Bank Statement Loans in West Palm Beach, FL: Buying With 1099 and Business Income

Short answer

Yes. A self-employed buyer in West Palm Beach may qualify for a bank statement loan using 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements instead of tax returns, plus proof the business is real, such as a City of West Palm Beach business tax receipt, a Palm Beach County receipt, an active Sunbiz record or a CPA letter. In Q3 2026 the city's median single-family home sold for $599,500 and the median condo or townhouse for $316,000, per MIAMI REALTORS data as of October 2026. These are non-QM loans: terms vary by lender, and every loan is subject to credit approval.

Who uses bank statement loans in West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach has become the county's office and finance hub, and a lot of the money that moves through it is paid to people who are not on a payroll. The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, the county's official economic development group, counts more than 300 hedge funds, private equity and financial service firms in the county as of November 2026. Around them work independent consultants, 1099 analysts, bookkeepers, IT and design contractors, and the trades that build out new offices and condos. Add downtown restaurant and bar owners, personal trainers, landscapers, pool and HVAC contractors, and real estate agents, and you have a city full of people whose tax returns understate their cash flow.

The numbers back it up. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, checked November 2026, counts 261,006 nonemployer establishments in Palm Beach County in 2024, businesses with no payroll and usually one owner, against 55,803 employer establishments in 2023. The City of West Palm Beach had an estimated 127,189 residents in July 2025; 28.2% were born outside the U.S. and 31.3% speak a language other than English at home.

Write-offs are the usual problem. A consultant who expenses a home office, a car, travel and software can show a small net profit on Schedule C while depositing steady checks every month. A bank statement loan looks at those deposits instead. For the full math, see how bank statement income is calculated; for every self-employed option side by side, see our self-employed mortgage guide.

This is still documented income. On a home you will live in, the federal ability-to-repay rule applies: the lender verifies income from the statements and reviews your credit, debts and assets.

The West Palm Beach market in Q3 2026

From the Florida Realtors data that MIAMI REALTORS publishes by city, as of October 2026, for the City of West Palm Beach in Q3 2026:

• Single-family homes: 222 closed sales (up 17.5% from a year earlier), median price $599,500 (up 8.0%), 59 median days to contract, 4.1 months of supply. 110 sales were cash.
• Condos and townhouses: 186 closed sales, median price $316,000 (up 3.6%), 77 median days to contract, 8.0 months of supply. 89 sales were cash.

Read those together. Houses are moving faster than a year ago and supply fell to about four months, so a financed offer on a house needs a reviewed file before you write it. Nearly half of the houses sold for cash. Condos are slower, with eight months of supply, which gives a well-prepared buyer room to negotiate price or credits.

On loan size: bank statement loans are not sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 for a one-unit home (FHFA) is not their cap. Each non-QM lender sets its own maximum loan, down payment tiers and reserve rules, and they tighten as the loan grows. For a larger home in the waterfront neighborhoods, compare with our West Palm Beach jumbo loan page if your returns also show strong income.

Condos: a $316,000 median puts many units within reach on a bank statement loan, but the building matters as much as you do. HOA dues count in your debt-to-income ratio. Since Florida's condo safety law, buildings of three or more stories need a milestone inspection on schedule and a structural integrity reserve study, and an underfunded building can mean a special assessment. Send us the address before you make an offer; if the building fails agency rules, a non-warrantable condo loan may still work.

Consulting and commission income: 12 or 24 months

The lender averages your eligible deposits over the period you pick. In West Palm Beach two income patterns show up most:

• Retainer and project consultants: if a big client signed this year and your deposits jumped, 12 months may show a higher average. If you lost a client last spring, 24 months may look steadier. We run both.
• Seasonal businesses: restaurants, landscaping and fitness tend to peak in the winter season and slow in summer. Example only: $18,000 in eligible deposits in each of five busy months and $8,000 in each of seven slower months averages about $12,170 a month over a year. If the pattern repeats, 24 months gives a similar number with less risk from one bad month.
• Real estate agents and loan-related 1099 work: closings come in lumps; 24 months shows the real rhythm.

