How To Get Your Sa302 Tax Calculation & Tax Overview

By Author: Holland Emery is a professional tax accountant.
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Applying for a mortgage, a loan, or even a visa in the UK requires you to prove your income through your SA302 Tax Calculation. If you’re a self-employed person or an employee with extra income sources, you may need to declare that to HMRC so that it can be included in your application for the above-mentioned financial products. So what can you do if you’re self-employed or have other income sources that you want your potential lender to consider? Here, we will discuss the details of SA302 and Tax Overview and will answer the most common questions.

What Is An SA302?
The SA302 is a summarised form of income that has been reported to the HMRC through self-assessment tax returns. It presents your income for the year and how much tax you owe or is available for refund. Essentially, the SA302 form is a certificate that documents the income you have declared by submitting your self-assessment tax returns online through the HMRC SA100 form. This document serves as a certificate to those individuals ...
... who are required to prove their income in order to secure a loan such as a mortgage. With the HMRC providing proof of your income and taxation, it is an easy way for lenders to verify the credibility of their applicants. You can also produce a summary of your income and tax if you’re using professional accounting software.

In the past, self-employed mortgage applicants could present a declaration of their income through any documents that detailed their income and taxes. These declarations were called “Self-certificates”. You can still take this route if your lender accepts such documents. However, self-certifications are open to abuse as mortgage applicants could easily exaggerate their income to improve their chances of getting approval on their application.

How Did SA302 Come Into Practice?
Prior to the financial crisis of British lending institutions that caused a sharp decline in lending activities in 2008, self-employed individuals were able to borrow funds and mortgage by ‘self-certifying. Self-certifications were produced specifically to provide their suitability for a mortgage. Since there was no third-party verification in this document, it was open to misinformation. Borrowed would exaggerate their income, proving themselves eligible for receiving large sums of money in loans, subsequently causing the ‘credit crunch’. The lending industry has not been the same after that even, and lenders are more careful in their vetting of borrowers.

It is common for lenders to refuse a loan or mortgage to self-employed individuals with only one years’ accounts declared to the HMRC. As Self-Assessment tax returns are becoming a common practice in the financial industry, many lenders have made it mandatory for self-employed applicants to produce a copy of their SA302 Tax calculation for up to 4 years. In addition, they also ask for the tax overview for the same period which is also issued by the HMRC.

Is SA302 The Same As A Tax Return?
SA302 and Self-Assessment Tax Return are not the same. A tax return is a process that enables self-employed persons to declare their income sources to the HMRC online. On the other hand, an SA302 is a summary of your income and tax during a specific year. Self-employed persons can file their tax returns using the SA100 form, whereas the tax calculation and overview are obtained through the SA302 form. Normally, the SA100 is due by the 31st of January, while SA302 is due by 6 April to 5 April in the following year.

Does An SA302 Guarantee My Loan or Mortgage?
While the SA302 form and tax overview are mandatory for loan and mortgage applications, they necessarily don’t guarantee approval of your application for the funds. The decision to grant a loan is with the lenders after they check the financial history of applicants. For this purpose, they will analyze certain aspects of your financial history, such as your income, tax returns, credit score, current debt volume, and if there are any black marks on your credit history. After carefully assessing the available information, your potential lender will decide whether they should accept your application or disapprove it.

How Can I Get My SA302 & Tax Overview?
In the past, the HMRC would issue SA302 automatically right after your Self-Assessment tax Returns. Now they have amended the service requiring filers to request the documents if they need so. If you need a copy of your SA302 and the Tax Overview, you can obtain it by submitting the request to the HMRC. There are three methods you can use to get your documents:

Download & Print Online

This is the quickest and easiest way to obtain your SA302 documents. To download your copy, all you have to do is log in to your HMRC online account, navigate to ‘more self-assessment details’ and then click on ‘get your SA302 tax calculation. You can view and download your tax overview also through the same page. The online service allows you to view and download up to four years of SA302 forms. You can select how many years you need the details for.

Request Via Telephone

You can also submit a request for SA302 via the telephone by dialing the HMRC self-assessment helpline 0300 200 3310. The office is open from 8 AM to 6 PM on regular business days. The HMRC office will confirm your identity and issue the documents that will arrive in the post. Please note that it can take up to two weeks for your documents to arrive.

Ask Your Accountant

If you use the services of a private accountant or an accounting firm, you can take their assistance in getting your SA302. They can make a summary of your annual earnings through commercial accounting software. These documents will need to be certified before they are sent to a potential lender.