Million pound mortgages are far more available and achievable than most people expect.
There are around 673,000 homes in Great Britain worth seven figures, lenders have been raising how much they’ll lend to high earners throughout 2026, and there’s a deep, competitive market of banks, building societies and private banks actively chasing borrowers at this level.
While navigating the complexities of large mortgage loans can be daunting, you’re in the right place.
This guide covers everything you need to know: the income and deposit required, which lenders play here, how bonuses and RSUs are treated, the tax bill most people underestimate, and the mistakes that quietly sink good applications.
Skim the headings, land on what matters to you, and when you want a straight answer about your own situation, have a quick chat with us.
Why £1m changes everything
A million pound mortgage is any residential loan of £1 million or more secured against a property. Simple enough. The interesting part is what happens to the market at that threshold.
Below roughly £750,000, mortgage lending is a volume business. Your case usually gets scored by a computer against a fixed set of criteria and either fits or doesn’t.
However, above £1 million, three things shift at once:
- Human underwriters get involved. Large-loan desks assess cases individually rather than algorithmically, which means context and presentation genuinely matter.
- The lender list changes. Some high-street names cap out. Others have specialist teams you can only reach through a broker. Private banks also appear, and they assess wealth rather than just salary.
- Structure becomes as important as rate. Interest-only, part-and-part, offset, term length, security arrangements; these are decisions that can move six figures over the life of a million pound mortgage.
The other thing worth saying plainly: a million pound mortgage is not the same as a million pound house.
If you’re buying at £1.4 million with a £400,000 deposit, you need a £1m mortgage. If you’re buying at £1.1 million with £600,000 down, you need a £500,000 mortgage and most of this guide’s complexity doesn’t apply to you. The loan size drives the lender list, not the price tag on the front door.
Can you actually get a million pound mortgage?
Yes, and, to be honest, more easily than you may think. But “yes” comes with conditions, and the conditions are where the work happens.
Lenders assessing million pound mortgages are predominantly looking at four things: income (and its quality), deposit or equity, credit history, and the property itself.
How much income do you need for a million pound mortgage?
This is the single most-searched question in this space, and the honest answer is “it depends on which lender you ask”, which sounds like a cop-out until you see the numbers.
Most lenders cap borrowing at 4.5 times income. On a £40,000 salary, that’s a maximum mortgage of £180,000, and to borrow £1 million you’d need to be earning just over £220,000.
That began to shift in July 2025, when the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee allowed individual lenders to write a larger share of their loans above the 4.5x threshold. Some have since stretched to 6, 6.5 and even 7 times income for certain borrowers.
In May 2026, NatWest raised its ceiling to 6.5x for joint applicants with a combined income above £150,000, capped at 75% loan to value (LTV), following a comparable move by HSBC a year earlier at a £100,000 threshold.
At 6.5x, a million pound mortgage comes within reach on an income of just over £150,000, whether that’s yours alone or combined with a partner’s.
What deposit do you need for a million pound mortgage?
Typically speaking, most million pound mortgages require a deposit of either 20% or 25%.
At 25%, a £1 million loan means you’re buying a property worth £1.33 million and putting down £333,000.
Meanwhile, at 20%, that same loan stretches to a property worth £1.25 million, with a deposit of £250,000 (typically the smallest deposit you’ll need to secure a million pound mortgage).
However, by exploring the right avenues, a 10% deposit can be possible, provided your application is strong and carries minimal risk factors for the lender. That brings the deposit down to a far more realistic £100,000.
It’s important to note that the deposit doesn’t have to be cash sitting in a current account.
Existing property equity, a gifted deposit from family, gifted equity through a concessionary purchase, sale proceeds from a business, and released investments all count. Lenders will simply want to see where the money came from and that it isn’t a disguised loan.
How much do million pound mortgages actually cost each month?
Now let’s get into the real numbers that will actually affect your day to day life.
Here’s what £1 million of borrowing looks like at a range of rates, on a 25-year term:
- 4.5% = £5,558/month (interest-only = £3,750/month)
- 5% = £5,846/month (interest-only = £4,167/month)
- 5.5% = £6,141/month (interest-only = £4,583/month)
These are, of course, illustrative figures only. Your actual payment depends on term, rate, fees and lender.
To check what your monthly repayment would look like at different term lengths and interest rates, use our repayment calculator.
There are two important observations worth sitting with here…
First, the gap between repayment and interest-only is enormous in cash flow terms (around £1,800 a month at 4.5%) and that difference is precisely why interest-only is so common at this end of the market.
For a business owner whose capital is better deployed in a company, paying down a mortgage can be an actively poor allocation decision.
Second, that flexibility isn’t free. On a 25-year repayment mortgage at 4.5%, you’d pay roughly £667,000 in total interest and own the property outright at the end.
On interest-only at the same rate, you’d pay roughly £1,125,000 in interest over the same period, and still owe the original £1 million.
The interest-only route can be entirely rational, but only alongside a plan for the capital.
