One thing that confused me at the beginning was the idea that every lender wants exactly the same number of years of accounts. In reality, getting a mortgage when self employed can depend on the lender, the type of business, how long you have been trading and whether your income has been stable. Some lenders prefer two or three years of figures because it gives them a clearer trend, while others may consider applicants with only one year of accounts if the rest of the case is strong. The assessment is definitely different from someone on a regular salary. An employed borrower can usually show payslips and a contract, but getting a mortgage when self employed often means proving income through accounts, tax records and sometimes business bank statements. The lender is trying to work out whether the earnings are sustainable, not just whether one recent month looked good. For sole traders, turnover can give the wrong impression if you look at it on its own. A business might invoice £80,000 during the year, but after legitimate costs the net profit could be much lower. That net profit is often far more relevant to affordability because it reflects what the owner actually earned from the business. Company directors are assessed differently again. Someone may receive a modest salary and then take dividends, so lenders can look at a combination of those figures. Some are also prepared to consider retained profits left inside the company. That can be important when getting a mortgage when self employed because a director may deliberately leave money in the business rather than drawing the maximum personal income. Contractors can sometimes prove affordability through their current contract, day rate and history of similar work. A lender may be more comfortable if there is evidence of consistent contracts over several years, although exact criteria vary. Tax documents are another major part of the process. SA302 calculations can show the income declared to HMRC, and lenders may request records covering two or three tax years. A Tax Year Overview can also help confirm that the figures in the application match what HMRC has on record. When getting a mortgage when self employed, I would make sure those documents line up with the accounts before applying. Partnership applicants have another issue to think about. The lender may use the applicant’s share of partnership profits rather than the total profit of the business. That can make the affordability figure lower than someone expects if several partners divide the earnings. Fluctuating income is probably the main reason lenders like seeing several years of history. Some may average two or three years to calculate sustainable earnings. However, if the most recent year shows a noticeable decline, a lender might use the lower figure or ask for an explanation even if earlier years were much stronger.