I'm looking to take out a loan for some home improvements (personal not business) and I'm a bit confused by one of the questions in the application. It asks for my annual income, before tax and deductions.
Do I put my total turnover income before I've paid costs like base rent, insurance, car repayments etc. Or do I enter the amount of profit - the amount I'm taxed on ?
ie. Lets say I take £30k but spend £13k on running costs, do I put the £30k total or £17k profit ? One thought is if I was in a 'normal' job earning £30k and then paying for cars, insurance etc totalling £13k you'd still declare your income as £30k, but another thought is my earnings are only £17k after the expenses.
I don't want to declare £30k to the lender only for them to find out my actual wage is £17k when I submit my tax statements, and on the other hand I don't want to say I'm on £17k and be rejected for the loan before even sending the returns ! Technically my income is £30k, but that's before expenses.
As an aside, for £10k what's best, a loan or remortgage ? Looks like there's more choices for a loan and easier to apply for, but less chance of being accepted due to self employment. A remortgage is more likely to be accepted, but less choice and harder to apply for

Cost wise they're about the same.