The mortgage your company’s profit actually earns.
You run a profitable company and pay yourself efficiently — so your SA302 shows a fraction of what you make. We work with lenders who read your salary, dividends and retained profit, and lend against your real position.
Why are directors penalised for being tax-efficient?
The UK tax system rewards directors for taking a low salary, modest dividends and leaving surplus profit in the company. Standard mortgage lenders then penalise exactly that behaviour, because they only count what you personally drew — not what your business earned.
It is the central contradiction of director lending. Your accountant structures your income to be efficient; the high-street algorithm reads the resulting SA302 and assumes that small figure is all you have. The more sensibly you manage your tax, the less the bank thinks you can afford.
The £130,000 director who looks like a £40,000 one
Same director, two very different offers
Declared on SA302 (salary + dividends): £40,000
Standard lender at 4.5×: ≈ £180,000
Specialist lender using full earnings at 4.5×: ≈ £585,000
Nothing about the director changed. Only the lender’s method did — and with it, the home they can buy.
This is the single biggest reason directors come to a specialist broker. The capital is there in the business; it simply has to be presented to a lender whose criteria recognise it. Done right, retained profit can more than triple the borrowing a salary-and-dividends assessment would allow.
How do specialist lenders assess a director?
There is no single “retained profit mortgage” product. Instead, a select group of lenders apply criteria that let an adviser use your share of net profit in place of dividends, added to your salary. They typically:
- Average your director’s share of profit over the last one to two years, where figures are stable or rising.
- Require accounts signed off by a qualified or chartered accountant, often with an accountant’s reference.
- Lend on a 4.5× multiple as standard, with stretch to 5× or beyond for stronger profiles.
- Confirm the company genuinely held the profit it claims — they lend on substance, not on paper.
The criteria vary widely between lenders, and they change often. Going to the wrong one wastes a credit search and weeks of time. Knowing which lender to approach first — and how to package the accounts — is the whole job.
What documents do you need?
- Two years of finalised company accounts (sometimes one year, depending on the lender).
- SA302 tax calculations and the matching Tax Year Overviews.
- An accountant’s certificate or reference confirming profit and shareholding.
- Personal and business bank statements, usually three to six months.
- Proof of deposit, identity and address.
Estimate your borrowing
The estimator below uses the day-rate model for contractor directors. If your income sits mainly in retained profit, your figure may be higher still — an adviser can model the profit route precisely.
Director mortgages, answered
Can I get a mortgage using my company’s retained profit?+
Yes, with the right lender. A minority of lenders will assess your share of retained profit alongside your salary, rather than limiting you to salary and dividends. For a director who leaves profit in the business for tax reasons, this can dramatically increase the amount you can borrow.
Why does my SA302 show so little income?+
Most directors draw a low salary near the National Insurance threshold and take the rest as dividends, leaving surplus profit in the company. Your SA302 only reflects what you personally extracted — not the company’s gross profit — so a standard lender sees a fraction of your real earnings.
Do I need two or three years of accounts?+
Many lenders prefer two years, but it is not universal. Some will lend on one year of accounts, and a few consider directors with a shorter history where the contract and sector support it. The lender pool narrows with less history, which is where broker placement matters most.
Does the company need to be profitable enough to justify the dividends?+
Yes. Lenders that use retained profit will check the accounts confirm sufficient post-tax profit was available. They are lending against genuine company earnings, not a paper figure, so signed-off accounts from a qualified accountant carry real weight.
Is salary plus retained profit always better than salary plus dividends?+
Not always — it is an either/or with most lenders, not both at once. The right approach is whichever produces the higher sustainable figure for your accounts. A broker compares both routes across lenders to find the one that maximises your borrowing.
I’m a contractor through my own limited company. Which route applies to me?+
Often both are open to you: contract-based underwriting on your day rate, or a retained-profit assessment on your accounts. Each suits different situations. We model both and apply with the lender whose method gives you the strongest result.