Net Worth Statement Examples: 5 Worked Scenarios
Five net worth statement examples with real numbers: W-2 earner, business owner, real estate investor, retiree, and SBA borrower, plus what a lender reads first.
Here are five net worth statement examples with real numbers: a W-2 earner, a self-employed business owner, a real estate investor, a retiree, and a first-time SBA borrower. Each one shows the full asset and liability detail, the subtraction, and the line a lender reads first, because the same net worth number carries very different weight depending on what it is made of.
The five examples at a glance
| # | Whose statement | Total assets | Total liabilities | Net worth | What the lender reads first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | W-2 earner, homeowner | $733,100 | $368,000 | $365,100 | Home equity and how much is liquid |
| 2 | Self-employed S-corp owner | $1,603,000 | $436,700 | $1,166,300 | The business valuation and the guarantee |
| 3 | Real estate investor, 4 rentals | $2,431,500 | $1,244,100 | $1,187,400 | Property-level debt and DSCR |
| 4 | Retiree, no first mortgage | $1,518,000 | $48,400 | $1,469,600 | How much of it can be spent |
| 5 | First-time SBA borrower | $705,700 | $344,300 | $361,400 | Post-close liquidity |
Every figure below is illustrative. These are composite scenarios built to show the arithmetic and the valuation choices, not real individuals. The line-item order follows SBA Form 413, the personal financial statement the SBA requires for 7(a) loans, 504 loans, and disaster loans, because most bank forms follow the same order.
The valuation standard underneath all five is worth naming before the numbers start.
Definition
The amount at which an asset could be exchanged between a buyer and a seller, each well informed and willing, and neither compelled to buy or sell. This is the measurement basis FASB ASC 274 requires for personal financial statements, and it is deliberately not the same thing as fair value under ASC 820. In practice it means today's price: the brokerage statement close, the market value of the house, the trade-in value of the car, never what you paid.
$192,900
Median US family net worth (2022 Survey of Consumer Finances); mean net worth was $1,063,700
Source: Federal Reserve Board
The distance between that median and that mean is the reason a benchmark is close to useless as a lending signal. Underwriters do not compare you to the country. They compare your net worth, and the composition of it, to the size of the loan you are asking for.
1. W-2 earner with a house: the baseline statement
A 38-year-old salaried employee, one home, one car loan, no business interests. This is the shape most first statements take.
| Assets | Amount | Liabilities | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on hand and in banks | $9,400 | Mortgage on residence | $327,400 |
| Savings accounts | $22,000 | Auto loan | $14,800 |
| 401(k) | $148,000 | Credit cards | $6,300 |
| Roth IRA | $31,000 | Student loans | $19,500 |
| Brokerage account | $18,500 | ||
| Life insurance, cash surrender value | $6,200 | ||
| Residence, market value | $465,000 | ||
| Automobile | $21,000 | ||
| Other personal property | $12,000 | ||
| Total assets | $733,100 | Total liabilities | $368,000 |
Net worth = $733,100 − $368,000 = $365,100.
The house appears twice and that is correct: $465,000 on the asset side, $327,400 on the liability side. Writing "$137,600 equity" on the real estate line instead is the error I see more than any other, and it quietly deletes a mortgage the lender is going to find on the credit report anyway. The same rule governs the car: full trade-in value up top, loan balance below. The full walkthrough of that mistake lives in how to calculate net worth for an SBA loan.
Watch-out: of the $365,100, only about $49,900 is cash and marketable securities. A statement can look healthy and still fail a liquidity test.
2. Self-employed business owner: where the valuation question lands
A 46-year-old sole owner of an S-corp, applying for a $600,000 working-capital line. The business interest is the line that gets argued about.
| Assets | Amount | Liabilities | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on hand and in banks | $18,000 | Mortgage on residence | $388,000 |
| Savings accounts | $85,000 | Auto loans | $22,500 |
| SEP-IRA | $212,000 | Credit cards | $9,200 |
| Stocks and bonds | $64,000 | Unpaid taxes | $17,000 |
| Note receivable from the business | $40,000 | ||
| Residence, market value | $610,000 | ||
| Automobiles | $34,000 | ||
| Other personal property | $15,000 | ||
| Business interest, 100% of the S-corp | $525,000 | ||
| Total assets | $1,603,000 | Total liabilities | $436,700 |
Net worth = $1,603,000 − $436,700 = $1,166,300.
The $525,000 business interest is the number an underwriter will push on. FASB ASC 274 permits several methods for a closely held business (a multiple of earnings, an appraisal, liquidation value, discounted projected cash flows, or an adjustment of book value) and asks you to disclose which you used. Withum's checklist for SBA lenders treats a divergence larger than roughly 10 to 15 percent between an income approach and a market approach as a signal that something is wrong with one of them. Pick a method, write it in the margin, and keep the supporting math.
