What Salary Do I Need for a £400,000 Mortgage?
You typically need a salary of £67,000 to £89,000 for a £400,000 mortgage in the UK. Best-case at a 6.5× lender (HSBC Premier) is around £61,600; affordability-led 4.49× lenders need £89,100. Joint applicants or higher-multiple products can bring the single-earner bar down considerably, subject to lender criteria, affordability and credit assessment. Last reviewed July 2026.
Salary Needed for a £400,000 Mortgage in the UK, by Lender
Single employed applicant, 25-year repayment term, no additional debts.
| Lender | Multiple | Min Salary |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC Premier | 6.5× | £61,600 |
| Nationwide (Helping Hand) | 6.0× | £66,700 |
| Barclays | 6.0× | £66,700 |
| NatWest (higher income) | 6.0× | £66,700 |
| Aldermore | 6.0× | £66,700 |
| Cumberland BS | 6.0× | £66,700 |
| Leeds BS (Income Plus) | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Halifax | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Santander | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| TSB | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Skipton BS | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Virgin Money | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Principality BS | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Accord Mortgages | 5.5× | £72,800 |
| Coventry BS (affordability-led) | 4.49× | £89,100 |
| Pepper Money (affordability-led) | 4.49× | £89,100 |
Published income multiples, June 2026. Higher-multiple products subject to qualifying criteria.
£400,000 Mortgage: Monthly Cost, Income and Deposit
A £400,000 mortgage costs £2,338 a month at 5% over 25 years on a repayment basis. You typically need a single income of £67,000 to £89,100 depending on the lender's multiple, and a deposit starting at £21,050 (5%), rising to £44,500 at 10% deposit.
£400k is a common tier for dual-income professional households — two salaries of around £50,000 and £35,000 comfortably reach it — while a single applicant usually needs either a strong six-figure-adjacent income or an enhanced-multiple lender, subject to lender criteria, affordability and credit assessment.
How to Qualify for £400k on a Lower Salary
- Declare bonuses, overtime and commission. A £70k base + £15k annual bonus puts you comfortably over the 5× threshold.
- Add a second applicant — £50k + £35k hits £85k combined and qualifies at most lenders.
- Use a higher-multiple product. Halifax, Santander, TSB and Accord lend up to 5.5× at qualifying income — dropping the single-earner bar to around £72,800 — while Nationwide (Helping Hand), Barclays and NatWest reach 6.0× (about £66,700).
- Extend the term to 35 or 40 years (some lenders). Longer terms reduce the stressed payment, increasing maximum borrowing.
- Clear outstanding debts — every £100/month commitment cuts borrowing by £6,000–£10,000.
How Much Is a £400,000 Mortgage a Month? Repayments by Rate and Term
| Rate | 25 Years | 30 Years | 35 Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0% | £2,111 | £1,910 | £1,771 |
| 4.5% | £2,223 | £2,027 | £1,893 |
| 5.0% | £2,338 | £2,147 | £2,019 |
| 5.5% | £2,456 | £2,271 | £2,148 |
| 6.0% | £2,577 | £2,398 | £2,281 |
Deposit Needed for a £400,000 Mortgage
| Deposit % | Deposit £ | Property Price |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | £21,053 | £421,053 |
| 10% | £44,444 | £444,444 |
| 15% | £70,588 | £470,588 |
| 20% | £100,000 | £500,000 |
| 25% | £133,333 | £533,333 |
Self-Employed or Limited Company Director?
Work out the income figure lenders will actually use with our free self-employed income calculator — salary + dividends, net profit and retained-profit bases compared side by side.
- Sole trader — net profit from your SA302. Most lenders average 2 years; some use latest year if higher.
- Limited company director — Halifax and Kensington use salary plus retained profit, which typically shows a much higher income than salary + dividends. Critical at the £400k+ tier.
- Contractor on a day rate — day rate × 5 × 46 weeks. A £750/day contractor is assessed at £172,500, easily supporting £400k.
What Moves You Between Multiples
The lender table above shows each multiple, but several of the highest ones only apply once income clears a specific threshold — below it, the lender falls back to its standard 4.49× cap. Here's where the 6.0×+ tier actually unlocks:
| Lender | Top Multiple | Income Needed to Unlock It |
|---|---|---|
| Cumberland BS | 6× | £40,000 |
| Aldermore | 6× | £60,000 |
| Barclays | 6× | £75,000 |
| Nationwide | 6× | £75,000 |
| NatWest | 6× | £75,000 |
| HSBC Premier | 6.5× | £100,000 |
At £400k, the full amount at 6.0× needs £66,700 of salary — but Barclays, Nationwide and NatWest only unlock their 6.0× tier from £75,000, so the gate is the real minimum there. Cumberland BS opens the same 6.0× tier from just £40,000 of income, making £66,700 genuinely enough.
