What is an SA302 Tax Calculation?

What is an SA302 Tax Calculation?

An SA302 is the official HMRC year end Tax Calculation that is based on your submitted self assessment information (your tax return).

The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April each year.

If you are self-employed or a company director then you most likely need to submit a tax return every year that includes all of your income.

There are two important deadlines for self-assessment submissions:

• 31st October following the tax year end (5th April) – This is the last day that paper tax returns must be received by.
• 31st January following the tax year end (5th April) – This is the deadline for online submissions, which is the preferred option for HMRC.

Once you have submitted your tax return HMRC can then calculate your total income for that year and also the tax that is due.

The SA302 Tax Calculation is a formal document issued as a result of this process and is accepted by mortgage lenders as proof of your income for that year.

Who must send a tax return?

You must send a tax return if, in the last tax year, you were:

• self-employed as a ‘sole trader’ and earned more than £1,000 (before taking off anything you can claim tax relief on)
• a partner in a business partnership

You will not usually need to send a return if your only income is from your PAYE wages or pension.

But you may need to send one if you have any other untaxed income, such as:

• some COVID-19 grant or support payments
• money from renting out a property
• tips and commission
• income from savings, investments and dividends
• foreign income

Check if you need to send a Self Assessment tax return – www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return

What does an SA302 include?

The Tax Calculation summarises your earnings for the year within defined categories:

• Salary/PAYE from employments
• Dividends
• Land and property
• Pension income
• Income from shares
• Interest from savings
• Foreign income

After adding up all of your income it will then deduct your Personal Allowance and calculate your income tax.

Self Assessment tax is spread over two payments so the SA302 works this out for you as well.

The document shows exactly what income you have declared and it is for this reason that mortgage companies ask for it when proof of income is needed.

Why is an SA302 needed for a mortgage application?

All mortgage lenders are now required to seek proof of a borrowers annual income.

For employees this would be in the form of payslips and a P60.

For the self-employed and those with multiple sources of income the SA302 provides a neat summary of their income for a given tax year. The declared income can easily be identified as earned income, property income, investment income, dividends etc.

The Tax Calculation and Tax Year Overview provides the lender with proof of your earnings and this should, of course, be the same as the income entered on the mortgage application form. It is usual for lenders to also ask for 3-6 months of bank statements so they can see how and when the income is received (and how you spend it!).

How do I get a copy of my SA302 form?

Previously HMRC would send taxpayers their SA302 Tax Calculation in the post. Now these are no longer automatically posted out but are made available online to download or print out. You are able to access the last four years of Tax Calculations.

The best way for you to get a copy of your Tax Calculation will depend on how you submit your self-assessment tax return.

Can I get a mortgage without an SA302?

Yes this is possible.

While the HMRC Tax Calculation is definitive proof of your income there may be times when the tax return is not yet ready to be submitted or maybe the tax year hasn’t ended yet.

In these cases the lenders will look to other ways of proving your income. 

Lenders have different methods of judging the affordability of mortgages for self-employed people. Some will look at the last 12 months, others will take an average over 2 or 3 years.

So while an SA302 is the preferred way of proving income, it is not the only way.

In these situations the best course of action is to ask advice from a qualified mortgage broker who will be able to check whether the required mortgage is possible.

Plan ahead

It can take a while to gather up all of the right tax documents. If these will be need to support a mortgage application then it makes sense to request them as early as possible.

This will allow some time for them to arrive, if they are sent in the post you should allow two weeks. Electronic versions should be accessible much faster than this.