Scope: the income tax and CGT points apply UK-wide. The purchase tax on transfer diverges — SDLT in England and Northern Ireland, LTT in Wales, LBTT in Scotland. 2026/27 tax year.
"Should I put my properties in a company?" is the most-asked landlord tax question and the one most often answered with only the good half.
The argument for
A company deducts finance costs in full. It is outside the section 24 restriction, which applies to individuals. For a leveraged higher-rate landlord that difference is the whole case, and it can be large.
Company profits pay corporation tax rather than income tax, and profits left in the company are not taxed again until you take them out.
The costs the advice skips
Moving property you already own into a company is a disposal and a purchase. Both sides are taxed, and neither is optional.
1. Capital Gains Tax, on the way out
You dispose at market value — it is a connected-party transaction, so the price you charge yourself is irrelevant. That is 18% or 24% on the gain since you bought, payable within 60 days of completion, on a transaction that put no cash in your hand to pay it with.
Incorporation relief may defer the gain, but it has conditions — broadly, transferring a genuine business as a going concern in exchange for shares. Whether a portfolio is a business rather than an investment is a question of fact and degree, and it is not a box you tick.
2. SDLT or LTT, on the way in
The company buys, and it is always an additional dwelling, so the higher rates apply from the first pound:
- England / Northern Ireland: SDLT plus the 5% additional-dwellings surcharge.
- Wales: LTT higher residential rates, which start at 5% on the first £180,000 and reach 17%.
On a £300,000 property this is tens of thousands of pounds, paid in cash, to move an asset you already own between your left and right hands. See SDLT versus LTT.
3. The mortgage
Personal buy-to-let mortgages do not transfer. You redeem and take new company lending — typically at a higher rate, with arrangement fees, valuations and possibly early repayment charges. This is often the cost that decides it, and it recurs at every remortgage.
4. Getting the money out
Profit inside a company is not yours. Dividends are taxed on you, salary attracts NIC. Corporation tax plus dividend tax on the same profit can land close to, or above, the personal position — the company wins on retained and reinvested profit far more clearly than on income you need to live on.
5. Running costs
Company accounts, corporation tax returns, confirmation statements, a separate bank account, and an accountant who charges more than for a Self Assessment return.
So when does it actually win?
The pattern where the answer is most often yes:
- Buying new, so there is no CGT and the purchase tax was payable regardless
- Highly geared, so section 24 bites hard
- Higher or additional rate taxpayer
- Reinvesting rather than drawing the income
- Long horizon, so the annual saving outruns the one-off costs
And where it is most often no: an existing portfolio with large accrued gains, low gearing, a basic-rate owner, or someone who needs the rent to live on.
The honest summary
For new purchases by a geared higher-rate landlord, a company is often right. For transferring an existing portfolio, the CGT and purchase tax usually swamp the annual saving for years — and that arithmetic is exactly what the marketing tends to omit.
This is a decision to take with an accountant who has seen your numbers. It is the one topic here where general guidance is worth least.
Whichever structure you choose, the compliance duties are identical. Check what applies to your property.
Information tool, not tax advice. Incorporation is highly fact-specific; take professional advice before acting.