Two more things belong on this statement. The $40,000 note receivable from the business is a personal asset and a business liability at the same time, so it has to reconcile against the company's balance sheet. And the personal guarantee on the company's $250,000 line of credit, $95,000 of it currently drawn, is a contingent liability that gets disclosed without reducing net worth, which is the whole subject of our post on the Form 413 contingent-liabilities panel. That panel sits beside Section 1 on the current form, not in Section 5.
Watch-out: assets titled to the company generally stay on the company's books rather than the personal statement, so an S-corp's operating cash and receivables do not belong here. A sole proprietorship blurs that line, because there is no separate entity holding title. More on that split in the self-employed personal financial statement guide.
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3. Real estate investor: the statement that outgrows the form
A 52-year-old investor with a primary residence and four rental properties. The arithmetic is the same; the schedule is where the work is.
| Assets | Amount | Liabilities | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on hand and in banks | $26,500 | Mortgage, residence | $402,000 |
| Savings accounts | $140,000 | Mortgage, rental A | $198,000 |
| Retirement accounts | $185,000 | Mortgage, rental B | $171,000 |
| Stocks and bonds | $52,000 | Mortgage, rental C | $286,000 |
| Residence, market value | $720,000 | Mortgage, rental D | $164,000 |
| Rental A | $310,000 | Auto loan | $19,000 |
| Rental B | $285,000 | Credit cards | $4,100 |
| Rental C | $415,000 | ||
| Rental D | $260,000 | ||
| Automobiles | $28,000 | ||
| Other personal property | $10,000 | ||
| Total assets | $2,431,500 | Total liabilities | $1,244,100 |
Net worth = $2,431,500 − $1,244,100 = $1,187,400.
Form 413 gives you three property slots labeled Property A, B, and C, and this investor owns five parcels, so two of them go on a signed continuation schedule that repeats the same columns. Each parcel carries its own type, address, date purchased, original cost, present market value, mortgage holder, balance, monthly payment, and status.
The number that decides this file is not net worth; it is coverage on the property being financed. If rental C produces $31,200 of net operating income against $24,300 of annual debt service, its DSCR is 1.28, above the 1.20 to 1.25 range many commercial lenders use as a minimum. Individual lenders and programs set their own floor, and some community lenders sit higher. You can run your own in the free DSCR calculator, and the mechanics are in how to calculate DSCR.
Watch-out: valuing rentals at what you hope to sell for is a short-lived advantage. An appraisal orders the correction, and by then the underwriter has a reason to re-check every other number on the page. For the ongoing version of this statement, see the real estate net worth tracker.
4. Retiree: high net worth, restricted access
A 71-year-old with no mortgage on the house and the single largest account tax-deferred.
| Assets | Amount | Liabilities | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on hand and in banks | $12,000 | Credit cards | $2,400 |
| Savings accounts | $95,000 | Home equity line | $46,000 |
| Traditional IRA | $640,000 | ||
| Brokerage account | $220,000 | ||
| Life insurance, cash surrender value | $38,000 | ||
| Residence, market value | $480,000 | ||
| Automobile | $19,000 | ||
| Other personal property | $14,000 | ||
| Total assets | $1,518,000 | Total liabilities | $48,400 |
Net worth = $1,518,000 − $48,400 = $1,469,600.
This is the example that shows why net worth alone is a weak signal. The $640,000 IRA goes on the form at its full balance, because Form 413 has no line for the income tax that comes due on withdrawal. A CPA-prepared statement under FASB ASC 274 handles it differently: it inserts a provision for estimated income taxes on the spread between current values and tax bases, placed between liabilities and net worth. Same person, same assets, two legitimately different net worth figures depending on which standard the document is prepared under. If you have ever wondered why your accountant's statement and your bank's form disagree, that provision is usually why.
Watch-out: liquidity is not net worth. Lender treatment of retirement balances varies widely, from a steep discount to exclusion outright, and marketable securities are often counted below face value; the specific haircuts are set by each lender's credit policy rather than by SBA rule. The retirement-specific version of this statement is covered in the retiree financial statement use case.
5. First-time SBA borrower: the post-close liquidity example
A 34-year-old buying an $850,000 business with a 7(a) loan, 10% equity injection.
| Assets | Amount | Liabilities | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on hand and in banks | $14,200 | Mortgage on residence | $289,000 |
| Savings accounts | $128,000 | Auto loan | $16,400 |
| 401(k) | $96,000 | Credit cards | $7,900 |
| Brokerage account | $41,000 | Student loans | $31,000 |
| Residence, market value | $395,000 | ||
| Automobile | $23,500 | ||
| Other personal property | $8,000 | ||
| Total assets | $705,700 | Total liabilities | $344,300 |
Net worth = $705,700 − $344,300 = $361,400.
The net worth here is the lowest of the five and it is close to irrelevant to the credit decision. The line that matters runs across the top of the asset column: $14,200 + $128,000 + $41,000 = $183,200 in liquid assets. Take out the $85,000 equity injection and roughly $18,000 of closing costs and about $80,200 survives the close. Benetrends Financial describes the pattern from the lender side: lenders often require a cash injection of 20 to 30 percent and like to see roughly that same amount still available afterward, which usually means having 40 to 60 percent of total project costs in liquid funds going in.
