Yes, self-employed homeowners can get a secured loan, and specialist lenders will often consider you on one year's trading rather than the two or three a high street bank expects. A secured loan, also called a homeowner loan or second charge mortgage, is assessed on your net profit, your salary and dividends, or your day rate, evidenced by SA302s, accounts and bank statements. Being self-employed does not by itself reduce the maximum loan to value, which is commonly up to 85% combined, or raise the rate; what matters is that the income is provable and the payment fits.
Self-employment is a documentation question rather than a credit question. If you can show 12 months or more of trading through HMRC figures or accounts, most specialist lenders will assess you on the same loan to value and pricing as an employed applicant with the same credit history.
- Many specialist secured loan lenders consider self-employed applicants with one full year of trading; high street banks commonly want two or three.
- Sole traders are assessed on net profit; limited company directors on salary plus dividends, or at some lenders salary plus retained profit.
- SA302 tax calculations and tax year overviews from HMRC are the standard evidence, backed by accounts and bank statements.
- Day rate contractors are commonly assessed on the day rate times five days times 46 to 48 weeks.
- Debts you are consolidating are usually removed from the affordability calculation, which helps a variable income fit.
- Checking your options will not affect your credit score.
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How lenders typically treat it
| What lenders look at | Typical position |
|---|---|
| Minimum trading history | Commonly 12 months with a full year's accounts or SA302; some lenders prefer two years. |
| Sole trader or partner | Net profit, or your share of it, from the latest SA302 and tax year overview, or an average of the last two years. |
| Limited company director | Salary plus dividends at most lenders; salary plus share of net profit at some, which helps if you retain profit in the company. |
| Day rate contractor | Day rate times five times 46 to 48 weeks at many lenders, with a current contract and a track record of contracting. |
| CIS subcontractor | Treated as employed by some lenders using three to six months of CIS statements or payslips. |
| Declining income | Lenders commonly use the latest year, or the lower of two years, and may ask for an explanation. |
| Evidence | SA302s and tax year overviews, accountant-prepared accounts, and three months of business and personal bank statements. |
| Maximum combined LTV | As for employed applicants, commonly up to 85%, reduced by adverse credit rather than by self-employment. |
A general guide to how the market behaves, not a promise about any lender. Criteria change and every case is assessed individually. See the lender criteria database for named lenders.
Can you get a secured loan if you are self-employed?
Yes, and in the second charge market it is routine rather than exceptional. A significant share of secured loan applicants run their own business, and the specialist lenders that dominate the market, names such as Pepper Money, United Trust Bank, Together, Norton Home Loans and West One, publish criteria that set out exactly how they assess self-employed income. Our lender criteria database collects those policies in one place.
The reason self-employment is easier here than at a high street bank is that secured loans are underwritten by people rather than by automated scoring. An underwriter can read a set of accounts, understand why a director paid herself a small salary and left the profit in the company, or see that a contractor's income arrives in lumps rather than monthly, and make a decision. A bank's mortgage system, built for employed borrowers with payslips, often cannot. That is why a decline from your own bank says very little about what the specialist second charge market will do with the same application.
What the lender is trying to establish is simple: what you actually earn, whether it is likely to continue, and whether the new payment fits alongside your mortgage and other commitments. Self-employment changes the evidence, not the question. Being your own boss does not lower the maximum loan to value or add a premium to the rate; those are set by your credit history, your equity and the amount, exactly as for an employed applicant. What it adds is paperwork.
How do lenders assess self-employed income?
It depends on how your business is structured, and the differences matter. If you are a sole trader or a partner, the figure lenders use is your net profit, which is your turnover less allowable expenses and before tax, as shown on your self assessment tax return. For a partner it is your share. Turnover is not income, and lenders will not treat it as such.
If you run a limited company, most lenders use your salary plus the dividends you have drawn, as shown on your personal tax return. That can understate what the business earns if you retain profit in the company for tax or cash flow reasons. A number of specialist lenders address this by assessing salary plus your share of the company's net profit after corporation tax, taken from the accounts, which can make a large difference to how much you can borrow. If you retain profit, ask the adviser to go to a lender that assesses on that basis.
