How many paystubs does a lender want?

Two to three recent months is the common request for employment income, and rental applications often ask for three. Variable pay needs its own proof, such as bonus award letters or commission statements. Download PDFs from the portal before you leave rather than relying on screenshots.

Will severance count as income for a loan?

Usually not as ongoing income, because underwriters look for continuing wages. One-off payments are typically excluded even when deposited. If you are applying between jobs, ask the lender what the file needs for the gap and provide the record rather than an explanation alone.

How do I verify employment after leaving?

Former payroll offices or verification vendors answer these calls. They need the employer name, your dates, and identifier digits as recorded. Ask for one standard verification letter before you leave and keep it, because a manager who has moved on cannot help later.

What if my old employer no longer exists?

Use your own archive plus tax records, and explain the closure in writing. For prior-year wage lines, tax transcripts are the backup when no employer will answer. Keep the explanation dated and attached to the application instead of promising to send it later.

Comp Records for Loans, Rentals & Visas

Loans, rentals, and visas all ask for the same file: income history, employer verification, and pay records. The archive you keep after exit becomes your proof for years — the base is in the comp records guide.

The Verification Set

Paystubs: monthly, YTD gross, taxes, deductions — mortgage underwriters ask for 2-3 months; rental applications ask for 3 months of gross income.
W-2 history: 2-3 years, all employers; the IRS transcript system is the backup (irs.gov).
Employment letters: title, dates, salary, signer, and contact; the rehire line and reference format are in the separation document guide.
Visa files: comp records support status transfers, LCA postings, and dependent filings — the visa clock is in the visa transfer guide.

Keep the file in a personal binder, not the employer portal: the SSO dies at termination. The exit calendar is in the 30-day calendar, and the band history for future negotiation in the comp verification guide.

Put the rule into action

Write the letter with the free Final Paycheck Demand Letter generator. The state pages carry the local payout and notice windows, and the application tracker keeps the follow-up date in writing.

What underwriters actually ask for

Mortgage, auto, rental, and visa files all ask for the same three proof types, and the failure mode is always the same: the document exists inside an employer system you can no longer open.

Income history. Paystubs covering the recent months, showing gross, taxes, and deductions. Underwriters read base pay separately from bonus and commission, so a variable component needs its own records.
Employment verification. A letter naming title, dates, salary, the signer, and a contact channel, plus a phone or portal route the lender can use after you leave.
Tax records. Two or three years of W-2 forms, with prior-year transcripts as the backup when an employer no longer answers.

A severance lump is usually not counted as ongoing income. If you are applying while between jobs, ask what the file needs for the gap, because the answer differs by lender.

Building the personal file

Assemble the archive before your access ends, in the format the requester expects.

Download paystubs for the last twelve months as PDFs, not portal screenshots.
Download every W-2 and any 1095 form for the last three years.
Request one standard employment verification letter and keep a copy; the letter draft tool produces the wording an HR office can sign.
Save offer letters and comp-cycle documents that explain a variable pay component.
Record the payroll contact route so a lender can verify you in a year or two.

Store the file outside the employer portal. A folder in a personal drive plus one offline copy is enough; the point is that the record survives SSO removal and a vendor change.

After your access ends

Requests still arrive months later, when you are employed somewhere new and the old employer is unresponsive.

Ask the former payroll office, not your old manager. Verification calls are handled by payroll or a verification vendor, and they need an identifier: last employer name, dates, and the last digits of your national identifier as recorded.
Give the requester a fallback. If the vendor cannot answer, submit your archive plus a written explanation of the gap rather than stalling the application.
Fix mismatches in writing. A date or salary that does not match the record becomes a compliance question; ask the employer to correct it and keep the correction.

Visa files add their own requirements, including compensation records tied to filings and dependents. Keep the same archive for those, and track the dates in the tracker so a request does not arrive with nothing on file. The reference check entry covers the employer-side answer you are protecting.

Requester	Core documents	What breaks the file
Mortgage underwriter	Recent paystubs, W-2 history, verification letter	Variable pay with no records or an unverifiable gap
Landlord or rental agency	Paystubs or bank deposits, employment letter	Income shown only in a portal you cannot access
Visa or immigration filing	Tax records and compensation history	Employer silence and mismatched dates
New employer payroll	Prior records for withholding and benefits	Missing forms that delay the first paycheck

For the current text behind these numbers, start with the California job exit rules page and the New York job exit rules page; run your own dates through the Vesting Schedule Calculator calculator, along with the Severance Package Negotiation Letter generator and the 401(k) Vesting Schedule definition. Those sources state the rule in full; this page only points at them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many paystubs does a lender want?: Two to three recent months is the common request for employment income, and rental applications often ask for three. Variable pay needs its own proof, such as bonus award letters or commission statements. Download PDFs from the portal before you leave rather than relying on screenshots.
Will severance count as income for a loan?: Usually not as ongoing income, because underwriters look for continuing wages. One-off payments are typically excluded even when deposited. If you are applying between jobs, ask the lender what the file needs for the gap and provide the record rather than an explanation alone.
How do I verify employment after leaving?: Former payroll offices or verification vendors answer these calls. They need the employer name, your dates, and identifier digits as recorded. Ask for one standard verification letter before you leave and keep it, because a manager who has moved on cannot help later.
What if my old employer no longer exists?: Use your own archive plus tax records, and explain the closure in writing. For prior-year wage lines, tax transcripts are the backup when no employer will answer. Keep the explanation dated and attached to the application instead of promising to send it later.

Wage lines, severance treatment, and the pay window are state rules, and underwriters read severance as a one-time line rather than ongoing wages. Confirm how severance and accrued PTO are treated with the state agency named on the state rule pages, and keep the tax transcript beside the pay stubs described in the final paycheck record so the wage line has a source when a lender asks.