Self-Employed Mortgages
Your income isn't complicated. Some lenders' forms just pretend it is.
Sole trader, limited-company director, contractor, freelancer with three income streams. If your earnings don't arrive as a single monthly payslip, some lenders make you feel like a problem to be managed. You're not. You just need a lender whose criteria fit how you're actually paid.
I work with self-employed buyers and remortgagers every week. I know which lenders average two years' figures, which will work from one, which use salary plus dividends versus share of net profit, and which understand contractor day rates.
What working together looks like
Matched to the right lender's rules, first time
The gap between lenders is enormous. The same set of accounts can support wildly different loan sizes depending on how a lender reads them. I match your income shape to the lender that treats it best.
Your case, presented properly
Self-employed applications live or die on presentation, meaning the right documents, the right explanations and anticipating the underwriter's questions. I package your application so it lands well the first time.
Director? Retained profit counts (with some lenders)
If you deliberately leave profit in the company, some lenders will assess it as income where others won't. That single criteria difference can transform what you can borrow.
What lenders typically ask the self-employed for
Requirements vary by lender and business type, but this is the common core.
- 1–3 years of accounts or SA302s / tax-year overviews
- Latest business and personal bank statements
- Accountant's details (some lenders write to them directly)
- For contractors, the current contract, day rate and history
- Proof of deposit and ID, as with any application
A Kent electrician trading as a limited company came to me. He paid himself a modest salary and dividends, leaving healthy profit in the business. His own bank assessed only salary plus dividends and offered far less than he needed. The lender I placed the case with instead assessed salary plus his share of net profit, and the purchase went ahead. Neither lender was 'wrong'. They just read the same accounts differently. Knowing who reads them how is my job.
Asked all the time, answered honestly
How many years of accounts do I need for a mortgage?
Many lenders want two years and some want three, but a meaningful number will lend with just one year's figures, especially with a solid trading history in the same line of work. One year of accounts is not the dead end people assume.
I'm a contractor. Is my day rate used or my accounts?
Several lenders will assess contractors on annualised day rate (day rate × days × weeks), which often produces a far higher income figure than the company accounts. Whether that route is open depends on your contract pattern, which is exactly the kind of thing I check.
Do the self-employed pay higher mortgage rates?
No, you access the same products as employed borrowers. What differs is how lenders assess your income to decide what you can borrow. The 'self-employed premium' is a myth. The real issue is picking the wrong lender for your income shape.
Does IR35 affect my mortgage application?
It can change how your income is paid (via an umbrella, or as deemed salary), which changes how lenders assess it. Plenty of lenders handle inside-IR35 contractors well. It needs the right placement rather than being a barrier.
My latest year was worse than the year before. Am I stuck?
Not necessarily. Some lenders use the latest year alone and others average two. Where there's a good explanation (parental leave, a one-off cost, covid-era distortion), some will look through it. Honest presentation to the right lender matters most.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Let's talk about self-employed
A free, no-obligation chat is the easiest first step. Tell me what you're hoping to do, and I'll tell you honestly how I can help.