The headline rate is a trap
On a million pound mortgage, a 0.25% difference in rate is about £2,500 a year.
Meaningful. But arrangement fees at this level are often charged as a percentage of the loan rather than a flat fee, particularly with private banks where anywhere from 0.5% to 2% is common.
On £1 million, 1% is £10,000. Suddenly the “cheaper” rate isn’t cheaper.
The only sensible way to compare million pound mortgages is total cost over the fixed period: interest paid, plus arrangement fee, plus valuation, plus any exit or early repayment charges you’re likely to trigger.
As a mortgage broker, we run this calculation as standard, and it will ensure you keep as much money as possible in your pocket in the l0ng-term.
Interest-only million pound mortgages
If you want interest-only from a mainstream lender, you need to show how the capital gets repaid. Commonly accepted strategies include:
- Sale of the property and downsizing, where the lender can see substantial residual equity remaining afterwards
- Sale of an identified business or shareholding, evidenced rather than aspirational
- A documented investment portfolio, visible on current statements and sized appropriately
- Pension lump sum, typically modelled conservatively against the projected pot
- Sale of other property assets in a portfolio
Private banks under the high-net-worth exemption treat interest-only as the default, recognising that forced capital repayment is often tax-inefficient for wealthy clients.
The different types of million pound mortgage lenders
The lender market for million pound mortgages sorts into three broad tiers, each pricing and underwriting differently. Understanding which tier fits you is most of the battle.
High-street large loan desks
The major high-street banks all have specialist teams handling larger loans, which are separate from their standard mortgage operations, often with better criteria and more experienced underwriters.
These can offer a range of products ideally suited to borrowers with straightforward income cases and strong credit profiles.
Specialist residential
If income cases are complex, it may be the case that the High Street banks are unfortunately unable to help.
However, all may not be lost. As a mortgage broker, we have access to specialist lenders that can help individuals who have specific complications in their application.
Now that could be anything from recent role changes and complex company structures to weaker credit profiles and higher LTVs at large loan sizes, but whatever it is, it’ll give you a chance.
Private banks
This is mainly for those looking at mortgages well in excess of a million pounds.
Coutts, Weatherbys, Investec, Arbuthnot Latham, Hampden & Co, Barclays Private Bank and the international names (JP Morgan, UBS, Citi, HSBC Private) don’t run an income multiple calculation. Instead, they assess your whole balance sheet.
The mechanism is the FCA’s high net worth mortgage customer exemption under MCOB 3A.
If you have net annual income of £300,000 or more, or net assets of £3 million or more (excluding your main residence and pension), a lender can step outside the standard affordability assessment and underwrite against your overall wealth position instead.
Complex Income Situations
If your income arrives in one predictable monthly lump, this section isn’t relevant to you. However, for many people looking to borrow seven figures, their income structure isn’t so simple.
Bonus & commission income
Treatment varies wildly when it comes to bonuses and commission, and it’s one of the biggest swing factors in how much you’re able to borrow.
- Some lenders take 50% of a two- or three-year average
- Others take 100% of the most recent bonus where an underwriter is satisfied it’s recurring rather than discretionary
- Some get uncomfortable when variable pay exceeds basic salary and will want to understand how you live during the eleven months between annual bonus payments
Let’s run through a quick example of just how important it is to find the right lender…
On a £450,000 base with a £180,000 average bonus, the difference between a lender crediting 50% and one crediting 100% is £90,000 of assessed income. At a 5x income multiple, that’s £450,000 of borrowing capacity. This single criteria difference therefore frequently determines which house you can buy.
RSUs & share options
This can be a genuine minefield, and one where the wrong lender choice can cost you enormously.
Vested and sold options convert to cash income and are assessed by specialist desks, often at 60–100% of the last 12–24 months.
Vested but unexercised options can sometimes be modelled as recurring income at a discount by certain lenders.
Unvested stock is typically given no credit at all by high-street routes, though private banks under the high-net-worth exemption may model it as forward income.
If a meaningful chunk of your bonus is equity (common in tech, finance and senior corporate roles) lender selection is crucial as many will simply take the cash and ignore the stock entirely.
Company directors, dividends & retained profit
If you run a limited company and take a modest salary plus dividends, standard high-street affordability will understate your position. Some lenders will assess salary plus dividends; a smaller group will assess salary plus share of net profit before tax, which is usually far more favourable for anyone reinvesting in their business.
Retained profit sitting in the company is invisible to most high-street lenders and highly visible to specialists and private banks. If you’ve spent five years building a war chest inside your business rather than extracting it, you need a lender who can see it.
Foreign currency & overseas income
A bonus nominated in dollars from a US parent company, euro-denominated consultancy income, or rental income from property abroad are all increasingly common in today’s globalised world.
Lenders vary in whether they’ll accept it, which currencies they’ll consider, and what haircut they apply for exchange rate risk (often 10–25%).
