Two adjacent answers in Fannie Mae's October 2026 income FAQs address different employment-gap questions. Read the one that matches the income being used.
The general gap answer
Income Assessment Q3 says a gap in the most recent 12 months may exceed 30 days. The lender must carefully analyze current employment to ensure it is likely to continue.
That answer addresses employment gaps generally. The preceding question adds requirements when a borrower qualifies with income from multiple jobs at once.
The simultaneous-jobs answer
Q2 requires a history of working more than one job at a time and a reasonable expectation that earnings from both employers can continue. For a history shorter than two years, it specifies at least 12 months simultaneously at those two jobs, positive factors offsetting the shorter history, and no gap greater than one month with either employer, except qualifying seasonal employment.
The Selling Guide's Multiple Jobs provision likewise recommends two years for each income source and permits consideration of at least 12 months with offsetting positive factors. It states the gap restriction for different-employer histories in the most recent 12 months. Each income type must also meet its own requirements.
Q3's general allowance therefore doesn't replace the multiple-jobs assessment. Nor does the multiple-jobs restriction create a blanket rule against gaps in every employment-income file.
A timeline makes the distinction visible
In a fictional October 2026 review, Job A has continued since July 2022 and Job B since July 2025. With no gaps, the borrower has about 15 months working both jobs simultaneously. The four years at Job A don't turn that shared history into two years.
That timeline identifies a shorter-history assessment under Q2. It supplies neither the positive factors nor a qualifying-income decision.
Keep any required historical income trends separate by job, as Q2 directs. Adding earnings together before examining each source could hide a decline at one employer behind an increase at the other.
