Illustrative scenario, not a real client case or a mortgage offer. Nadia Price is a fictional Border Force officer hoping to buy with her partner, Lewis. In this imagined situation, she is also considering a move to another Home Office role. Her current payslips include Annualised Hours Allowance, usually shortened to AHA. The new commute looks better, but nobody has yet confirmed what her pay would look like after the move.
One employer does not settle the income question
Nadia's first instinct is to use her current annual earnings when discussing a purchase budget. She would still work for the Home Office, so it feels like continuity. The missing detail is whether the same payments would continue. Before relying on an income figure, she could ask which parts belong to her existing post and which would form part of the new arrangement.
The Home Office allowance guidance says AHA is additional to basic salary, depends on role and location, and can be reviewed upwards or downwards. It is not a permanent entitlement that transfers with someone into another position. This does not mean the new role could never attract AHA; its own terms need checking.
Put the two jobs beside each other
A useful working document would have two columns, labelled current role and proposed role. Nadia could enter the confirmed basic salary, any allowance, contracted hours and effective date for each. Anything awaiting confirmation should say so. An empty box is more honest, and more useful, than assuming that an existing allowance carries across.
The supporting questions are quite ordinary. Has she accepted the move, or only expressed interest? Is there a written offer? Would any allowance begin immediately? Who in HR or payroll could confirm the terms? The adviser would need employment information, not details of border operations, deployment patterns or sensitive workplace activity.
Explain the payslip before adding it up
Suppose one of Nadia's recent payslips also includes backdated pay. She could ask payroll which period it covers and whether it changes her ongoing salary. In her own notes, she could separate basic pay, AHA and the adjustment, then connect the net payment to her bank statement. That would make the question clearer without deciding how a lender should calculate it.
The FCA requires adequate evidence for each income element a lender takes into account. Its responsible lending rules do not give Nadia a universal percentage of AHA that every lender must accept. She could ask an adviser what evidence a particular lender would need before relying on any borrowing estimate.
Compare the budget after the move
Nadia and Lewis could make two household budgets using the circumstances they can explain: one for staying put and another for moving roles. Travel costs might differ. So might childcare or the number of hours Lewis could work. The point would be to expose what changes, not to construct the most flattering version of their finances.
If the purchase only looked comfortable with the old allowance, they could explore a lower property budget or wait for the new terms to become clearer. If the confirmed future earnings supported their plans, an adviser could investigate suitable criteria. Neither possibility establishes approval, and a job change should not be withheld to preserve an earlier estimate.
Ask about the gap between now and completion
Nadia's most useful question might be: 'My payslips show the old role, but I may move before the purchase completes. How should that be assessed?' She could also ask what to report if the transfer date changes. Keeping a dated record of confirmed information would make later conversations easier to follow.
For broader support with these pay questions, see Border Force and Home Office mortgages. Nadia and Lewis are not Simply Mortgages clients. This is an invented planning example, not a promise that AHA will be accepted or a personal recommendation to proceed.
Sources and useful reading
General information, not a personalised recommendation. Lender criteria and scheme rules can change. No approval, rate or borrowing amount is promised in this example.
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