statements and bank statements support them, but rarely replace them.
Can I use projected Airbnb income to buy a property?
Most lenders won’t use projected short-stay income for a purchase. They’ll usually rely on a long-term rental appraisal instead. Make sure the loan works on that figure, and treat any extra short-stay income as a bonus.
This article is general information only. It isn’t financial, tax or lending advice, and Holiday House Manager is not a credit provider or mortgage broker. Lender policies and percentages are indicative and change often. Speak to a licensed broker and your accountant about your situation.
