SA302s, tax year overviews and accountant’s letters for your mortgage

How lenders check self-employed income

If you are self-employed, you do not have payslips to show a lender. Instead, lenders look at what you have declared to HMRC. For most applicants that means two documents for each year: the SA302 tax calculation and the matching tax year overview. You can get SA302s for the last four years once your returns have been sent, and a tax year overview for any year (GOV.UK: get your SA302).

Most lenders ask for two or three years of figures. Sole traders are usually assessed on net profit, often averaged over two years or taken as the lower of the last two. Company directors are usually assessed on salary plus dividends, and some lenders will consider salary plus a share of the company’s net profit.

Problems we sort out every week

• Your latest return has not been filed. The lender wants your 2025/26 figures, but the return is not due until 31 January. We prepare and file it now, so the documents can be printed 72 hours later.
• The SA302 and tax year overview do not match. Usually a payment, amendment or software issue. We find the cause and correct it with HMRC.
• A mistake on an old return. Returns can normally be amended online within 12 months of the filing deadline. After that, a written correction to HMRC is needed.
• Income that does not tell the full story. Directors who leave profits in the company, or businesses that have grown fast, may need an accountant’s reference explaining the figures.
• No accountant on record. Some lenders ask for accounts or references from a qualified accountant. As Chartered Certified Accountants, we can provide them.

We are accountants, not mortgage advisers

We prepare and explain your income evidence and we are happy to speak to your broker or the lender’s underwriter. We do not recommend mortgages or lenders. For that, speak to an FCA-authorised whole-of-market mortgage broker.

Contact us now and we will look into your tax affairs and your business position and sort this out, so your application goes in complete and on time. Call 0161 531 4179, email enquiries@wingateaccountants.co.uk or message us on WhatsApp.