A mortgage assessment that reflects how you work
You can apply for a mortgage while working on contracts. The starting point is who pays you, how your income is recorded and whether a lender accepts that arrangement. A contractor mortgage generally means a mortgage assessed using criteria suitable for contract work, rather than a separate type of home loan.
Count Ready can help you explore a purchase or remortgage, including a joint application with an employed partner. Tell us if you have recently started contracting, changed how you are paid or been declined elsewhere so we can consider those details early.
How are you paid for contract work?
Your job title does not tell the whole story. Two people doing the same work may need different evidence because one is on payroll and the other invoices through a business.
Limited company contractor
You invoice through your company and may receive salary and dividends. Depending on the lender, an assessment may use eligible contract income or company and personal income evidence. Ownership, other shareholders, multiple contracts and employees can affect the route.
See our company director mortgage guidance for salary, dividends and profits.
Umbrella company worker
The rate paid to the umbrella company is not the same as your gross salary or the amount reaching your bank account. Bring the assignment details and payslips so an adviser can follow the payments and deductions.
Our IT contractor mortgage page covers first contracts, client changes and payment routes for technology work.
Fixed-term or agency employee
If you receive payslips through PAYE, your employment contract and earnings history help explain the arrangement. The adviser will check whether hours are guaranteed, when the assignment ends and whether pay includes variable elements. Agency work and a fixed-term salaried role are not necessarily assessed alike.
Sole trader, CIS or several clients
If you invoice clients personally or run a business across several assignments, profits and tax evidence may be more relevant than one contract rate. Work under the Construction Industry Scheme also needs its payment and deduction records considered.
Start with our self-employed mortgage guidance or the CIS mortgage page.
IR35 concerns the tax treatment of particular working arrangements; it is not a mortgage approval test. Tell your adviser if you have moved between an inside-IR35 assignment, umbrella employment and your own company. Discuss tax and business-structure decisions with a suitably qualified tax adviser.
How much could you borrow as a contractor?
The first question is which income a lender will accept. Some assessments use a qualifying daily or hourly contract rate; others use payslip earnings or self-employed income. Accepted working patterns, deductions and evidence vary. Multiplying a day rate by a standard number of weeks is not a reliable personal borrowing limit.
The lender then assesses affordability, including existing borrowing, regular commitments, household costs, dependants, the mortgage term and property. An initial estimate is not a mortgage offer.
Illustration: the same headline rate, different evidence
Alex and Sam each describe their rate as £400 a day. Alex invoices through a company; Sam works through an umbrella company. Their payment records, company costs and gross pay are different. An adviser would first check what each £400 figure represents and which income assessment is available.
This illustrates a question to ask. It is not a lender decision, income calculation or guaranteed borrowing amount.
For company income, avoid double counting. Salary, dividends and the profits from which dividends are paid are not automatically separate sums to add to a contract value. A company bank balance is not necessarily personal income. Deposit and pricing also depend on the application and available products; compare repayments, fees and overall suitability as well as the amount you might borrow.
New contracts, gaps and changing income
Your first contract
Explain what you did before contracting and whether the new role continues your previous work. Keep the signed contract and evidence of payments received. A short contracting history may restrict options, but there is no universal requirement for the same number of years of accounts.
A contract nearing its end
Provide the actual end date and any confirmed extension or new assignment. An expected renewal is different from a signed agreement. Update your adviser if circumstances change before completion.
Breaks between assignments
Set out the dates and reasons for gaps, including planned leave or a period without work. Previous experience provides context, but savings or a strong past year do not automatically resolve concerns about future income.
A different rate or payment route
Show changes in rate, hours, client arrangements or payment method. A new higher rate may not be accepted in full immediately. If you moved from a company to an umbrella, records from both periods can explain the transition without treating them as simultaneous earnings.
What information should you prepare?
For an initial conversation, you do not need to upload a full financial file. Have these details to hand:
- How you work and who pays you: your company, umbrella, agency or direct employer.
