Can I get a mortgage if I am self-employed?

Many self-employed people do. Lenders usually want more evidence of your income than an employee's payslips. MoneyHelper says self-employed applicants typically provide bank statements, business accounts and details of the Income Tax they have paid, and lenders have their own criteria, so ask a lender or an independent mortgage adviser what they need.

How many years of accounts do I need for a mortgage when self-employed?

MoneyHelper says you are typically asked for two or three years' worth of tax returns and business accounts. Lenders differ, so check with your lender or adviser, especially if you have been self-employed for less time.

What is an SA302 and how do I get one?

An SA302 is your tax calculation from HMRC, used as evidence of your earnings. Once you have sent your Self Assessment tax return you can get the last 4 years, and you can print them from your HMRC online account or from your commercial software, but not until 72 hours after you sent the return.

Do lenders accept a tax year overview?

GOV.UK says you can get a tax year overview for any year and that you might be asked for these documents as evidence of your income, for example when applying for a mortgage. It also says to check that your mortgage provider accepts documents you have printed yourself, so ask before you rely on them.

How much can I borrow if I am self-employed?

MoneyHelper says lenders typically cap borrowing at four and a half times annual income, but most people are offered less. Each lender decides how it treats self-employed income, so an adviser is the right person to ask how yours would be treated.

Mortgages for self-employed: what you need

The short answer

You can apply for a mortgage if you are self-employed. The paperwork is usually more detailed than an employee's payslips: lenders commonly ask for two or three years of accounts and tax returns, bank statements and details of Income Tax paid. Your SA302 tax calculation and tax year overview help evidence your income.

This is general information about paperwork, not mortgage advice.

Before you gather anything, ask your lender or an independent mortgage adviser for their document list. RR Accountants is an accountancy firm, not a mortgage adviser.

What lenders commonly ask self-employed applicants for

MoneyHelper lists these basics for self-employed applicants:

A statement of two to three years' accounts from an accountant.
Two or three years of tax returns and your SA302 tax calculations.
Bank statements and supporting information that backs up the income on your SA302.
Details of the Income Tax you have paid.

These are typical requests. Some lenders ask for more, and their criteria for income and outgoings differ. Ask your lender or adviser what they need, especially if you have been self-employed for less time.

Your SA302 and tax year overview, and how to get them

Your SA302 is HMRC's tax calculation, available once you have sent your Self Assessment return. You can get it for the last 4 years, and a tax year overview for any year. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

Check with your mortgage provider that it accepts documents you have printed yourself.
Log in to your HMRC online account.
Go to Self Assessment, then "More details about your Self Assessment returns and payments".
If you used HMRC's online services for your return, print your tax calculation and tax year overview from your account.
If you or your accountant used commercial software, print the tax calculation from that software. It may be called a "tax computation". You can still print the tax year overview from your HMRC online account.

You cannot print the documents until 72 hours after sending your return.

An authorised accountant can deal with HMRC for you.

See GOV.UK's guidance on getting your SA302 tax calculation for the document routes.

Why filing on time matters

You can only get an SA302 after you have sent the return, and there is a 72-hour wait before you can print the documents. HMRC makes SA302s available for the last 4 years. If your latest return is still unfiled, you cannot yet use its tax calculation as evidence.

Check the Self Assessment deadlines for 2026/27 and our guide to filing your first Self Assessment return. Use the documents checklist to gather the records behind the figures.

How lenders may look at your income

Lenders generally look at what the business earns after costs rather than turnover. A busy business and a high turnover do not, on their own, tell a lender what income to count.

If you run a limited company, lenders may look at salary and dividends or at your share of company profit; this varies, so ask. Our guides to sole trader versus limited company and UK dividend tax for 2026/27 explain the accounts and tax context.

The lender chooses how to count that income. It might use the latest year, an average, or something else. Ask how your figures would be treated before relying on a borrowing estimate.

A quick illustration of the four-and-a-half-times cap

MoneyHelper says lenders typically cap borrowing at four and a half times annual income, but most people are offered less. The loan-to-income ratio is the amount you want to borrow divided by your annual income, including the income of anyone you are buying with.

As arithmetic only, 4.5 x £45,000 = £202,500. This is not a prediction of what you could borrow. Lenders choose their own way of counting self-employed income, whether the latest year, an average, or something else, and most people are offered less than the typical cap.

Make the paperwork agree

MoneyHelper says the information on your application must match the documents you give. Check the figures against your accounts and tax return, and gather bank statements that support what your SA302 says about your income.

Read the accounts, return, tax calculation and overview together before you apply. If figures do not agree, ask your accountant to help you understand the difference before putting them on the application.

Tax planning and borrowing can pull in different directions

Claiming every allowable expense lowers tax and also lowers the profit you show. Neither is wrong, but know the trade-off before you apply. Discuss the records and tax return with your accountant, and ask a mortgage adviser how the lender would treat that income.

Where to get mortgage advice

MoneyHelper describes two main types of adviser: one who works for a lender and only discusses that lender's products, and an independent broker who can discuss and offer mortgages from lots of providers.

For advice on your mortgage, speak to a lender's adviser or an independent mortgage adviser or broker. RR Accountants does not give mortgage advice or recommend lenders or products. Our Self Assessment service covers the records and return side.

A checklist to gather

Your last 2 to 3 years' accounts.
Your SA302 tax calculations and tax year overviews.
Bank statements supporting the income figures.
Evidence of Income Tax paid.
Your latest filed Self Assessment return.

Confirm the lender's document requirements before relying on this checklist.

Planning to apply for a mortgage?

Get your records and returns in order before you apply, so the figures a lender sees are complete. Book a 30-minute call. We'll confirm whether we're a fit, and if we are, we'll tell you exactly what the next step looks like. This is not mortgage advice.

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Mortgages for the self-employed: what lenders ask for

Quick answer