An SA302 and a Tax Year Overview are two different HMRC documents that mortgage lenders usually ask for together. The SA302, or tax calculation, shows how much income you declared for a tax year and how much tax HMRC worked out you owed on it. The Tax Year Overview is your account statement with HMRC for that same year, showing what was actually charged, what you paid, and anything still outstanding. One proves the income; the other proves the bill was settled.
What the SA302 Shows
The SA302 is the document HMRC produces after processing your Self Assessment return. It breaks your total income down by source, so a lender can see where the money came from: trading income from self-employment, rental income, dividends, savings interest. Below those figures it shows your taxable income after personal allowances, then the total tax due once your income has been run through the tax bands.
It is the detailed maths behind your tax bill. It tells the reader how HMRC arrived at the final number. It does not tell them whether you paid it. A self-employed person could file a perfectly accurate return showing strong earnings and still owe thousands in unpaid tax, and the SA302 on its own would not reveal that. This is why lenders never accept it in isolation.
What the Tax Year Overview Shows
The Tax Year Overview is the account side of the same year. Instead of listing income sources, it records the total tax charged, each payment you made, when those payments arrived, and any balance still outstanding. Payments on account appear with their dates. Refunds show up too.
The overview also flags any penalties or interest that have landed on your account. Late filing carries an automatic £100 penalty even when no tax is owed, with further daily, six-month and twelve-month charges after that, and late payment attracts its own separate penalties and interest at HMRC’s published rate.1GOV.UK. Self Assessment Tax Returns – Penalties If any of those charges are on your account, a lender pulling the overview will see them.
Why Lenders Ask for Both
A mortgage underwriter is trying to answer two questions. How much do you earn, and are you in trouble with HMRC? The SA302 answers the first by matching the income on your application to the income you declared to HMRC. The Tax Year Overview answers the second by confirming the tax on that income was paid.
When the two documents line up cleanly, the picture is reassuring: declared income produced a specific liability, and the liability was settled. When they do not line up, the lender has to work out why. Common causes include outstanding payments on account, a small unpaid balance, late filing fees, or interest charges. Even a minor mismatch can slow an application, because the numbers alone will not tell an underwriter whether the gap is a timing quirk or a sign of something worse. Lenders want both documents to confirm there are no hidden liabilities before they hand over several hundred thousand pounds.2TaxAid. What to Do if Youve Never Declared Your Income
Most lenders ask for the last two or three tax years, and each SA302 has to be paired with the matching Tax Year Overview for the same year.
How to Get Each Document
Both documents sit inside your HMRC online account. You sign in through Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login,3GOV.UK. HMRC Online Services – Sign In or Set Up an Account and you will need your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference, which appears in your Personal Tax Account, in the HMRC app, or on previous HMRC correspondence.4GOV.UK. Find Your UTR Number Once inside, go to Self Assessment, then “More details about your Self Assessment returns and payments,” and you can view and save both the SA302 and the Tax Year Overview for each year as PDFs.5GOV.UK. Get Your SA302 Tax Calculation One timing detail catches people out: neither document can be printed until 72 hours after you submitted that year’s return.
If you or your accountant filed through commercial software, you can print the tax calculation from the software instead. It may be labelled “tax computation” rather than SA302, and most major mortgage lenders accept either version.6GOV.UK. List of Mortgage Providers and Lenders Who Accept a SA302 Tax Calculation or Tax Year Overview The Tax Year Overview is different: it always has to come from HMRC, because it reflects your actual payment history rather than a calculation. Commercial software does not produce one.
If you cannot use the online portal, HMRC’s Self Assessment helpline can post the documents to your registered address, and you can make the same request in writing with your name, address, National Insurance number, UTR, and the years you need. Either route takes several weeks, so do not leave it until a mortgage deadline is close.
When the Two Documents Do Not Match
If your SA302 shows a tax liability of £5,000 and your Tax Year Overview shows only £4,200 paid, expect the lender to ask why before they go any further. The usual culprits are ordinary: a late filing penalty, interest on a late payment, a payment on account that pushed part of the balance into a different tax year, or a small remaining amount you missed. None of these have to sink an application, but they need clearing up before you send anything over.
Check your HMRC account statement first. If it is an unpaid balance, pay it and wait for the overview to update. If the gap is penalties or interest, the overview lists them as separate line items, which at least lets the underwriter see where the difference comes from. Most self-employed mortgage applications that stall do so here, not on the income figures, but on paperwork that tells a messier story than it needs to.