- When you began contracting, previous work and recent gaps.
- Current rate or pay, contracted hours or days, dates and confirmed renewals.
- Whether you are buying, moving or remortgaging, and approximate deposit or equity.
- Any other applicant, significant income change or previous mortgage decline.
If you proceed, requested evidence may include current and previous contracts, payslips, bank statements showing receipts, company accounts and personal tax documents. Umbrella workers may also need a reconciliation statement or key information document to explain how assignment pay becomes salary. Your adviser should confirm the documents, periods and formats required by the proposed lender.
Read our contractor evidence guide, self-employed income evidence guide and general mortgage documents checklist for more detail.
Do not put bank account numbers, National Insurance numbers, tax references or document images in a general enquiry message. Agree an appropriate secure document-sharing method with your adviser, and read our privacy policy.
Buying, remortgaging or reviewing a decline
Buying your first home or moving
Discuss your budget before committing to a purchase. If you are moving, include the existing mortgage, any early repayment charge and whether porting is relevant. An agreement in principle is not a final offer; the full application and property still need assessment.
Remortgaging while contracting
Allow time to review options before your deal ends, especially if your work arrangement has changed. Compare staying with your lender and moving elsewhere, taking fees, charges and repayments into account. A product transfer can have different checks from a new application; do not assume a change is available without income verification.
Credit issues or an earlier decline
Share the lender’s explanation if you have it, and describe any credit issue accurately, including its date and status. Reviewing the reason first helps establish whether another application is appropriate or whether more evidence, time or a different budget is needed. Advice cannot promise acceptance.
Talk through your contractor mortgage options
- Explain your work and plans. Start with your payment arrangement, contract history and mortgage purpose.
- Review evidence and options. An adviser can check relevant lender criteria and explain what further information is needed. Fees and the scope of advice should be clear before chargeable work begins.
- Decide on the next step. This may be gathering evidence, reviewing a suitable recommendation or proceeding with an application. The lender makes the lending decision.
Count Ready provides advice by phone and online. Read our Terms of Business for service and fee information.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Contractor mortgage questions
Can I get a mortgage on my first contract?
There may be options, but a first contract alone does not establish eligibility. An adviser will consider your previous work, the new contract, your pay arrangements and any gap between roles. The lender must accept that history and be satisfied that the income is sustainable.
Will a lender use my day rate or my accounts?
That depends on the lender and your circumstances. A contract-based assessment may be available if its conditions are met. Otherwise payslips, company accounts or tax evidence may be relevant. Your day rate, turnover, salary and dividends cannot simply be added together.
Can umbrella company contractors apply?
Yes. The adviser needs to distinguish the assignment rate paid to the umbrella company from your gross pay and take-home pay. Your contract, payslips and payment records help establish the income a particular lender may accept.
Does being inside IR35 stop me getting a mortgage?
An inside-IR35 arrangement does not by itself rule out a mortgage. It can affect how payments are taxed and what evidence is useful. A lender still reviews your actual pay arrangement, income continuity, affordability and the property.
How much deposit does a contractor need?
There is no single deposit requirement for every contractor. It depends on the product, property, borrowing and full application. A larger deposit may change the options, but does not replace acceptable income evidence or affordability checks.
Can I apply jointly with someone in permanent employment?
Yes. Each applicant’s acceptable income is assessed alongside shared and individual commitments. A permanent salary does not remove the need to verify the contractor’s income if it is needed for affordability. The same income must not be counted twice.
What if another lender has declined my application?
Start with any explanation the lender has provided. A decline may relate to income, credit history, affordability, the property or another issue. Count Ready can review the circumstances before you decide whether another application is appropriate. A different outcome cannot be promised.
General information, not a personal mortgage recommendation. Guidance reviewed on 3 October 2026 against Halifax’s published contractor criteria, GOV.UK umbrella company guidance and GOV.UK off-payroll working guidance. Individual lender criteria can change and must be checked for your application. A link to a lender’s guidance does not establish a lender relationship or recommendation.