What could you borrow on your day rate?
The same day rate gets read completely differently across lenders: some annualise it on a multiplier as low as ×41 weeks, others go as high as ×52 — and several route you to a self-employed or standard PAYE assessment instead. Based on verified contractor lending criteria (verified 2026-08-19), see what each of the 12 lenders we track would assess your income as, and where.
This is an information tool, not advice: it doesn't give a recommendation, a decision in principle, or a guarantee any lender will lend to you.
Worked example: £500/day, 5 days a week, paid directly on a day-rate contract
A day-rate contractor (not umbrella or Ltd) at £500/day — the lenders that route Ltd/PSC or umbrella income differently drop out of this table.
The same £500/day is assessed as £102,500 to £120,000 of income depending on the lender.
- Coventry BS: ×41 weeks → £102,500 assessed income, up to £461,000 indicative borrowing — the lowest multiplier on the panel.
- Kensington: ×48 weeks → £120,000 assessed income, up to £540,000 indicative borrowing — the highest multiplier among lenders that apply their day-rate route to a straight day-rate contract.
Change the inputs below to model your own numbers.
Same £500/day, but engaged through an umbrella company
Switch the engagement type to umbrella — Nationwide's ×52 route only opens up here, while Coventry BS, Skipton, Leeds BS and Kensington drop out (their day-rate routes don't extend to umbrella income).
The same £500/day is assessed as £115,000 to £130,000 of income depending on the lender.
Nationwide: ×52 weeks — £130,000 assessed income, up to £585,000 indicative borrowing, the highest figure on the whole panel for this day rate. The lowest applying figure among the same umbrella-eligible lenders is £115,000 (Halifax and five others, all on ×46).
See the full breakdown — including the £27,500 income gap this produces across the whole 13-lender panel — in the Contractor Day-Rate Lottery.
Change the inputs below to model your own numbers.
Between £0 and £10,000.
Want to know if a lender even accepts your engagement type before annualising it? Check contract-type acceptance →