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Asset and Income Modeler (AIM) FAQ

AIM for Income Using Employment Data

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  1. What technology integrations does my system need to take advantage of the offering with digitized paystubs and W-2s?

    Integrations with AIM Check API and Loan Product Advisor® (LPASM) are required (all active LPA specifications support this offering).

    Freddie Mac-approved Sellers and verified service providers should contact their Freddie Mac representative to learn more about integrating with the API.

  2. How do I get paystub and W-2 data digitized and how does it work in conjunction with AIM Check API and AIM?

    Data must be extracted from the borrower’s paystub and W-2 using your own optical character recognition (OCR) technology or a vendor-supplied technology. The data and report ID must then be submitted to AIM Check API to get a preliminary view of the income calculation. Submit the report ID used in the API to LPA to have AIM assess the previously submitted data and provide the income calculation. Your results will be provided through the LPA feedback certificate with representation and warranty relief eligibility where available.

  3. Can the OCR data be submitted to LPA without the use of the AIM Check API?

    Not at this time.

  4. Why is representation and warranty relief not provided for the accuracy and integrity of the data?

    Since you can use your own or a vendor-supplied OCR technology to digitize the paystubs and W-2s obtained from the borrower (versus an approved AIM service provider), representation and warranty relief is only offered for the calculation of the income.

  5. Do I have to keep the AIM Check API certificate in the mortgage file?

    No, but the paystubs and W-2s must be retained in the mortgage file.

  6. If an updated paystub is obtained to satisfy the pre-closing verification (PCV) requirement, do I have to resubmit to the API with the new paystub data?

    Yes.

AIM for Income Using Tax Data

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  1. How does AIM for income using tax data work? (Returns vs. transcripts)

    AIM for income using tax data from tax returns provided by the borrower simplifies the income calculation process by using optical character recognition (OCR) technology to read and organize these documents, while significantly reducing transcription errors. AIM performs an income assessment using this data and messages results back on the Loan Product Advisor® (LPASM) Feedback Certificate.

    When tax transcripts are obtained from a service provider with a direct IRS connection, AIM for income using tax data automates the income calculation of the borrower’s income reported on Schedule C. AIM then performs an income assessment. It then messages back the results on the Loan Product Advisor Feedback Certificate. The Seller may be eligible for certain representations and warranties related to income calculation and accuracy and integrity of the data.

  2. What version of Loan Product Advisor should my system utilize to take advantage of all capabilities of this offering?

    Loan Product Advisor specification v5.0.06 (or greater).

    Note: Loan Product Advisor specification v5.0.06 and v5.1.00 will be retired in March 2024.

  3. What happens if there are two taxpayers on the tax return or tax transcript, but only one is a borrower on the loan?

    Loan Product Advisor will only assess the income for the borrower on the loan.

  4. Is the income calculated by Loan Product Advisor the same amount as what I see in the Income Calculation Report?

    Loan Product Advisor’s income calculations are based on the Schedule Analysis Method from Freddie Mac Form 91. However, Loan Product Advisor also considers other factors in its assessment, including stability, historical trends and consistency.

    Note: If a business is excluded from the Income Calculation Report (e.g., recently closed business), Loan Product Advisor will exclude the income from that business.

  5. What if I notice an error in the Income Calculation Report as a result of OCR or reading of the tax returns?

    After you make the manual correction in the Income Calculation Report, upload the updated report to the service provider and resubmit the loan with the same report ID to Loan Product Advisor.

    If you notice errors of this kind, please report them to the service provider support team.

  6. Are there special instructions for submitting self-employed income to Loan Product Advisor?

    Yes. In Loan Product Advisor, you must select the self-employed indicator and include the unique reference number (report ID) assigned by the service provider, which should be shown either on the Income Calculation Report or the tax transcript. For more details, see the AIM for income using tax data job aid.

  7. How do I submit a loan to Loan Product Advisor if it has multiple self-employed borrowers?

    Loan Product Advisor only accepts one report ID for the loan. The report ID relates to only one Form 1040 for each applicable calendar year and may be associated with up to two borrowers if they filed jointly.

  8. What happens if I submit more than one tax report ID?

    Only one tax report ID will be assessed, so it is important to only submit the one you want to use.

    If you access Loan Product Advisor through system-to-system (S2S) integration, submitting more than one will not cause a hard stop on the entire loan. However, only the first report ID that you entered in the system will be assessed.

    If you access Loan Product Advisor via the portal, you will receive a popup error if you attempt to submit the loan with two report IDs. Clicking “OK” in the popup error will clear the report ID field. You should add only the specific report ID that you want to be assessed to the field and resubmit.

  9. What happens if the borrower used different business names on the Schedule C in different years?

    If using borrower-provided tax returns and the borrower used different business names on the Schedule C in different years, the service provider will treat them as two different businesses. This means that it will appear as if there is only one year of tax returns for each of those businesses when submitting to Loan Product Advisor.

    If this happens and the different names reported on the Schedule C are for the same business, you may contact the service provider support team to request reprocessing of the tax returns as one business. After reprocessing, you must resubmit to Loan Product Advisor.

    This option is not available when using tax transcripts.

  10. Can I use Loan Product Advisor through the Loan Advisor portal to submit report IDs?

    Yes.

  11. What is the rental income assessment enhancement?

    AIM now includes an assessment of rental income as reported on the borrower’s individual tax returns. The assessment includes an automated analysis to determine if the submitted monthly income amount for each property is supported, based on the Schedule E of the tax return. Please note that rental income-related feedback messages are for informational purposes only. Currently, rental income is not eligible for representation and warranty relief.

  12. If I currently use AIM for income using tax data, what do I need to do to participate in the rental income assessment enhancement?

    If you use AIM for income using tax data and rental income is submitted in Loan Product Advisor, feedback messages related to the assessment of rental income will automatically be returned.

    This enhancement is currently supported by LoanLogics® (LoanBeam® product).

  13. Do I need to participate in AIM for income using tax data to take advantage of the rental income assessment enhancement?

    No. However, to participate you will need an appropriate contract in place with a designated third-party service provider for this enhancement. You remain responsible for conducting your own due diligence of any such provider to ensure it meets your company’s needs and requirements.