CIS Subcontractor Mortgages

Published 15 August 2026 · Last reviewed 15 August 2026

What this article covers

Right — if you’re paid under the Construction Industry Scheme and you’ve been told you “can’t get a proper mortgage” or that you need three years of accounts before anyone will look at you, here’s the thing: that’s often not true, and it usually comes down to how a lender chooses to read your income. We deal with CIS cases most weeks, and the same frustration comes up every time. So let me walk you through what’s actually going on behind the scenes.

In short

CIS subcontractor mortgages are home loans for workers paid under the Construction Industry Scheme. The key point: some lenders assess CIS workers on their gross day-rate or contract income rather than net profit after expenses, which can paint a very different affordability picture. The right approach depends on how you file.

Payam Azadi

Director — specialist finance expert

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What does CIS actually mean for a mortgage?

Let me start with the bit that trips people up. Under the Construction Industry Scheme, the contractor you work for deducts tax at source before they pay you, and you get a CIS deduction statement (your “CIS payslips”). So in your head, you might feel a bit like an employee — money lands, tax has already been taken off.

What does this mean? Basically, for mortgage purposes most lenders still see you as self-employed. You’re not on a PAYE payroll; you’re a subcontractor. And that single classification is where the whole conversation begins.

What you experience: regular payments with tax already deducted, a bit like a wage.

What the lender sees: a self-employed individual whose true income they need to evidence — and the figure they land on can swing dramatically depending on which method they use. That gap, between how it feels and how it’s assessed, is exactly where our advisers earn their keep.

The one thing that changes everything: gross day rate vs net profit

This is the insight I want you to take away, so I’m giving it its own heading.

Most high-street affordability assessments for the self-employed lean on your net profit — what’s left after you’ve deducted all your business expenses (tools, fuel, van, materials, the lot). For a lot of CIS subcontractors, that net figure looks modest on paper, because the nature of the work means real expenses are being written off.

But a number of specialist lenders will instead work off your gross income — your day rate or contract value before those deductions. Same person, same job, potentially a very different affordability outcome. Generally, the gross-rate route is more generous, because it doesn’t penalise you for the deductions that come with hands-on trade work.

I’ll give you an example. Consider a typical groundworker trading as a sole trader on CIS. On a net-profit basis, after his van, fuel and tools come off, his assessable income looks fairly slim. On a gross day-rate basis, the figure a lender will consider is noticeably higher. The applicant and their earnings have not changed. Only the lens has changed. That’s the whole game, and it’s why two brokers can quote the same CIS worker wildly different outcomes.

How do lenders classify CIS subcontractors?

It’s not one-size-fits-all. In most cases, your classification depends on how your business is set up and how you file. Here’s a rough map of how we see CIS applicants treated:

Your set-up	How lenders usually assess you	What tends to be needed
Sole trader on CIS, filing self-assessment	Self-employed — net profit, or gross day rate with a specialist	SA302s / tax calculations, or CIS statements
Sole trader, short trading history	Self-employed — some lenders accept a shorter track record	Accounts plus recent CIS statements
Limited company subcontractor (director)	Self-employed — salary plus dividends, or sometimes net profit retained	Company accounts, SA302s
CIS worker with day-rate contracts	Day-rate / contract-based assessment with the right lender	Recent CIS statements showing a consistent rate

The takeaway: there is rarely a single “correct” answer. There are several routes, and the job is matching your particular paperwork to the lender most comfortable with it.

Gross day rate vs net profit vs limited company — which suits you?

Because CIS workers come at this from different angles, it helps to see the three common assessment styles side by side:

Assessment style	Best suited to	The trade-off
Gross day rate	CIS workers with high deductions and a steady contract rate	Needs a specialist lender; not every high-street name offers it
Net profit (self-assessment)	Subcontractors with lean expenses and strong declared profit	Widely accepted, but deductions can shrink the assessable figure
Limited company	Directors who retain profit or pay themselves in salary/dividends	More documents; assessment varies a lot between lenders

We see a lot of subcontractors who’ve been quoted on the wrong style for their situation — usually net profit when a gross day-rate approach would have served them far better. It’s worth getting a second pair of eyes on it before you accept that the door is closed.

