Accountant’s Certificate for a Mortgage: What Lenders Ask For

An accountant's certificate for a mortgage is a lender-requested document used to verify financial information for some self-employed applicants.

It is not one universal UK certificate. Different lenders decide whether they accept one, when they require one, which figures they want and what professional qualifications the accountant must hold.

If your lender or broker asks for an accountant's certificate:

1. use the exact form or template requested by that lender;
2. give it to the accountant who prepares or can verify the business figures;
3. make sure the accountant meets the lender's qualification rules;
4. check the accounting periods and figures match the mortgage application;
5. explain any sharp rise, fall or unusual trading event; and
6. return it through the route the lender or broker specifies.

Do not ask an accountant to write a generic "reference" and assume every lender will accept it.

The FCA's mortgage rules require lenders to obtain adequate evidence for income they use in an affordability assessment and prohibit simply accepting customer self-certification.

For an employed applicant, evidence might include payslips.

For a self-employed applicant, the lender can use sources such as:

• accounts;
• SA302 tax calculations;
• Tax Year Overviews;
• bank statements;
• contracts; and
• an accountant's certificate.

The exact evidence is a lender decision within the responsible-lending framework.

Our guide on self-employed mortgages explains the wider document set.

A lender's form can request details such as:

• business name;
• trading style;
• applicant's ownership share;
• accounting year ends;
• turnover;
• net profit;
• salary;
• dividends;
• company profit;
• drawings;
• business liabilities;
• whether current trading remains in line with historic figures; and
• the accountant's professional details.

The lender can also ask for explanations where profits have fallen or increased sharply.

The purpose is to give the underwriter consistent verified figures rather than a free-form testimonial saying the client is "good for the mortgage".

Santander for Intermediaries currently describes its accountant's certificate as its preferred evidence document for several self-employed scenarios.

Its published criteria also show why you cannot generalise that policy to the entire market.

For example, its current evidence requirements distinguish between:

• sole traders;
• limited-company directors;
• dividends;
• partnerships;
• CIS subcontractors; and
• higher-LTV cases.

It can ask for SA302s and Tax Year Overviews where an applicant does not have an accountant in some cases, while other scenarios specify the accountant's certificate.

That is a Santander policy example, not a rule that every mortgage lender follows.

Check the lender's list.

A lender can restrict acceptable signatories to accountants who are members or fellows of named professional bodies.

Santander's current criteria, for example, list bodies including:

• ICAEW;
• ICAS;
• Chartered Accountants Ireland;
• ACCA;
• CIMA;
• AAT;
• CIOT; and
• several other specified professional bodies.

Another lender's accepted list can differ.

Do not pay for a certificate until you know the accountant signing it satisfies the target lender's criteria.

Not necessarily.

A mortgage lender can ask for:

• its own accountant's certificate;
• certified accounts;
• a letter answering specific questions;
• an accountant's reference; or
• some combination of these.

If the lender provides a form, use that form.

A beautifully written letter can still be rejected if it does not contain the required figures or declarations.

Only if that is what the lender asks for and the accountant has a proper basis for the figure.

The accountant is not there to choose the income figure that makes the mortgage affordable.

The lender may compare the certificate with:

• filed accounts;
• tax records;
• bank statements;
• Companies House information;
• the mortgage application; and
• other evidence.

If the numbers do not reconcile, the certificate can create more questions rather than fewer.

Expect a question.

A sharp increase may be genuine — for example, a new contract, pricing change, business expansion or recovery from a weak prior year.

But the lender may want to know:

• why income increased;
• whether the increase is sustainable;
• whether current trading supports it; and
• whether the latest figures are final or projected.

Give the accountant and broker the factual explanation early.

Do not wait for underwriting to discover the change without context.

A lender can take a cautious view of declining income.

The accountant's certificate does not override the trend. It documents it.

The lender may:

• use the latest lower figure;
• average periods;
• ask for management information;
• request business bank statements;
• ask for an explanation; or
• reduce the income used for affordability.

The precise treatment varies by lender.

If the resulting mortgage is declined, see what to do after an affordability decline.

This is where certificates are particularly useful because "income" can mean several different things.

A director can have:

• PAYE salary;
• dividends;
• share of net profit;
• retained profit in the company; and
• director's loan movements.

Different lenders use different combinations.

One lender may use salary plus dividends. Another may consider a share of company profit under its criteria.

The accountant should report the figures the lender requests; the lender then decides which are acceptable for affordability.

Sometimes for a particular lender and case, but not universally.

Santander's current criteria give examples where an accountant's certificate is sufficient primary evidence and others where alternative documents or additional accounts can be requested.

Another lender may prefer SA302s and Tax Year Overviews.

Think of the certificate as one evidence route, not a passport accepted everywhere.

No.

A certificate is almost the opposite of self-certification: it is independent evidence produced or signed by an accountant.

The FCA's current rules say lenders must not accept the customer's own self-certification of income.

Our guide on why self-cert mortgages ended explains the distinction.

Before asking the accountant to complete anything:

1. confirm the exact lender;
2. obtain the current lender form;
3. check accepted professional qualifications;
4. check which accounting years are required;
5. confirm whether figures must be final rather than projected;
6. tell the accountant the deadline;
7. flag unusual trading movements; and
8. make sure the mortgage application uses figures consistent with the certificate.

An old lender form downloaded from a forum or previous application can be worse than no form at all.

Browse all our mortgage guides.

• FCA Handbook — MCOB 11.6 responsible lending
• Santander for Intermediaries — self-employed criteria
• Santander for Intermediaries — current accountant's certificate
• MoneyHelper — How to apply for a mortgage

Related: Self-Employed Mortgages | Self-Cert Mortgages | Mortgage Affordability Declined.