Personal or business account? Personal statements show what the business paid you, and many lenders count those deposits without an expense deduction, though they may review the business account too. Business statements show gross receipts, so the lender applies an expense factor, a percentage treated as business cost. How it is set varies by lender: a flat percentage, a table by type of business, or a lower ratio your CPA documents. A solo consultant with few costs and a contractor buying materials should not be treated the same way; lender choice fixes that.

Send the bank's own PDFs, every page. Large one-time deposits, such as a bonus distribution from a fund, a car sale or a loan, need a paper trail or are excluded.

Proving the business: city, Palm Beach County and Sunbiz

Lenders want proof that the business exists, that you own it and how long it has run. In West Palm Beach, as of November 2026:

• City of West Palm Beach business tax receipt (BTR). Required for anyone doing business in the city. Home-based businesses can get one but must file a Home Occupation Affidavit signed and notarized by both the business owner and the property owner, which matters if you rent. The receipt runs October 1 to September 30, renewals are July 1 to September 30, and unpaid receipts go delinquent October 1. Some businesses, including rental businesses, also need a Certificate of Use: $50 the first year and $20 a year to renew.
• Palm Beach County local business tax receipt. The city says that if you get a city BTR you also need the county's. The county's penalties on late renewals: 10% from October 1, 15% from November 1, 20% plus a $10 fee from December 1, 25% plus $10 from January 1, and an additional $250 fine from February 1 under F.S. 205.053.
• Sunbiz. Your LLC or corporation must show active. The 2026 annual report cost $138.75 for an LLC and $150 for a profit corporation, with a $400 late fee after May 1, 2026; entities that missed the third Friday in September were administratively dissolved on the fourth Friday. If yours shows inactive, reinstate first.
• CPA or tax preparer letter. On letterhead, confirming how long you have been self-employed and your ownership share, plus an expense ratio if the lender uses one. It must match your statements and Sunbiz.

Property taxes and closing costs to budget

• Property tax: the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's 2025 final millage table lists the main operating levies for the city: county 4.5000, school board 6.3210 (state and local), Children's Services Council 0.4908, Health Care District 0.6561, South Florida Water Management District 0.2301 in three parts, Florida Inland Navigation District 0.0288, and the City of West Palm Beach 8.1308. Added together that is about 20.36 mills, roughly $20 a year per $1,000 of taxable value, before voted debt service and before the extra Downtown Development Authority levy on downtown parcels. For fiscal 2026/2027, the city commission set its not-to-exceed rate at the same 8.1308 mills in July 2026.
• Florida mortgage taxes: documentary stamp tax of $0.35 per $100 on the note and a one-time intangible tax of 2 mills on the loan. Example only: on a $400,000 loan, that is $1,400 plus $800.
• Homestead: if you will live in the home, file for the homestead exemption with the Property Appraiser after you close; it lowers the taxable value and caps future increases on the assessed value.

How we build a West Palm Beach bank statement file

QMS Lending is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL, founded in 2018, with access to 100+ lenders, conventional and non-QM. Before we pick a lender, we:

• Calculate your income four ways, 12 and 24 months on personal and business statements, and show you which gives the most qualifying income.
• Flag deposits that will need a paper trail, such as transfers from a brokerage account or a client's one-off wire, before an underwriter does.
• Check that your city BTR, Palm Beach County receipt, Home Occupation Affidavit and Sunbiz record use the same names and dates.
• Compare against a P&L loan when statements are messy, against conventional when your returns already work, and against a DSCR loan if you are buying a rental, which is a business-purpose loan qualified on the property's rent.

Rates vary daily; call 305-425-1990 for today's pricing, in English or Spanish. QMS Lending, NMLS #1781090; Michael Fernandez, NMLS #1491775, President; 4.9 stars across 200+ Google reviews. You may qualify; subject to credit approval and property eligibility. Equal Housing Opportunity. See our West Palm Beach mortgage broker page.