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Quoted in HR Press, Employer News, the Daily Mirror and Chronicle Live on 17 September 2026.
If you moved from an umbrella company to your own limited company after the April 2026 changes, many high street lenders will now see a new business. They usually want one or two years of company accounts before that income counts. Some specialist lenders still assess contractors on the day rate and a track record in the same line of work, so the change doesn’t always mean waiting.
High street lenders often want one or two years of accounts from a new limited company.
Some specialist lenders still work from your day rate and track record in the same line of work.
Same client and day rate, but on paper your income history starts again.
What changed in April 2026?
Tax changes from 6 April 2026 moved the responsibility for accounting for PAYE in umbrella company supply chains. HMRC has estimated that at least 700,000 people work through umbrella companies, and plenty of them have since moved to agency payrolls or their own limited company. For many, the client and the day rate stayed exactly the same.
Why does a new limited company worry a lender?
Standard self-employed criteria look at company accounts, and a company set up this year has none. The work hasn’t changed, but on paper the income history starts again.
What I told the press
“April’s umbrella change-around turned contractors into strangers with their own bank. Someone who moved to a limited company has the same client and day rate, but on paper they’re a new business, and most high street lenders want a year or two of accounts before that income counts. The specialist lenders will still work off the day rate and a track record in the same field, so the clock only restarts if you walk into the wrong bank.”
Read the full article in HR Press.
What I see most often
A contractor asks their own bank first, is told to wait for accounts, and then takes whatever product transfer their existing lender offers rather than looking further.
How your income is treated depends on your contract, your history and each lender’s criteria, and working that out is what an advice appointment is for. More on contractor mortgages, how contractors can borrow more on a day rate and getting a mortgage through an umbrella company.
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