Trading With A Partner

Partnership Mortgage

In a partnership the lender is interested in your share of the net profit, not the profit of the partnership as a whole. Evidencing the share cleanly is what makes these cases straightforward.

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Tell us your profit share for the last two years and we will tell you what it supports and what a lender will want to see.

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Your share, not the partnership total

Partnership cases are usually simpler than applicants expect, because the assessment reduces to one figure: your share of the net profit. Precise publishes exactly that, defining partnership income as the share of the net profit. Pepper Money assesses partnerships from two years of SA302s, which show your share directly rather than the partnership total.

The complication, when there is one, is usually documentary rather than conceptual. A lender needs to see that the share you are claiming is the share you actually have. Your personal self-assessment return does that, because the partnership profit share flows onto it. Partnership accounts alone do not, which is why lenders ask for the personal documents even when the partnership accounts are already to hand.

A change in profit share between years is worth flagging early. If you moved from a 25 per cent share to a 40 per cent share, the older year understates your current position, and a lender averaging two years will hold that against you unless it is explained. A copy of the partnership agreement, or a note from the accountant confirming the change and its date, usually settles it.

Where profits have moved rather than the share, our latest year or average income page covers which year is likely to be used. GOV.UK explains the registration and filing obligations in its guidance on setting up a business partnership.

At a Glance

Your share of net profit is the assessed income
Personal self-assessment documents evidence the share
A changed share should be explained up front
Two years of figures is the usual requirement

How partnership income is defined by lender

Reproduced from each lender own published criteria guide.

LenderPartnership income definitionDocuments
PreciseShare of the net profit2 years of HMRC tax calculations and corresponding tax year overviews, or accounts. Minimum 12 months trading.
Pepper Money2 years of SA302sLast 2 years unless only 1 year exists because of the trading period, plus the latest month business bank statement. Minimum trading period 12 months.
AldermoreAssessed from tax calculations and tax year overviews2 years standard. 1 year considered with corroborating evidence and at a reduced maximum loan to value.

Criteria correct as at 14 August 2026. Sources: Precise Mortgages Residential Criteria Guide; Pepper Money Mortgage Criteria Guide; Aldermore Residential Criteria Guide. Correct as at 14 August 2026. Criteria change without notice. Lender criteria change without notice and this table is a general guide, not advice or an offer of credit. Your own circumstances, the property and the lender’s assessment at the time will determine what is actually available to you.

What a partnership application needs

Almost every question an underwriter asks on a partnership case is about evidencing the share. Have these ready and most of them disappear. HMRC explains the personal filing side in its guidance on Self Assessment tax returns, and limited liability partnerships file publicly at Companies House.

Two years of personal tax calculations
Two matching tax year overviews
Partnership accounts for the same periods
A copy of the partnership agreement
Written confirmation of any change in share
Three months of business bank statements
Your accountant details and qualification
A note of any one-off items in the figures

Where to go next

The pages most often read alongside this one.

Sole Trader Mortgage

Net profit, not turnover – and the add-backs some lenders will and will not allow.

Salary And Dividends Mortgage

The standard director assessment, and when share of net profit gives a better answer.

Am I Self-Employed?

The 25% shareholding rule catches people who think of themselves as employed.

Latest Year Or Average?

The single policy choice that most often decides how much you can borrow.

SA302s Or Full Accounts

Tax calculations, tax year overviews, finalised accounts – what each lender actually wants to see.

Accountant Qualifications

Lender lists differ. Your accountant can be acceptable to one lender and not another.

Self-Employed Mortgages

The main guide: how lenders assess self-employed income, what they ask for and which lenders are worth approaching.

How Much Can I Borrow?

See what your income could realistically support before you speak to a lender.

How we place a self-employed or complex income case

Specialist lenders underwrite manually, so how the income is evidenced and presented genuinely changes the outcome.

Establish how you are actually classed

Lenders do not all draw the line in the same place. Precise treats anyone with a shareholding of 25% or more, or who is responsible for paying their own tax and National Insurance, as self-employed. Getting this right first decides which criteria apply to you.

Read the accounts the way an underwriter will

We work from your tax calculations, tax year overviews and finalised accounts rather than a rough turnover figure, because the number a lender uses is often materially different from the number you think of as your income.

Match the income shape to the right lender

Latest year or average, salary and dividends or share of net profit, one year of accounts or two – these are lender policy choices. We place you against published criteria rather than guessing.

Package the case properly

Specialist lenders underwrite manually. A clear note explaining a dip in profit, a change of trading style or a new contract usually carries more weight with an underwriter than the raw figure on its own.

Plan the next few years

Trading history builds. We look at whether waiting for one more set of accounts, or how you draw income between now and then, would open up materially better options at your next remortgage.

Read More If You Work For Yourself

How your accounts are read is only part of it. These pages cover the rest of the case.

Self-Employed Mortgage Guide

How lenders actually read accounts, day rates and dividends.

Proof of Deposit

The paper trail a lender wants before it will release an offer.

Self-Employed Mortgages

How lenders read accounts, day rates and dividends when you work for yourself.

How Much Can I Borrow?

A realistic borrowing figure before you start viewing properties.

Find out what your profit share supports

Send us your share of net profit for the last two years and we will tell you the realistic borrowing range and which lenders fit.

Partnership Mortgages - Frequently Asked Questions

Do lenders look at the whole partnership profit or just my share?

Your share. Precise publishes partnership income as the share of the net profit, and Pepper Money assesses partnerships from two years of SA302s, which show your share rather than the partnership total. The partnership accounts are supporting evidence rather than the income figure itself.

Your personal self-assessment documents are the primary evidence, because the partnership profit share flows onto your personal return. Partnership accounts and the partnership agreement support that. Lenders generally want the personal documents even where partnership accounts are already available.

Yes, and it is worth raising before the lender finds it. A share that has increased makes the older year unrepresentative, and a lender averaging two years will otherwise work from a figure that understates your current position. A partnership agreement or an accountant note confirming the change and its date usually resolves it.

Broadly, but not always identically. A limited liability partnership files accounts publicly and members are usually assessed on their share of profit, which is close to the ordinary partnership treatment. Some lenders categorise LLP members separately, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming the same rules apply.

That is common and generally straightforward, but expect the lender to look at the concentration of risk. Two applicants whose entire income comes from the same business are more exposed than two applicants with separate employers, and some lenders take a more cautious view of affordability as a result.

Two is the usual requirement, matching the wider self-employed standard. Precise publishes two years of HMRC tax calculations and tax year overviews or accounts, with one year by referral. Pepper Money asks for the last two years unless only one exists because of the trading period.

Lenders assess the share of net profit rather than what you drew, so drawing less does not usually reduce the assessed income. It can help affordability indirectly, because lower drawings often mean lower personal outgoings, but the income figure itself normally stays the same.

A loss year narrows the options considerably and will need explaining. Where other years are strong and the loss has an identifiable cause, it is assessed rather than automatically fatal. Expect a larger deposit requirement and a more detailed underwriting review.

Generally no. Drawings are not profit, and taking more out than the business earned does not create income for lending purposes. The assessed figure is the share of net profit shown in the accounts and on your personal return.

For most specialist lenders, yes, and the accepted bodies differ between lenders. Precise and Aldermore each publish their own list and the two are not identical. Confirming your accountant qualification before the accounts are prepared avoids a late problem.

Written and maintained by Falcon Finance · Reviewed by our FCA-regulated mortgage brokers · Lender criteria last checked 14 August 2026

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.