The 2026 Guide to Mortgages with One Year of Accounts
New business owner, sole trader or company director? You do not always need two or three years of accounts. The right lender may assess one filed year, current trading evidence and your wider income story.
One filed year
SA302, accounts or company accounts
Current trading
Bank statements and management figures
Business context
Industry history and contracts
Lender match
High street or specialist criteria
Can You Get a Mortgage with One Year of Accounts?
Yes, it can be possible. The challenge is that lender criteria split sharply. Some lenders want two full years and will average income. Others may consider one filed year if the deposit, credit profile, sector experience and current trading evidence are strong enough.
This guide explains how those decisions are made, what documents strengthen the case, and how new business owners can avoid applying to a lender that was never likely to accept the income in the first place.
Who This Guide Is For
One-year accounts cases are not all the same. Your structure determines which evidence matters most.
Sole traders
Applicants with one filed self-assessment year, SA302 and tax year overview. Lenders will usually focus on net profit, trading history and bank statement evidence.
Limited company directors
Directors with one set of company accounts, salary, dividends and retained profit. The right lender can matter more than the headline profit figure.
Contractors
Day-rate or fixed-term contractors who have recently moved from PAYE or umbrella work into a limited company or self-employed structure.
Freelancers and consultants
Professionals with project-based income, repeat clients or rising revenue who need the underwriter to understand more than one tax return.
CIS workers
Construction workers who may be treated differently by specialist lenders, especially where gross CIS income can be evidenced consistently.
New business owners
People who have left employment, bought into a business, started a practice or launched a company and only have one completed trading year.
How Lenders Assess One-Year Accounts
The account figure matters, but it is rarely the whole decision. Underwriters look for evidence that year-one income is real, repeatable and affordable after commitments.
Latest year assessment
Some lenders can use the latest filed year rather than demanding a two-year average. This is useful when income is new, growing or newly structured.
Manual underwriting
A human underwriter can look at the full story: previous employment, sector experience, contracts, bank statements and the reason the business is new.
Accountant support
Accountant certificates, projections and management accounts may support the application when they explain sustainable income beyond the first filed accounts.
Industry history
If you have years of experience in the same field, lenders may view a new business more favourably than a complete career change.
Deposit and LTV
The higher the loan-to-value, the more cautious a lender may be. A larger deposit can open more routes for one-year accounts cases.
Credit profile
Clean credit can help offset limited trading history. If credit is imperfect, the case may need a specialist lender and stronger supporting evidence.
Documents That Strengthen the Case
One-year accounts applications live or die on evidence. The more complete the pack, the easier it is for an adviser to match the lender.
Why One-Year Accounts Cases Get Declined
Most declines happen before the underwriter understands the case. These are the issues that need handling before submission.
Low salary, high company profit
A director taking a low salary may look weak to a basic high street calculation. Lenders that assess profit share or retained profit may produce a different outcome.
Rising income not yet filed
If year two is stronger but not yet filed, current-year management accounts and an accountant letter can help evidence the trend.
Recent move from PAYE
Previous employment in the same sector can support the case, especially where income is similar or higher after becoming self-employed.
High loan-to-value
A small deposit can narrow the lender pool. The case needs precise matching before an application is submitted.
Adverse credit
Missed payments, defaults or CCJs do not automatically rule out a case, but they reduce lender choice and increase the importance of specialist underwriting.
Previous bank decline
A decline often means the wrong lender saw the case first. It does not always mean the income is unusable.
Typical One-Year Accounts Scenarios
The same one-year history can be interpreted very differently depending on the borrower type and lender appetite.
One filed SA302, strong bank statements and rising monthly turnover.
Match to lenders that accept one-year self-employed history and can evidence sustainability through bank statements.
Low salary, modest dividends and profit retained in the company after year one.
Assess whether a lender can consider salary plus dividends plus net profit share, not just drawings.
Twelve months contracting after several years in the same profession as an employee.
Use sector continuity, contracts and day-rate evidence to support the move into self-employment.
One year of CIS deductions, steady site work and consistent gross pay.
Look for lenders that understand CIS income and may use gross receipts rather than a narrow net-profit view.
Application failed because the bank wanted two full years of accounts.
Rebuild the case around lenders that consider one-year trading history before another credit search is made.
First year was profitable, current year is stronger, but year two is not filed yet.
Use management accounts, accountant projection and trading evidence to show the latest income position.
Use This as a Resource Hub
If your income is new, tax-efficient or hard to evidence, you need the right route before you apply. These linked resources explain the surrounding criteria in more detail.
Run an Eligibility AuditFrequently Asked Questions
Find Out Which Lenders Fit Your First Year
One-year accounts cases need careful lender matching before submission. Share the structure and we will help route it to the right advice team.
Mortgage advice is provided by Hayden Richards, CeMAP-qualified, as an authorised adviser of Echo Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 570073). Richards & Logic is a trading style of MarketMedia Ltd. Criteria can change and mortgage availability depends on individual circumstances.