How Alexandria doctors, lawyers and tech pros should structure income

Busy Alexandria professionals usually don’t get knocked back because they earn too little – it’s because banks can’t read the income.

For medical, legal and tech professionals around Alexandria and Green Square, the goal is simple: make your income look stable, boring and well‑documented, even if real life is anything but.

Alexandria professionals can often turn complex income into strong, bankable borrowing power with the right structure.

How banks actually read professional income

Banks don’t care what your contract says you could earn.

They care what reliably lands in your account, after tax, over 1–2 years.

Key rules most lenders use:

1. APRA buffer: they test repayments at ~3% above today’s rate.
2. Stability over headline: 1–2 years of consistent earnings beats one big year (see also /insights/medical-legal-creative-eastern-suburbs-broker-reads-income).
3. Shading: variable income (overtime, bonuses, RSUs) is usually discounted by 20–40%.
4. Evidence first: if it’s not on payslips, tax returns or statements, it often doesn’t count.

Quick example – Alexandria tech couple

Say you’re buying a $1.6m townhouse in Alexandria with a $1.28m loan (80% LVR).

• Rate tested at: 7.5% P&I (illustrative)
• Term: 30 years
• Assessment repayment: about $8,960/month

If your net household income is $20,000/month and the bank is comfortable up to ~40% of net income, you’re close.

But if they shade your RSUs and bonus heavily, that same couple might drop below the line – unless the income is tidied and better documented.

Doctors around Alexandria: make shift and private billings “bankable”

For salaried hospital doctors, banks usually like you.

They’ll often accept:

• Base salary: at 100%
• Overtime / penalties / on‑call: averaged over 6–12 months and shaded
• Private billings (ABN): only if you have 1–2 years of tax returns

To do this quarter:

• Separate base from extras. Make sure payslips clearly split base and overtime.
• Channel billings into one account. Use a single business/offset account so your ABN income is easy to track.
• Lock in a history. If you’ve just ramped up private lists, wait until one full financial year shows the new level before a big purchase.

If you’re transitioning to your own practice, also read /insights/how-lenders-view-alexandria-small-business-home-loan for how banks judge the business itself.