Usually not. This belief stops more Canadian owners from refinancing than any actual lending rule.
Where it comes from
If you approach a domestic U.S. retail lender, the answer will effectively be yes: its process expects a Social Security Number, a U.S. credit score and U.S.-sourced income. You do not have those, so the conversation ends and you conclude the requirement is universal.
It is not universal. It is that lender's product.
What the alternatives actually ask for
On an investment property, often nothing about your personal income. A DSCR refinance is assessed on whether the property's rent covers its own payment. Personal tax returns are frequently not part of the calculation, in either country.
On a second home or personal-use property, Canadian documents. Foreign national programs read a Canadian credit report, Canadian income documentation such as T4s, Notices of Assessment or business financials, a passport for identification, and Canadian bank statements. U.S. income is not required.
If you are self-employed in Canada, bank statement programs can establish cash flow from deposits rather than from either country's tax return.
So the honest answer is that your income has to be documented. It does not have to be American.
What is genuinely required
Equity. This is the real constraint, and it is where expectations need setting. Foreign national refinancing is more conservative than domestic lending, so plan on the lender leaving a meaningful share of the value in place.
A current appraisal. The loan is sized on today's value, not on your purchase price.
A financeable property. For a condominium, the building has to pass review. This stops more refinances than income ever does.
Reserves. Several months of payments held after closing, verifiable, and Canadian accounts are generally acceptable.
A U.S. bank account, or the ability to open one, for the payments after closing.
The part that is genuinely different from Canada
Closing costs. U.S. refinances carry title insurance, settlement and lender fees that are typically higher than a Canadian refinance, and they are usually paid at closing rather than absorbed. Build that into the comparison before deciding whether the refinance is worth doing.
When U.S. income would help
It is not required, but it changes the menu. If you have since obtained an SSN or ITIN, established a U.S. credit file and can document U.S. income, more conventional programs open, generally with better pricing and higher loan-to-value.
That is an argument for building a U.S. credit file over time if you intend to keep owning there. It is not a reason to postpone a refinance you would benefit from now.
What to do
Establish current value, confirm how title is held, and confirm the building is financeable if it is a condo. Then ask specifically which programme is being proposed, foreign national or DSCR, and what it requires. If the answer you get is that you need U.S. income, you are talking to a domestic lender rather than a cross-border one. ---
David H. Nataf is personally licensed in Florida (NMLS #2613311) and Quebec (AMF #3001986744). U.S. files are placed through Orbis Mortgage, NMLS #2583431. For a purchase in a state where he is not personally licensed, he runs the Canadian side of the file, the cross-border structuring and the lender matching, coordinated with an originator licensed in that state.
This page is for information. Program terms, rates and requirements vary by lender and change without notice. Nothing here is tax or immigration advice.
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