Self Certification Advice Please

chrisab

Hi all,

my question is this, how do I work out my income for self certification purposes? My husband is employed so we can provide proof of his income no problem if required. I am self employed but work on a self employed basis for 3 companies as well as working for myself in a completely different field. I do not want to defraud anyone by claiming my income is not what it is, so I am just wanting to check what I can use to calculate my income. I can work out roughly what I expect to earn this year from my various self employment sources (but I cannot prove it). Can I also include in my income tax credits, child benefit etc. So that my final self certification income would be my expected earnings + any other income (from tax credits etc). Just wanting to make sure I do everything correctly re the self certification route.

Also I do not use an accountant. We have a 10% deposit. Are self certified mortgage really truly self certification? Might sound daft but Im not sure how I could back up my expected earnings if asked. I could obviously get confirmation that I do work for the companies that I do but not an exact figure (it's dependant on how many hours I put in so up to me really from one month to the next). If I can include tax credits and so on obviously I could prove that. Just wandering if they would ask for bank statements etc. It is not a massive mortgage we are looking for around £71,000.

Any advice most gratefully received.

MortgageMamma

Hi Chrisab

Are you a self employed sole trader or a limited company?

Do you submit a self assessment each year?

Can you prove what your earnings are now at this point in time together with your tax credits on a bank statement?

chrisab

Hi,

I am a self employed sole trader. I have been since Sept 2005. My first tax return showed no profit. My second I have not done yet. It will show more. But I only starting working for the other companies on a self employed basis in Sept 2006. I have started to earn more each month. Having looked at my last bank statement quotes total payments into account (including any tax credit etc) and this figure matches what I was hoping to declare as my income. The only thing that wouldn't match is my outgoings. I was going to declare my monthly commitments as the minimum payments required (is that right?). When infact at the moment before buying I am putting every extra penny into clearing off any debt beforehand.

So when I self certify am I alright to certify my income to be my expected total for this year plus tax credits child benefit etc?

MortgageMamma

Yes you can do that no problem, however some providers won't accept tax credits - btu a lot of people do still include them as the lender does not check - not suggesting you do this

If you want a bit more help let me know what your estimated net profit for this year will be and I'll look at the max you could lend