Commission Income on a Mortgage in England: What Proof Counts?

IMPORTANT: YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Yes, lenders can count commission as income, but they will only rely on it once you can verify it and show it is likely to continue. Lenders may assess commission income using an average, and the amount they count depends on their own policy and the evidence you provide. A specialist adviser can match your file to lenders with the right appetite for commission income and help you present the evidence clearly.

TL;DR:

Most lenders average commission over two years, while government scheme calculators count 50% for screening; neither figure establishes a universal lender rule.

Lenders generally find recurring monthly or quarterly commission easier to assess, while single transaction payments and tiered earnings may require explanation or exclusion.

Prepare payslips, P60s, bank statements, and employer letters; applicants who work for themselves may also need SA302 tax calculations and accounts for verification.

Underwriters stress test repayments against essential spending and possible rate rises, so income protection may support the affordability case when commission fluctuates.

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What lenders look for when assessing commission income
How much commission lenders will accept
What evidence lenders accept and how to present it
Practical steps to prepare your mortgage application
How a dedicated mortgage adviser helps commission earners
How different commission structures are treated by lenders
Lenders and products that work well for commission earners
How Haven Mark Advisers can help commission earners get mortgage offers
FAQ
Sources

What lenders look for when assessing commission income

Lenders working to FCA guidance on responsible lending must verify declared income rather than accept self certification, and that applies to commission as much as basic salary. Underwriters are checking two things: whether the commission genuinely happened in the past, and whether there is reasonable evidence it will continue.

Several factors shape that assessment:

Verification: lenders need documentary evidence rather than a declared figure, in line with responsible lending requirements.
Continuity: underwriters look for regularity in your commission history and consider your job role and sector stability.
Affordability: lenders include commission in affordability calculations but stress test the resulting mortgage payment against essential expenditure and possible future rate rises.
Remuneration and ethics: under the FCA's Mortgage Credit Directive rules, remuneration policies must not incentivise sales at the expense of a consumer's best interests, which keeps the focus on sustainable income rather than sales volume.

This means a lender will not simply take your commission at face value, however strong your current earnings look. It wants a pattern it can trust, backed by documents, and a payment that still works if your income dips or interest rates move.

How much commission lenders will accept

Most lenders start from a two year average of commission income, and that period is the benchmark referred to in FCA material on responsible lending. From there, practice varies.

Some government affordability tools apply a flat 50% figure for screening purposes. The Help to Build equity loan sustainability calculator guidance treats 50% of annual bonuses and commission as the portion counted toward gross income, and the same approach appears in Shared Ownership affordability guidance. These calculators are designed for initial screening on specific schemes, so they are a useful reference point rather than a universal rule.

Outside those scheme calculators, mainstream lenders vary considerably:

Some lenders may count a larger share of your averaged commission when it is well evidenced.
Others may apply a more conservative approach, regardless of your history.
Some may consider a different averaging period or weighting where you have a new contract, a recent promotion, or a trainee salary moving towards a commission structure, provided your employer can support the figures.

The precise percentage a lender will use is specific to that lender's own criteria, so it is worth checking before you apply rather than assuming the same treatment everywhere.

What evidence lenders accept and how to present it

Lenders want a verifiable paper trail that ties your commission to your bank account and your tax position. The exact mix depends on how you are employed.

Payslips and P60s. These should show the commission component separately from basic pay, giving the lender a clear breakdown over time.
SA302 tax calculations and accounts for the self employed. If you work through a limited company or invoice for commission as a sole trader, lenders may ask for SA302s alongside accounts.
Bank statements and commission payment schedules. These corroborate your payslips and show the timing and consistency of payments landing in your account.
Employer or contract letters. Where your employer's policy allows it, a letter confirming the nature, regularity and likely continuation of your commission can support figures that payslips alone do not fully capture.
A qualification or contract salary letter, if your pay structure has recently changed, can sometimes stand in for historical payslips, though this depends on individual lender policy.

Pro Tip: Put together a summary showing your annual commission totals, any averages you have calculated, and a short explanation for any unusually quiet month, so the underwriter sees the full picture.

Packaging matters as much as the documents themselves. A cover sheet with annual totals, a plain explanation of any anomalies, and a highlighted subset of bank statements showing commission deposits all reduce the back and forth that slows a case down.

Practical steps to prepare your mortgage application

Getting your paperwork in order before you apply saves time once a lender starts underwriting your case.

Gather payslips and P60s, or SA302s and accounts if you are self employed, alongside bank statements.
Ask your employer for a letter confirming the nature, regularity and expected continuation of your commission, where this is relevant to your case.
Choose a lender known to accept commission heavy income, or work with a specialist adviser who can match your file to lenders with the right appetite.
Prepare a clear summary of annual commission totals, averages and explanations for any dips, so the underwriter can review your file quickly.
Think about income protection cover, since it can strengthen an affordability argument when a lender stress tests your repayments against a drop in income.