The standard evidence is your SA302 tax calculation and the matching tax year overview, both available from your HMRC online account or through your accountant's software. Lenders want the last one or two years. Accountant-prepared accounts are asked for alongside them at many lenders, and almost all want three months of business and personal bank statements to confirm the figures. Some lenders will accept an accountant's certificate in place of full accounts.
Where income has risen, lenders commonly average the last two years or use the latest year with a cap on how far it can exceed the previous one. Where it has fallen, they usually take the latest year, and will want to know why. A clear explanation, such as a change of contract or a period of leave, is worth writing down before you apply. If your income is variable for reasons like maternity leave, our guide to consolidating on reduced income covers the specifics.
Do you need one year or two years of accounts?
One year is enough at many specialist lenders, and two years opens up nearly all of them. The dividing line is a full year of trading evidenced by a submitted tax return, which means at least one SA302 covering a complete tax year. A business that started trading eight months ago, with no return yet filed, will find very few lenders, and those that exist will want a projection from an accountant and a strong reason to believe in it. Waiting until the first return is in is usually the better plan.
With one year's figures, expect the lender to use that year's income and to look harder at bank statements for consistency. With two years, expect an average, or the latest year if it is lower. Beyond two, further history rarely changes the assessment but does reassure the underwriter that the business is established.
Contractors are treated as a category of their own. If you work on a day rate through a limited company or an umbrella, many lenders will annualise it: day rate multiplied by five days and by 46 or 48 weeks, to allow for gaps between contracts. They will want your current contract, evidence of how long you have contracted and usually some months remaining on the contract or a history of renewals. That method often produces a higher figure than salary and dividends, which is why it is worth asking for.
Subcontractors in the construction industry scheme are another special case. Some lenders treat CIS workers as employed and assess on the last three to six months of CIS statements or payslips, which avoids the wait for a full year's return. If you receive your income through a CIS deduction, mention it, because the adviser can steer you to a lender that uses that route. Whichever category you fall into, have the paperwork ready before the application.
Why are specialist lenders more flexible than high street banks?
Partly because they have to be. The second charge market exists to serve homeowners the mainstream will not, and self-employed borrowers with short trading histories or complicated income are a large part of that. FLA data shows 44,725 new second charge agreements worth £2.4bn in the 12 months to June 2026, up 18% and 27% on the year before, with loan consolidation at least 60% of new business, and a meaningful share of those borrowers are self-employed people who found the bank unhelpful.
Partly because of how they work. Every case is read by an underwriter, so a lender can allow retained profit, annualise a day rate, take an accountant's certificate, or use one year's figures where the bank statements support them. That flexibility is priced into the rate, which is higher than a mainstream mortgage, but it is applied consistently rather than case by case.
And partly because the affordability calculation itself is more forgiving in a consolidation. When you use a secured loan to clear cards and loans, most lenders treat those debts as gone in the calculation, because they will be paid on completion. For a self-employed borrower whose income is real but lumpy, removing several hundred pounds of monthly commitments from the assessment is often what makes the new payment fit. Our guide to whether lenders ignore the debts you are paying off explains how that works. A secured loan also sits alongside your mortgage rather than replacing it, so a good fixed rate stays untouched.
What does a secured loan cost for the self-employed?
The same as for an employed borrower with the same credit history, equity and loan size. There is no self-employment premium at most lenders; what sets the rate is the tier your credit file puts you in and the loan to value. Fees are the standard set, a lender arrangement fee, a valuation, any broker fee and a small legal charge, usually added to the loan. Our guide to how secured loan rates are set covers the detail.
The example below uses the fixed illustrative secured loan rate used across this site, applied to a self-employed homeowner consolidating a mix of card and loan debt built up during a slow year.