There are also specific regulatory requirements around foreign currency. Private banks with multi-currency capability handle this comfortably; however, most high-street lenders don’t.
If you’re a non-UK resident or a foreign national buying UK property, the lender list narrows further, but international private banks and a handful of specialist lenders are active here. Expect additional documentation: international tax returns, proof of source of wealth, and enhanced due diligence.
Offset million pound mortgages
If you hold substantial cash (for instance, you’re a business owner keeping reserves, someone between liquidity events, a professional with a large deposit account), an offset mortgage is worth looking into.
The mechanism is simple: your savings sit in a linked account and are netted off the mortgage balance for interest purposes.
So, if you were to hold £300,000 against a £1 million offset mortgage, you’d only pay interest on £700,000, while your £300,000 remains fully accessible.
This can be a real plus to high-net-worth borrowers specifically because:
- Your cash stays liquid. Unlike overpaying, you can withdraw it tomorrow if an opportunity appears.
- The return is effectively tax-free. Interest saved isn’t income, so there’s no tax on it. At a 4.5% mortgage rate, an additional-rate taxpayer would need a savings account paying north of 8% gross to match it.
- It’s a natural fit for lumpy income. Park the bonus, offset it, deploy it later.
The trade-off is that offset products usually carry a slightly higher headline rate. Whether that’s worth it comes down to how much cash you’ll consistently hold.
Buy to let million pound mortgages
If you’re buying a £1 million-plus property to rent out, expect the process to look quite different from a residential purchase.
Lenders treat buy-to-let mortgages as higher risk, because borrowers default on them more often than on the mortgage for their own home, and that caution shows up in the terms.
The deposit is the first difference you’ll notice. Most lenders want 25% for a buy-to-let, though some will accept 15% if your income, affordability and credit history are strong.
The second is how affordability is judged. Rather than focusing on your salary, lenders also look at the rent the property could realistically generate. Most want that projected rent to cover 125% to 130% of the monthly mortgage payment. If it falls short, some lenders offer top-slicing (using part of your personal income to bridge the gap and clear the interest coverage ratio hurdle).
How long does it take & what do you need?
Most mortgages over a million pounds complete within seven to ten weeks from initial call to completion.
Clean high-street large-loan cases can be faster meanwhile private bank cases can take slightly longer
Getting your documents together early is the single biggest thing you can do to speed the process up. For a million pound mortgage you’ll typically need to have the following:
- Three months’ payslips and two years’ P60s (employed)
- Two years’ SA302s plus tax year overviews (self-employed)
- Two to three years’ company accounts, and an accountant’s reference (directors)
- Three to six months’ personal and business bank statements
- An employer letter where bonus, commission or RSU income is material
- Investment portfolio statements and pension valuations
- Evidence of deposit source, including gift letters where relevant
- Proof of ID and address, and source-of-wealth documentation for larger or international cases
If you’re going down the private bank route, add a proposed asset allocation to that list.
Why use a broker for your million pound mortgage?
At The Levels Financial, we have significant experience helping high-net-worth individuals secure million pound mortgages.
While that’s great for us, what does working with a broker like ourselves actually mean for you?
Access. A significant amount of the large-loan market (high-street large-loan desks, building society high-net-worth teams, most private banks) doesn’t deal with the public directly. You cannot ring them up and comparison sites don’t cover them. If you’re not working through an intermediary, a meaningful portion of the market is simply invisible to you.
Better chance of success. At this level, underwriting is a human reading a story. The exact same set of facts can be presented as “irregular income and a recent job change” or as “a senior professional with a rising earnings trajectory and a documented three-year bonus history.” Both are true but only one gets approved.
Time. If you’re borrowing over a million pounds, your hourly rate is high and your diary is full. Spending it comparing lender criteria is a poor trade.
Book your free initial consultation with one of our award-winning brokers today or give us a call to learn more about how we can help.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you pay will depend upon your circumstances. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is 0.3% of the amount borrowed.
Protecting a seven-figure debt
Nobody wants to think about what might happen if the absolute worst were to occur. However, when you’re taking on such a significant mortgage, it’s essential to consider how you and your loved ones would be protected should the unexpected happen.
It takes about twenty minutes and it’s arguably the most important twenty minutes of the whole process.
A million pound mortgage is a seven-figure liability sitting against your family’s home. If you’re gone, or too ill to work, the mortgage, unfortunately, doesn’t politely pause.
Because of that we always encourage our clients to look at the following:
- Life insurance at least sufficient enough to clear the mortgage
- Critical illness cover, which pays out on diagnosis of specified serious conditions
- Income protection, which replaces a significant portion of earnings if you can’t work due to sickness or injury
- Writing policies in trust, so the proceeds fall outside your estate for inheritance tax and pay out to your family quickly rather than waiting on probate.
Our specialist protection advisers can help you find the right cover for your needs, at the most competitive price, completely free of charge.
Book your free protection consultation today to ensure you and your family are covered should the worst happen.
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