Each step reduces the chance of a lender declining a case purely because the evidence was unclear rather than because the income itself was unacceptable.

How a dedicated mortgage adviser helps commission earners

A specialist adviser who understands commission structures can identify lenders with a known appetite for this type of income and help prepare the evidence those lenders prefer, which reduces the risk of wasted applications and hard credit searches on the wrong lender. MoneyHelper's guidance on using a mortgage adviser notes that advisers can be valuable precisely because they match borrowers to lenders and explain documentation requirements rather than leaving you to guess.

At Haven Mark Advisers, every client works with one dedicated adviser throughout the process, which gives continuity on complex income files where documentation often needs tailoring rather than a standard template. MoneyHelper also recommends asking any adviser how they are paid, whether by fee, commission from the lender, or both, before you engage them, so you understand the cost structure from the outset.

How different commission structures are treated by lenders

Not all commission looks the same to a lender, and the structure of your earnings affects how an underwriter reads your file.

Recurring commission, paid monthly or quarterly as part of an ongoing sales role, is generally the easiest to evidence because it shows up consistently across payslips and bank statements. Lenders can build a reliable average from a steady pattern.

One off commission, such as a single large deal or bonus tied to a specific transaction, is harder to rely on because it does not repeat predictably. A lender may exclude an unusually large one off payment from the average, or ask for an employer letter explaining whether a similar deal is likely again.

Tiered commission, where earnings rise once you hit certain sales thresholds, often needs more explanation. A lender wants to understand your baseline earnings before any tier kicks in, and whether you have consistently reached higher tiers during the period being averaged, rather than treating a one-off bonus tier as the norm.

In each case, the underlying principle from FCA responsible lending guidance holds: the lender needs evidence the income is real and likely to continue, whatever shape it takes.

How lenders assess three commission structures

Lenders and products that work well for commission earners

There is no single mortgage product labelled for commission earners, and no lender publicly markets itself as the best fit for this income type. What differs is each lender's individual underwriting policy on averaging periods, the percentage of commission counted, and how flexible they are with evidence.

Findings from FCA roadshow material on the Mortgage Market Review make clear that lenders can include variable income where it is verified and justified, and that the real challenge is usually an individual lender's appetite for this type of risk rather than any regulatory barrier to counting commission at all. This means the search for the right lender is really a search for the right policy match, not a search for a commission specific product.

Standard residential mortgages, buy to let mortgages and new build mortgages can all accommodate commission income where the lender's criteria allow it, so the product type itself rarely needs to change. What changes is which lender within that product category is willing to accept your particular commission pattern and evidence.

How Haven Mark Advisers can help commission earners get mortgage offers

Commission income does not have to complicate your mortgage application when it is presented well and matched to the right lender. We assign every client one dedicated adviser who reviews your commission history, identifies lenders with a suitable appetite, and helps compile the evidence a lender needs to verify your income.

Haven Mark Advisers

An initial review of your income, employment type and commission structure.
A document checklist tailored to your situation, whether employed, self employed or working through a limited company.
Adviser led submission and proactive case management through to offer.

Our purchase mortgage service costs £495 payable on completion, and our remortgage service costs £195 on completion. Full details of our fees and how we are paid, along with our process for getting your file ready to offer, are available on our site. Get in touch to start a review of your situation.

This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified financial advisor. Consult a qualified financial professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.

FAQ

What commission do mortgage brokers receive?

Advisers can be paid by a fee from the client, a commission from the lender, or a combination of both, and MoneyHelper advises borrowers to ask how their adviser is paid before engaging them. Our own fees for a purchase or remortgage are set out on our fees page, payable on completion.

Is a mortgage 3 or 4 times salary?

Income multiples vary by lender and depend on your overall affordability assessment, including verified income such as commission, existing credit commitments and essential expenditure. There is no single multiple that applies across the market, so the figure a lender offers you depends on their own criteria and your full financial picture.

Can I get a 20 year mortgage at 55?

Lenders assess mortgage term requests against affordability and the applicant's likely income into retirement, rather than applying a blanket age cut off. Acceptance depends on the individual lender's policy and your circumstances, so this is worth discussing directly with a lender or adviser rather than assuming eligibility either way.

Can you make a lot of money as a mortgage broker?

Earnings for mortgage advisers vary depending on their pay structure, which may include fees, lender commission, or both, and no single figure applies across the profession. What matters for borrowers is transparency, and MoneyHelper's guidance recommends always asking an adviser directly how they are paid.