Illustrative rates: The rates in this example are fictional and used only to show how the numbers work. They are not an offer. Your actual rate may be lower or higher and will depend on your circumstances, your property and the lender. Consolidating debt over a longer term can mean you pay more interest overall, even if your monthly payment falls.
| Position | Amount |
|---|---|
| Current monthly payments (credit cards £12,000 at 24.9% and a personal loan £8,000 at 12.9%) | £532/month |
| New secured loan payment (£20,000 at 7.9% over 15 years) | £190/month |
| Total repayable over the 15-year term | £34,196 |
The monthly outgoing on £20,000 of debt falls from £532 to £190, a real cushion in a quiet month. The total repaid over 15 years is £34,196, well above the amount borrowed, because the balance runs far longer than the original debts would have. Most secured loans allow overpayments, so a good year can be used to shorten the term and cut that total; our guide to paying off a secured loan early explains the charges to look for.
Two cautions belong with the numbers. The loan is secured on your home, and if you do not keep up the repayments your home may be repossessed, so the payment has to fit your worst realistic year, not your best. And if the debt is really a business cash flow problem, a secured loan on your house is rarely the right fix. Free, impartial advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange or Citizens Advice, or Business Debtline for business debts, will say so.
What improves your chances
- File your latest tax return early and download the SA302 and tax year overview from your HMRC account before you apply.
- Have accountant-prepared accounts for the last two years ready, and ask your accountant whether they will provide a certificate if a lender wants one.
- If you retain profit in a limited company, ask the adviser to go to a lender that assesses salary plus net profit rather than salary plus dividends.
- Contractors should have the current contract, a history of previous contracts and evidence of renewals or months remaining to hand.
- Keep business and personal accounts separate and tidy for the three months before applying; underwriters read the statements closely.
- Write a short explanation of any dip in income, with dates, so the underwriter hears it from you rather than inferring it.
Alternatives worth considering
A remortgage is the other consolidation route, and if your mortgage deal has ended and you have two years of accounts, it may offer a lower rate; our secured loan versus remortgage page compares the two, and our guide to keeping your mortgage rate explains why a secured loan often wins when you are on a good fixed rate. For a smaller amount, a personal loan avoids securing anything on your home, though unsecured lenders tend to be stricter with self-employed income; our secured loan versus personal loan comparison sets out the trade-offs. And if the debts are business debts rather than personal ones, Business Debtline offers free advice on the options specific to that.
Worried about debt? Get free advice first
If you're struggling, it's worth speaking to a free, impartial debt advice service before you borrow more. They don't sell anything and won't judge your situation.
- MoneyHelper: Free, impartial debt advice backed by government
- StepChange: The UK's largest free debt charity
- Citizens Advice: Free, confidential advice on debt and money
Checking your options with Equiclear will not affect your credit score.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a secured loan with one year of accounts?
Yes, at many specialist lenders, provided the year is a complete tax year with a submitted return and an SA302 to prove it. Expect the lender to use that year's income and to look closely at bank statements. Two years opens up almost the whole market.
What is an SA302 and where do I get it?
An SA302 is HMRC's tax calculation for a tax year, showing the income you declared. You can download it from your HMRC online account or your accountant can produce it from their software. Lenders ask for it alongside the tax year overview, which confirms the tax paid.
Do lenders count retained profit in my limited company?
Some do. Most assess directors on salary plus dividends, but a number of specialist lenders use salary plus your share of net profit after corporation tax, taken from the accounts. If you leave profit in the company, that can raise the income figure considerably.
How is a day rate contractor's income assessed?
Many lenders annualise the day rate: multiply it by five days and by 46 or 48 weeks to allow for gaps. They will want the current contract, evidence of your contracting history and either months remaining or a record of renewals. It often beats salary plus dividends.
Does being self-employed mean a higher rate?
Not at most lenders. The rate is set by your credit history, the equity in your home and the loan size, just as for an employed borrower. Self-employment changes the evidence you provide and the way income is calculated, not the pricing tier you land in.
Does checking my options affect my credit score?
No. Checking your options will not affect your credit score. Equiclear does not search your credit file, and any check the broker makes at this stage is a soft search, which other lenders cannot see. A full application to a lender later is recorded on your file in the normal way, so it makes sense to have the paperwork ready first.