Accountant home loans: the LMI waiver, by membership
Qualified accountants can borrow about 90% of a home's value with no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) at ANZ, CommBank, Westpac Group and Bankwest. Which body you belong to decides where: all four take CA and CPA members, but only Westpac Group names IPA. Income floors differ too: none at ANZ, $100,000 at CommBank, $120,000 from the profession at Westpac Group.
Can accountants get LMI waived?
Yes, at four of the major lenders, if you're fully qualified. LMI is the one-off insurance most lenders charge when you borrow more than 80% of a property's value, and on a $1,000,000 home at 90% it comes to about $24,100 on one lender's rates. A professional waiver removes it, so a 10% deposit does the work of 20%.
The catch is that "accountant" isn't the test. Each lender lists the bodies it accepts, and a membership one lender takes, another doesn't.
CA, CPA or IPA: which memberships each lender accepts
From each lender's own policy, checked 1 October 2026. "Named" means the lender's policy lists the body.
| Lender | CA ANZ | CPA Australia | IPA | CFA or FIAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANZ | Named | Named | Not named | Both named |
| CommBank | Named | Named | Not named | Both named |
| Westpac Group (Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA) | Named | Named | Named | Both named |
| Bankwest | Named | Named | Not named | Both named |
An IPA member's list is the shortest: of these four, only Westpac Group names the Institute of Public Accountants. ACCA isn't named by any of them.
Membership grade, and when it isn't enough
For most bodies, current membership is the test, not the grade within it. The exception is actuaries: the lenders name FIAA, which is Fellowship. What does rule people out is not being fully qualified yet. ANZ asks for fully qualified members, Bankwest excludes student and provisional memberships, and CommBank treats a CPA application still in progress as ineligible.
Which lenders waive LMI for accountants, and on what terms
For a home to live in or an investment, checked 1 October 2026.
| Lender | Highest loan without LMI | Minimum income | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANZ | 90% | None | Fully qualified; proof of current membership |
| CommBank | 89.99% | $100,000 for each eligible applicant | Proof of membership; its professional package; principal and interest |
| Westpac Group | 90% | $120,000 a year gross from the profession | Principal and interest; genuine savings not required |
| Bankwest | 89.99% on loans up to $2 million, 84.99% up to $3 million | None stated | Proof of membership; employees only (PAYG), not self-employed |
ING and AMP don't offer a professional LMI waiver, and Suncorp's waiver is for doctors only. Every lender also runs its normal credit assessment: the waiver removes LMI, not the test of whether you can repay.
The income floor is where most applications fall over
After membership, the floor decides it. ANZ has none, which makes it the door for a qualified accountant earning under $100,000. CommBank asks for $100,000 for each applicant who's relying on the waiver. Westpac Group asks for $120,000 a year from the profession itself; income from several qualifying roles can be added together, but rental income can't count toward it.
How you're paid changes the answer
Employed in a firm or in industry. The simplest case: payslips and a contract, and every lender above is open to you if your membership and income fit.
Partners. Westpac Group has a separate group for partners of qualifying accounting and law firms, to 90% on a property up to $5 million. Elsewhere, a partner's distributions are read the way lenders read self-employed income.
Sole practitioners and practice owners. Bankwest's waiver is for employees only, so a self-employed accountant loses that door. The others read your income from your tax returns and business financials, usually over two years.
What the waiver is worth at your loan size
LMI on a 90% loan to buy a home to live in, on one lender's standard rates. With a waiver, you don't pay it.
| Purchase price | Loan at 90% | LMI without a waiver |
|---|---|---|
| $700,000 | $630,000 | about $16,900 |
| $1,000,000 | $900,000 | about $24,100 |
| $1,500,000 | $1,350,000 | about $39,800 |
LMI varies between lenders, so these are illustrations from one rate card, not a quote.
When the waiver isn't the best deal
A waiver ties you to the lenders that offer it, and to their conditions: principal and interest repayments at most of them, a loan cap at Bankwest. If another lender would lend you more, or price the loan better over the years you'll hold it, that can outweigh the LMI you save. And if you have 20% or more, there's no LMI to waive, so the waiver shouldn't decide the lender.
If you came here for an accountant's letter
Many people searching "accountant home loan" need a letter from an accountant, not a loan for one. That's usually the self-employed: some lenders accept a letter or declaration from your accountant confirming your income, or explaining figures in returns that haven't been lodged yet. What it must say depends on the lender and your situation, so ask before your accountant writes it, not after.
What to do next
Check your membership against the grid. It decides your lender list before anything else.
Check your income against each floor. Gross, from the profession, for each applicant relying on the waiver.
Have your proof ready. A current membership certificate, plus payslips, or two years of returns if you're in practice.
Questions accountants ask
Yes. ANZ, CommBank, Westpac Group and Bankwest waive lenders mortgage insurance for qualified accountants to about 90% of the property's value, each with its own membership list and conditions (Money Brain, lender policies checked 1 October 2026).
A qualified accountant buying with less than 20%?
Tell me your membership, whether you're employed or in practice, what you earn and the price you're looking at. I'll tell you which lenders would waive LMI for you, and whether the waiver is the best route.
You'll hear back within the hour in business hours, and by 9am the next business day after hours.
Sources
- 1
Lender policies on professional LMI waivers: ANZ, CommBank, Westpac Group (Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA), Bankwest, Suncorp, ING, AMP. Checked 1 October 2026.
- 2
Membership and income conditions for accountants, read from the same lenders' policies on 26 August 2026.
- 3
LMI premiums: one lender's published rate card, owner-occupier standard rates. Checked 1 October 2026.
Updated 2 October 2026