Mortgage for self-employed and entrepreneurs
You can certainly get a mortgage as a freelancer, entrepreneur or DGA. Your income is simply assessed differently than with regular employment. This article explains how lenders generally look at it.
How is entrepreneurial income assessed?
Lenders generally look at the results of your business over recent years and at their stability and development. Some providers work with an income calculation from an accredited financial expert.
The exact method, the number of years required and the way fluctuating results are weighed differ per lender. There is no single fixed formula that applies everywhere.
Mortgage as a freelancer (zzp'er)
As a freelancer, the profit from your business usually counts — not your turnover. Lenders also look at the picture over multiple years: a rising trend is assessed differently than a declining one.
Mortgage with a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak)
With a sole proprietorship, you and the business are fiscally one entity. Your annual figures and income tax returns therefore often form the basis of the assessment. Business obligations, such as loans or lease contracts, can affect your borrowing capacity.
Mortgage as a starting entrepreneur
A shorter track record does not have to be an obstacle, but it sometimes limits the choice of lenders. A number of providers have specific policies for starters, with additional conditions and substantiation.
Only 1 year self-employed?
One year of entrepreneurship does not automatically make a mortgage impossible. Depending on your situation, the assessment can include your entrepreneurial income, the development of the business, earlier income, your employment history and your salaried income before you started.
This is not assessed the same way in every situation. Whether earlier salaried income can count differs per situation and per lender.
Several years of entrepreneurship
Have you been active for longer? Then more history is usually available. An average over a number of years is often used, with the most recent year and the trend potentially weighing more heavily.
Fluctuating entrepreneurial income
Fluctuating results can influence the assessed income. An explanation of exceptional years — for example an investment, a one-off assignment or a dip — helps to place the figures in the right context.
DGA, BV and retained profit (overwinst)
For a director-major shareholder (DGA), the assessment is not always based solely on the DGA salary. Depending on the lender and your personal situation, the results of the BV and any retained profit can also be taken into account.
Retained profit is not automatically fully counted as income. The assessment differs per lender and depends among other things on the financial position and continuity of the business.
Documents that are often requested
- Annual accounts or profit-and-loss statements of recent years.
- Income tax returns and assessments (and corporate tax for a BV).
- A Chamber of Commerce (KvK) extract.
- For a BV: company figures and details of your DGA salary.
- An overview of current business and private obligations.
Why the choice of lender can matter
Because lenders assess entrepreneurial income differently, the same situation can lead to a different outcome with one provider than with another. Comparing on interest rate, conditions and assessment method is therefore worthwhile.
Good to know
Options differ per personal situation and per lender. Always have your situation assessed personally.
Last updated: 27 August 2026