This is where many people may overstate the value of some of their assets to inflate their net worth. While this may seem like a good idea, in the end the numbers will be checked by credit for accuracy and reality.
Watch-out: the $96,000 in the 401(k) reads as $96,000 of net worth and close to nothing of usable liquidity unless it is rolled through a documented structure. Plan the injection around cash that has already been sitting in the account, since lenders generally ask for two to three months of statements to confirm where it came from. The document checklist for the rest of the file is in the business loan applications use case.
How to choose which example to copy
Four questions decide which statement above is closest to yours, and what you should tighten before submitting.
- Is any asset something other than cash, a listed security, or a mortgaged house? A business interest, a partnership stake, or a collectible needs a stated valuation method. Examples 2 and 3.
- Do you own more than three properties? Then Section 4 overflows onto a signed continuation schedule, and every parcel needs its own debt detail. Example 3.
- Is a large share of your balance sheet tax-deferred? Expect the lender's usable-liquidity figure to land far below your net worth, and expect a CPA-prepared version of the statement to show a lower net worth than the bank form. Example 4.
- Are you closing a transaction with your own cash? Then post-close liquidity outranks net worth entirely, and the statement should make the surviving cash easy to find. Example 5.
Whichever one fits, the mechanics are identical: value at current market, list debts at payoff, subtract once at the bottom, date it, and sign it. The step-by-step build is in the net worth statement template guide; the definition and its variants are in what is a net worth statement; and the full inventory of what to include is in the list of assets and liabilities. For the SBA-specific version, the SBA Form 413 guide walks the form section by section.
FAQ
What is an example of a net worth statement?
A net worth statement example lists every asset at its current market value in one column, every debt at its current payoff balance in another, and subtracts the second total from the first. A W-2 homeowner with $733,100 in assets and $368,000 in debts has a net worth of $365,100. The five worked examples in this post show the same arithmetic for a business owner, a real estate investor, a retiree, and an SBA borrower.
What is a good net worth by age?
The Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances puts median US family net worth at $192,900 and mean net worth at $1,063,700. The gap between the two is the useful part: a small number of very wealthy households pull the average far above the midpoint, so the median is the more realistic benchmark for most people. Lenders rarely benchmark you against a national figure anyway. They compare your net worth to the size of the loan you are asking for.
Do you include your 401(k) in net worth?
Yes. Report the current vested balance of every 401(k), IRA, and pension as an asset. SBA Form 413 has a dedicated line for retirement accounts. The taxes you would owe on a withdrawal are not listed as a liability on Form 413, though a CPA-prepared statement under FASB ASC 274 inserts an estimated-income-tax line before net worth. Lenders separately discount retirement balances when they measure liquidity.
Do you subtract your mortgage from your home value on a net worth statement?
Not on one line. Report the home's full market value as an asset and the mortgage payoff balance as a separate liability. Writing your equity on the real estate line understates total assets and hides the mortgage, which is the single most common error on personal financial statements. The subtraction happens once, at the bottom, across all assets and all liabilities.
How do you value a business you own on a net worth statement?
Report your ownership interest at its estimated current value in the other assets section, and state the basis you used. FASB ASC 274 accepts a multiple of earnings, an appraisal, a liquidation value, or an adjustment of book value. Withum notes that when an income approach and a market approach diverge by more than roughly 10 to 15 percent, the valuation warrants scrutiny, so pick a defensible number and be ready to show your work.
Does a negative net worth disqualify you from a loan?
It does not automatically disqualify you, though it is a meaningful obstacle on a guaranteed loan. Lenders generally want the owners standing behind a personal guarantee to show positive net worth, so a negative figure on Form 413 usually draws an underwriter question. A thin but positive net worth is a different situation: a younger borrower carrying student debt and a recent mortgage can still be bankable if the cash flow and post-close liquidity hold up.
How often should you update a net worth statement?
Update it quarterly for your own tracking and immediately before any lender submission. SBA Form 413 carries its own recency rule printed on the form: the statement must be dated within 120 days of submission for 7(a), 504, surety bond, and 8(a) purposes, and within 90 days for disaster loans. Bank forms set their own windows, and some preferred lenders enforce a tighter one. Keeping a running statement makes the lender-facing version a five-minute refresh rather than a weekend project.
Sources
- Federal Reserve Board, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022: Survey of Consumer Finances
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Personal Financial Statement (SBA Form 413)
- AICPA Center for Plain English Accounting, Personal Financial Statements: Peer Review Issues (on FASB ASC 274, formerly SOP 82-1)
- Withum, Common Errors in SBA Business Valuations: A Practical Checklist for Lenders
- Benetrends Financial, Post-Closing Liquidity
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Build your personal financial statement in minutes
StatementsReady syncs with your bank accounts, auto-populates SBA Form 413, and generates a lender-ready PDF on demand. No spreadsheets, no manual updates.
- SBA-compliant Form 413 generation
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