1
of 5— Open Claude and start a new chat
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll use Claude as a "second set of eyes" to verify your income calculations for complex borrowers — self-employed, rental income, commission-heavy — before you submit to underwriting. Catching your own errors before UW does saves re-submission time and builds your credibility.
What you'll need
- Claude account (free tier at claude.ai works perfectly)
- The borrower's income documents you've already pulled (W-2s, tax returns, paystubs, Schedule E, etc.)
- Your calculated qualifying income figure (what you think it is)
- Time needed: 5-10 minutes per complex income scenario
- Cost: Free
How-To Guide: Use AI to Verify Income Calculations
Step 1: Open Claude and start a new chat
Go to claude.ai and start a new conversation. You don't need a Project for this — any free chat works.
Important: Do NOT upload actual tax return PDFs or documents containing full SSNs, account numbers, or other sensitive PII to any AI tool. Type the key figures manually instead.