Self-employed mortgages in Leeds
Self-employed and looking for a mortgage?
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Working for yourself should make getting a mortgage easier, not harder. You know your income, you can see the work coming in, and you back yourself. Yet the mortgage system is built around a monthly payslip, so self-employed borrowers often feel they are treated with suspicion. The good news is that self-employed people get mortgages every day. The difference is simply in how your income is assessed, and in choosing a lender who gets it.
Say you are a sole trader earning a healthy living, but you claim every allowable expense to keep your tax bill down, so your profit on paper looks modest. One lender undervalues you, another sees a strong, growing business. Knowing which lender does which is exactly where a broker earns their fee.
Can you get a mortgage if you are self-employed?
Yes. Most lenders are happy to lend to self-employed borrowers, and the deposit you need and the rates on offer are generally the same as for an employed applicant. There is no self-employed penalty on price. What varies is how much of your income each lender will count, and how long a trading history they want to see, which is why the same person can be offered very different amounts by different lenders.
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Who counts as self-employed?
Lenders usually treat you as self-employed if you fall into one of these groups, and they assess each one a little differently.
- •Sole traders, assessed on the net profit from your tax returns.
- •Partners in a business, assessed on your share of the partnership’s net profit.
- •Limited company directors, usually assessed on salary plus dividends, or salary plus a share of profit.
- •Contractors and freelancers, sometimes assessed on your day rate rather than accounts.
Company directors and contractors are specialist cases in their own right, so we cover them in more depth on our limited company director mortgages and contractor mortgages pages.
How lenders assess self-employed income.
For sole traders and partners, lenders work from your net profit, the figure left after allowable business expenses, as shown on your SA302 tax calculation and tax year overview from HMRC (GOV.UK). Most take an average of your last two years, though where your latest year is lower than the year before, many will use the lower figure to be cautious. Company directors are usually assessed on salary plus dividends, while some specialist lenders use salary plus a share of the company's retained profit instead, which can mean a higher figure.
The headline point is that lenders are assessing your genuine, sustainable income, so a consistent or rising picture across your accounts helps you most. How you present those figures matters, and that is where good advice makes a real difference to how much you can borrow.
Presenting your income in the best light
Here is something many self-employed people do not realise: two lenders can look at exactly the same business and arrive at completely different income figures. Presenting your income in the best light, and matching you to a lender whose approach suits how you are paid, is often the single biggest factor in how much you can borrow.
Take a company director who owns all of their limited company. They pay themselves a small salary and take dividends up to the point where higher-rate tax would begin, leaving the rest of the profit in the business. One lender will count only the salary and dividends they actually draw. Another will count the salary plus the company’s profit. Same person, same company, two very different numbers.
| How a lender assesses them | The income they would use |
|---|---|
| Salary plus dividends drawn | Around £50,270 (a £12,570 salary plus dividends taken up to the higher-rate threshold) |
| Salary plus a share of company profit | Around £112,570 (the £12,570 salary plus £100,000 of company profit) |
That is the difference between a lender seeing an income of around £50,000 and one seeing an income of over £110,000 for the very same business owner, which on an affordability assessment can mean a far larger mortgage. The skill is knowing which lenders use which method, and presenting your accounts to the ones that will view your income most favourably. It is exactly what a good broker does for you.
How many years of accounts do you need?
A lot of self-employed people assume they cannot get a mortgage until they have two or three years of accounts behind them. That is one of the most common myths we hear, and it is simply not true.
Most lenders do want to see two years of accounts or SA302s, and a few prefer three, but some lenders will consider an application on just one year's figures.
That can be a real lifeline if you have recently gone self-employed. The choice of lender is narrower and the terms can be a little tighter, but it is very often possible, and the right answer depends on how long you have been trading and how your income has moved.
What lenders assess, by business type
| Business type | Income lenders use | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | Net profit after expenses | SA302s and tax year overviews, often 2 years |
| Partnership | Your share of net profit | Partnership accounts and SA302s |
| Company director | Salary plus dividends, or salary plus profit share | Company accounts and SA302s |
| Contractor | Day rate annualised, or net income | Contract and accounts, varies by lender |
Documents it helps to have ready
You can make your application far smoother by gathering the right paperwork early. Lenders typically ask for your SA302 tax calculations and matching tax year overviews for the last two to three years, your certified business accounts, and three to six months of personal and business bank statements, along with the usual proof of identity, address and deposit. We will tell you exactly what your chosen lender wants, so nothing holds you up.
How our self-employed mortgage advisers can help
As a self-employed mortgage broker in Leeds, Feel Good Financial has advised self-employed clients across the wider Yorkshire region since 2012, and in 2025 we arranged more than £251 million in mortgage lending, with 85% of those mortgages protected by a policy alongside them. Self-employed mortgages are some of the applications we handle most, precisely because this income does not fit a simple template.
We know which lenders are generous with self-employed income, which will accept one year's accounts, and which assess profit in the way that suits your business, and we compare deals across our extensive panel of lenders to find the right fit. Whether you are buying your first home or remortgaging now that you work for yourself, we present your figures the way lenders want to see them and explain any fees in plain English before you commit to anything. Because your income depends on you, we can also help you put the right protection in place.
Self-employed and want a mortgage that reflects what you really earn?
Book a free, no-obligation chat with one of our advisers. We will find the lenders that understand your income and help you borrow with confidence.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Self-employed mortgage FAQs
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Yes. Most lenders will consider self-employed borrowers, and your deposit and rates are generally the same as for an employed applicant. The main difference is how your income is assessed and how long a trading history a lender wants to see.
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For sole traders and partners, lenders use your net profit after expenses, usually averaged over the last two years. Company directors are typically assessed on salary plus dividends, and some lenders will use a share of retained profit instead.
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Sometimes, yes. A smaller group of lenders will consider just one year's figures, which helps if you have recently become self-employed. The choice of lender is narrower, so advice helps you find one that fits.
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No. There is no self-employed premium on rates or deposits. What differs is how much income each lender is prepared to count, which is why comparing lenders matters so much when you work for yourself.
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You do not have to, but it often helps. A self-employed mortgage broker compares lenders for you, knows which ones treat your type of income most generously, and presents your accounts the way they want to see them, which can be the difference between a yes and a no.
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Important Information:
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Changes in interest rates may affect your monthly repayments. Ensure you understand the terms and risks before proceeding, There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you pay will depend on your circumstances. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is £695 for a purchase application and £300 for a remortgage.