Income · 7 min read
Documenting company director income: salary, dividends and profit
In short
If you take income from your own limited company, the documentation problem is different from a sole trader's. Your personal income may be salary, dividends, or both, while profit may also be retained in the company. MCOB 11.6 requires a lender to obtain evidence of the income it takes into account — but which of these elements a lender takes into account, and how, is that lender's own policy. No source we consulted states a rule, so this page covers documentation only, not treatment.
Who this is for
- Directors and shareholders of their own limited company
- Contractors operating through a company
- Anyone whose personal income and business profit are different figures
Key points
Personal income and company profit are different figures
What you draw personally and what the company earns are separate numbers, evidenced by different documents. Confusing the two is the single most common source of muddle here.
Salary and dividends are evidenced differently
Salary appears in payroll records and on your personal tax position. Dividends appear in company records and on your return. They are separate elements and are documented separately.
HMRC holds your personal tax picture
GOV.UK provides evidence of earnings — an SA302 tax calculation — for the last four years, and names applying for a mortgage while self-employed as an example of when it may be requested.
Retained profit is a question, not an answer
Whether profit left in the company is taken into account differs between lenders. We do not describe individual lender criteria, so this is a question for your adviser rather than something to read about.
Your shareholding matters to the description
Ownership percentage, your role, and how income is decided are all part of describing your position accurately. They are facts you hold.
Company accounts and personal records are both records
Filed accounts, company bank statements and your personal statements describe the same arrangement from different sides. Which are wanted varies.
Exceptions and things that vary
- Where there is more than one shareholder, your position may be documented differently. Note who owns what.
- A company's accounting period and the tax year rarely align. Know both dates.
- Nothing here says how salary, dividends or retained profit will be treated. That is not a question we can answer.
How to work through it
Set out how you take income
Our suggestion: write down the salary you take and how often, the dividends taken and when, and any other payment from the company.
Note your structure in plain terms
Our suggestion: your role, your shareholding percentage, when the company was formed and its accounting period end.
Gather the personal tax evidence
Our suggestion: download your tax calculation and tax year overview for each year available.
Gather the company-side records
Our suggestion: filed accounts, and confirmation from whoever prepares them about what is finalised and what is draft.
Ask how each element should be evidenced
Our suggestion: ask a suitably qualified FCA-authorised mortgage adviser which elements they need evidenced and over what period. Only they can tell you.
Illustrative example (not a real case)
Imagine a sole director who takes a modest salary and periodic dividends, with profit left in the company. Their personal tax documents show one figure and their company accounts show another. Neither is wrong. Setting both out clearly, with the dates and the shareholding, means the conversation starts from facts rather than from a number that appears to contradict itself. Illustrative only.
Illustrative only. Figures and situations in examples are made up to show a method. They are not typical, not a benchmark and not a prediction of any outcome.
What not to assume
- Do not assume salary plus dividends is the figure that will be used.
- Do not assume retained profit is, or is not, taken into account.
- Do not assume changing how you take income improves anything. That would be a tax and business decision, and we are not qualified to comment on either.
- Do not assume every lender looks at the same documents.
- Do not assume this page predicts an outcome.
Questions for a qualified adviser
We cannot answer these for you, and we do not introduce or recommend advisers. Take them to a suitably qualified FCA-authorised mortgage adviser of your own choosing.
- Which elements of my company income would you need evidenced, and over what period?
- What company documentation would you want alongside my personal tax records?
- How would you like my shareholding and role recorded?
- Is there anything my accountant should provide before we go further?
Build my document checklist
A printable starting list of the paperwork commonly requested.
Related reading
A resource that may help you organise the next step
Optional educational preparation resources. Nothing here is mortgage advice, a lender or product recommendation, an eligibility assessment or a prediction of whether an application would be accepted.
- Mortgage Preparation Starter Checklist — free
A one-page starting point for the paperwork most people are asked for.
- Readiness checker
Eight broad preparation questions. It never says whether you would be eligible, approved or declined.
- Self-Employed Mortgage Preparation Organiser — £7.99
A preparation resource, not mortgage advice or a lender recommendation. Purchases are not switched on yet.
Sources
No statistic, regulator citation or third-party claim is published until its source is verified. Unverified entries are shown as placeholders.
Written by
Before You Apply editorial
Written by the publisher's editorial function, not by a named individual and not by a mortgage adviser. Before You Apply is not FCA authorised.
Reviewed by
Independent reviewer — to be appointed
No independent reviewer has been appointed yet. No review, qualification, FCA status or endorsement is claimed for this content.
- Last fact-checked 2026-08-30
- Not yet independently reviewed
- Next review due 2027-02-28
Disclosure: this guide is educational. Before You Apply receives no payment for mentioning any lender, product or firm, and none are named.
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