Income from a limited company is accepted and weighted at 100% where an applicant has been trading for 2 years or more.

If the applicant has a shareholding of less than 50%, we would accept dividends and director's salary for the affordability assessment.

If the applicant has a shareholding of 50% or more, we would use director's salary and share of net profit for the affordability assessment.

We will check the net profit for the company to ensure that the applicant’s income is sustainable.

Where the business has made a loss in any of the last 2 years or the business’s net worth has been negative in the last 2 years the application will be declined.

We will not accept dividends where the applicant’s drawings exceed the net profit of the business for the latest year. Where the dividends exceed the net profit, we will only accept the share of the net profit for our affordability calculations.

Evidence requirements:

• Last 2 years’ SA302s with their corresponding Tax Year Overviews
• Last 3 months’ business bank statements showing consistent income in line with the latest year’s submitted figures and to evidence trading through COVID
• Latest month's personal bank statements showing income and expenditure
• 2 years’ worth of limited company accounts certified by a suitably qualified accountant

Where annual accounts are required, they must be finalised, submitted to Companies House and signed by a suitably qualified accountant.

The accountants qualification must be verifiable through the association's or institute's website. We will not accept certificates alone.

Acceptable Accountants Qualifications:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales – A.C.A or F.C.A
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland – C.A (Chartered Accountant), A.C.A.S or F.C.A.S
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, also known as Chartered Accountants Ireland – C.A (Chartered Accountant)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – A.C.C.A, F.C.C.A, A.A.P.A or F.A.P.A
• Association of Authorised Public Accountants – A.C.C.A, F.C.C.A, A.A.P.A or F.A.P.A
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants – A.C.M.A or F.C.M.A
• Certified Public Accountants Association – A.C.P.A or F.C.P.A
• Association of Accounting Technicians – M.A.A.T or F.M.A.A.T
• Association of International Accountants – A.I.A or F.A.I.A [not FAIA (acad)]
• Chartered Institute of Taxation – C.T.A (Fellow), F.T.I.I (Fellow), C.T.A or A.T.I.I
• Institute of Financial Accountants – A.F.A (Associate) or F.F.A (Fellow)
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy – C.P.F.A.

AAT can be accepted where the firm or another accountant from the firm holds one of the above acceptable qualifications.