Contractor Mortgages

Mortgages priced on your day-rate.

Day-rate × 5 × 46 weeks — no need for 2 years of accounts. Halifax, Kensington and Clydesdale accept IT, engineering and IR35 contractors.

AI summary

Contractor mortgages are UK residential mortgages where borrowing is calculated on the contractor's daily rate instead of payslips or full trading accounts. Specialist lenders — Halifax, Kensington, Clydesdale, Nationwide, Metro Bank — annualise day-rate as day-rate × 5 × 46 weeks and apply a 4.5–5× income multiple. A £500/day contractor is assessed as earning £115,000 and can borrow up to £575,000 subject to deposit and credit.

Key facts

The numbers, at a glance.

Assessment formula
Rate × 5 × 46
Income multiple
Min contracting
3 months
Max LTV
95%
Eligibility & documents

What lenders want to see.

Who typically qualifies

  • IT, engineering, finance and consultancy day-rate contractors
  • Ltd company / PSC contractors (outside IR35)
  • Umbrella company contractors (inside IR35)
  • 12+ months of contracting history (or 3 months with 2+ years prior employment)
  • Current contract with 6+ weeks remaining, or renewal history

Documents to prepare

  • Current and previous contracts (or umbrella payslips)
  • 12 months of business or personal bank statements
  • CV / LinkedIn profile confirming contracting history
  • SA302 tax overviews (if applicable)
  • Passport / driving licence and 3-year address history
Why us

How Elena helps, specifically.

Day-rate assessment

Annualised as day-rate × 5 × 46 weeks — not filed accounts.

5× income multiple

Kensington and Halifax stretch to 5× annualised day-rate income.

IR35-aware lending

Inside and outside IR35 both accepted, matched to the right lender.

5% deposit possible

95% LTV via the UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme for eligible contractors.

New-contractor friendly

3 months contracting with 2+ years prior employment accepted.

AI-matched

Elena screens 12+ contractor-friendly lenders in under 60 seconds.

What Elena recommends

Top lender matches for this profile

Best match
Halifax
Contractor 5yr Fix · 85% LTV
4.19%
representative rate
Match score95%

"Assesses day-rate × 5 × 46 — no need for filed accounts."

Kensington
Professional 2yr Fix · 90% LTV
4.69%
representative rate
Match score89%

"5× income multiple on annualised day-rate, IR35-agnostic."

Clydesdale
5yr Fix · 90% LTV
4.44%
representative rate
Match score86%

"Accepts 6 weeks minimum contract remaining and clean 12-month history."

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How do contractor mortgages work in the UK?

Contractor mortgages are UK residential mortgages assessed on a day-rate basis rather than payslips or 2–3 years of accounts. Specialist lenders — Halifax, Kensington, Clydesdale, Nationwide and Metro — calculate borrowing as day-rate × 5 days × 46 weeks × income multiple (4.5–5×). A £500/day contractor is treated as earning £115,000 gross.

How long do I need to have been contracting?

Most UK contractor lenders accept 12 months of contracting history in the same line of work, and 6 months with the current end-client. Halifax and Clydesdale accept as little as 3 months contracting with 2+ years of prior employed experience in the same industry.

Can IT / tech contractors on inside-IR35 contracts get a mortgage?

Yes. Inside-IR35 contractors paid through an umbrella company are treated as employed by many specialist lenders (Halifax, Kensington, Precise), using the umbrella payslip rather than gross day-rate. Outside-IR35 contractors and PSCs are assessed on the day-rate × 5 × 46 formula.

What deposit do I need as a contractor?

5% deposit is possible with Halifax and Nationwide via the UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, but 10–15% opens materially cheaper pricing. Most specialist contractor rates sit between 4.19% and 5.29% in 2026 depending on LTV.

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