Joint Application Worked Examples
Joint applications pool both incomes and apply the lender's multiple to the combined figure. Here's the multiple two incomes need to reach, and a typical split, for £400,000:
| Combined Income | Multiple Needed | Example Split |
|---|---|---|
| £89,100 | 4.49× | £50,000 + £39,100 |
| £80,000 | 5.00× | £45,000 + £35,000 |
| £72,800 | 5.49× | £40,000 + £32,800 |
£89,100 combined reaches £400k at almost any standard 4.49× lender. Below that, you need one of the enhanced-multiple lenders above — and the combined income still has to clear that lender's qualifying-income gate, subject to lender criteria, affordability and credit assessment.
What Could Stop You Hitting £400,000?
- Dependent children — each reduces borrowing by £8,000–£15,000.
- Credit card balances — 3% of balance treated as monthly. £15,000 of balances ≈ £45,000 less borrowing.
- Car finance — £500/month PCP = £30,000–£40,000 less borrowing.
- Student loans — especially PG loans, which scale with income above higher thresholds.
- LTI flow caps — regulators limit the share of lending above 4.49× income multiples, so even after the 2025 relaxation, high-multiple products can have waiting lists in busy quarters.
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Check My £400k EligibilityFrequently Asked Questions
What salary do I need for a £400,000 mortgage in the UK?
Most UK lenders will offer a £400,000 mortgage on a single income of around £80,000 to £89,100, using an affordability-led 4.49× to 5× multiple. Higher-multiple lenders at 5.5× (Halifax, Santander, TSB, Accord) need around £72,800, lenders at 6.0× (Nationwide Helping Hand, Barclays, NatWest) around £66,700, and HSBC Premier at 6.5× will lend £400k to a single applicant on about £61,600. All subject to lender criteria, affordability and credit assessment.
Can I get a £400k mortgage on £60,000?
£60,000 is a 6.67× income multiple for £400k — above even the highest mainstream cap. HSBC Premier's market-leading 6.5× needs about £61,600, so on £60,000 alone you'd fall just short. It becomes achievable by adding bonus/commission income, a second applicant, or a scheme-gated 7× product such as Teachers' BS for education workers. Most lenders on £60k alone will offer around £270,000 (4.49×). All subject to lender criteria, affordability and credit assessment.
How much deposit do I need for a £400,000 mortgage?
5% deposit on £400k mortgage = £21,050 on a £421,050 property. 10% is £44,500 on £444,500. First-time buyer stamp duty is 0% up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000 — on a £444k property that's around £7,200 of SDLT. Above £500,000 first-time buyer relief ends and standard rates apply. A 20% deposit on a £500k property gets you a £400k loan and meaningfully better rates.
What are the monthly repayments on a £400,000 mortgage?
£400,000 at 5% over 25 years costs £2,338 per month (repayment). At 4.5% it's £2,223, at 5.5% it's £2,456. Extending to 30 years at 5% drops the payment to £2,147. Interest-only at 5% would be £1,667/month but the capital remains outstanding.
What salary do joint applicants need for £400k?
Combined household income of around £80,000 to £89,100 is enough for £400k at most lenders, dropping to roughly £66,700 at a 6.0× lender. That's achievable on £50k + £35k, £45k + £40k, or £60k + £25k. Most dual-income professional households in London and the South East can realistically target £400k with the right lender, subject to lender criteria, affordability and credit assessment.
How much more salary do I need for £400k than for £300k?
Roughly £22,200 more at a standard 4.49× lender (£66,900 for £300k versus £89,100 for £400k), or around £15,400 more at HSBC Premier's 6.5× (£46,200 versus £61,600). The gap narrows the higher the multiple, because a bigger multiple stretches further per pound of extra salary.
Does a longer mortgage term reduce the salary I need for £400,000?
Not at income-multiple lenders — their minimum salary is income × multiple and doesn't move with term. It can matter at lenders working from full affordability rather than a flat multiple: a 30- or 35-year term reduces the stressed monthly payment, which can increase what a given salary supports. Worth checking both routes if you're close to a lender's threshold.
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