Purchasing a car new or used is no cheap feat. In fact, the valuation analysts at Kelley Blue Book report the average cost for a new car is $37,851; the average cost for a used car is $21,000. Most people don’t have this kind of money laying around. Most people will get a car loan in order to pay for their car. With a car loan, you make monthly payments which are more manageable until you have paid the car in full. When requesting a car loan you will need to show that you have the ability to pay the loan back (aka your car payments). Whomever you choose to get your car loan through will want to see proof of income. You can’t just say that you have the money. You have to PROVE YOUR ABILITY TO PAY. In this article, we will discuss the ways that you can provide proof of income for a car loan.
PAYCHECK STUBS
This is probably one of the best and easiest methods to provide proof of income. Your paycheck stub will contain all of your information along with the information for your employer. It will show your pay rate and even have a Year – to – date total. Nowadays people are paid via direct deposit so employers will either mail a paycheck stub to you or send it electronically. It is best to have between 2 – 3 months of paycheck stubs, the more have the better. If you don’t have a copy of them yourself you can easily request copies from either your boss or from your Human Resources department.
BANK STATEMENTS
If you really don’t feel like digging through all your mail, or emails to find your past paycheck stubs, and you Lisa, who handles payroll is slow to respond to everything, then you can use your bank statements. Your bank statements will show the deposits made, and with virtually all banks offering online/mobile banking you can pull up your account and actually filter to show only deposits (after all, no one needs to know how much you really spend on your late-night taco runs). You can either choose to print this and take it with you or do it right there at the dealership. If you are requesting a car loan through your bank you can give them permission to do this for you. If you do work for Uber, Lyft, or other delivery services this is a great option.
STATEMENT FROM YOUR EMPLOYER
A letter from your employer really is the next best thing to actually having your paycheck stubs. You can simply ask your employer to write a statement verifying that you are employed by them, make sure the letter includes your hire date, pay rate, and pay frequency. They should also include their contact information should your lender want to follow up. If you received an offer letter when first starting your job you can use that. If you do freelance work you can provide a copy of your contract highlighting the amount and frequency of your pay. If you do freelance work on platforms such as Updesk, or Fiver the good news is they already have this built-in. You can easily print this out and it explains when you started using their platform and what you have been paid so far.
W-2 OR 1099
Another option to show proof of income is to use your tax returns. If you are an employee and taxes are taken out of your check by an employer then you will receive a W-2 if you are a contractor, freelancer, or gig worker taxes aren’t taken out but you receive 1099 showing what you have earned. This will still show what you have made in the year past and is a good indicator of what you are currently making. They can take the total amount and divide this by 12 to get an idea of your monthly income.
There you have it, these are the best ways that you can show proof of income when applying for a car loan.
