Who doesn't love filing taxes? Especially those of us who are self employed. Spending hours or days or months finding all of your expenses for the year, figuring out how many of those trips to Costco were "business" related and of course all of that dining that was absolutely about business.

When we're filing taxes in general we look for every possible deduction under the sun. Why pay anymore taxes than you have to? Well, I have one reason for you. If you're getting a mortgage the bottom line on your taxes is what the mortgage company will use for your approval. I have worked with clients in the past who had to wait two years to buy a house because they had too many deductions and their income level was too low to qualify for a home.

Starting in late 2015 Fannie Mae loosened their guidelines for self employed borrowers and rather than requiring two years of tax returns, you can now be judged off just one. This is great for those business owners who are especially good at finding deductions and now want to buy a house. Before you file your 2016 taxes think about whether you are planning to buy a home this year, because if you are plan on showing maximum income rather than expenses.

Also consider if 2015 was much better than 2016 you can get your house bought before the 2016 taxes are filed and use the 2015 numbers. Please remember that if your income is going to stay down using inflated taxes probably isn't the best plan of action.

I'd recommend working with a mortgage lender to figure out what type of income you need to show for the price range of home you're hoping to find. This way you aren't just blindly paying more taxes simply for fun. Check out Aaron Rourke at Cornerstone Home Lending when you're ready to run through the process.