What lenders will want to see

When we package a CIS subcontractor case, the strength is in the evidence. Here’s what generally gets asked for — present it cleanly and you’re already ahead:

CIS deduction statements — your most recent statements, ideally showing a consistent day rate or contract income over a run of months.
SA302s / tax calculations — your self-assessment tax calculations, usually covering the latest year or two, downloadable from HMRC.
Tax year overviews — the companion HMRC document that confirms the tax position alongside the SA302.
Business bank statements — to show the money flowing in and the rhythm of your trade.
Proof of ongoing work — a current contract or evidence the work is continuing, which reassures a lender the income isn’t about to stop.
Accounts (if you use an accountant) — particularly relevant for limited company subcontractors, where company accounts do a lot of the talking.

A quick word: the cleaner and more consistent your CIS statements look, the easier the case. If your day rate has jumped around, that’s not fatal — but it’s something we’d want to explain up front rather than let an underwriter trip over.

How long do I need to have been on CIS?

Honestly, less than most people fear. The folklore says “three years minimum,” but in practice some lenders will consider subcontractors with a shorter trading history — and a smaller group are comfortable with around a year, where the rest of the picture is strong. Generally, the longer and steadier your record, the wider your choice of lender. The shorter it is, the more it matters to be pointed at the right names from the outset rather than collecting declines.

Will my expenses count against me?

They can — and this is the crux for trade workers. If you’re assessed on net profit, every legitimate expense you’ve claimed reduces the figure a lender works from. That’s good for your tax bill and can feel awkward for your mortgage. This is precisely why the gross day-rate route exists with certain specialist lenders: it lets a genuine high-earner who simply has high running costs be seen for what they earn, not just what’s left at the bottom of the page. There’s a balance to strike, and it’s a conversation worth having before your next tax return, not after.

How the process tends to run

For a CIS subcontractor case, here’s the usual order of play:

We map your set-up — sole trader, limited company, day-rate contracts — and how you file.
We work out the strongest assessment angle — gross day rate, net profit, or company-based.
We gather your evidence — CIS statements, SA302s, tax year overviews, bank statements.
We match you to a lender comfortable with your profile, rather than a scattergun approach.
We package and submit, pre-empting the questions an underwriter is likely to raise.

You’ll find the calmest version of this happens when the income story is decided before anything goes near a lender. Guesswork is what creates declines.

If you want to sanity-check affordability while you read, our mortgage affordability tools and our broader guidance on self-employed mortgages are a sensible starting point.

Payam’s experience — CIS sits in a useful halfway house. You are a subcontractor, but under the Construction Industry Scheme your income is taxed much like an employee’s, and the right lenders will assess you on your gross figures rather than treating you as fully self-employed needing years of accounts. The catch is that this only works if the lender has criteria built for CIS — and not all do — so the single most important thing is to tell a broker up front that you are under the scheme, because there are CIS-specific approaches that suit you far better than being pushed down the standard self-employed route. How a lender works out your affordability is the whole game here. We have been placing CIS cases for years, particularly in the construction trade, and with the changes that keep coming through that sector we are seeing more and more of them — so it is a route we know well.

Frequently asked questions

Are CIS subcontractors treated as employed or self-employed?

For mortgage purposes, almost always self-employed — even though tax is deducted at source. You’re a subcontractor, not on a PAYE payroll, so lenders assess you as self-employed.

Can I get a mortgage on my CIS day rate?

In many cases, yes. Some specialist lenders will assess CIS workers on their gross day rate rather than net profit, which can be more generous for trade workers with significant expenses.

Do I need an accountant?

Not always for a sole trader on CIS — your SA302s and CIS statements often do the job. Limited company subcontractors usually benefit from prepared company accounts.

How many years of CIS history do I need?

It varies. Some lenders accept a shorter trading history, and a few consider around a year where the wider picture is strong. A longer, steadier record widens your options.

Will my business expenses reduce what I can borrow?

Under a net-profit assessment, yes — claimed expenses lower the assessable figure. A gross day-rate route with the right lender can sidestep that. Which suits you depends on your numbers.

Can I remortgage as a CIS subcontractor?

Yes — the same income-assessment principles apply whether you’re buying or remortgaging. The strength of your CIS statements and tax documents is what matters.

Tell us how you’re paid — we’ll tell you which door opens

Here’s the simplest next step. Send us a quick note on how you’re set up under CIS — sole trader or limited company, roughly how long you’ve been trading, and whether you work on a day rate — and we’ll tell you which assessment route is likely to fit your situation most closely and what evidence to get ready. No collecting declines, no guesswork. Just a clear read on where you stand.

THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY. AS A MORTGAGE IS SECURED AGAINST YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY, IT COULD BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP THE MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS.

Payam Azadi, specialist mortgage adviser

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