Buying your next buy-to-let: personal name or limited company?
Moving existing properties into a company is expensive. Buying the next one through a company costs nothing extra to set up the comparison, because the company simply buys it directly. That makes the decision on your next purchase far cleaner, and our SPV or personal calculator shows the annual difference in seconds.
Why the next purchase is the easy one
The painful part of the company route is usually the transfer of properties you already own, which triggers Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax. A fresh purchase skips all of that. The SDLT surcharge applies either way, so the real question is simply which owner, you or a company, keeps more of the rent each year and fits your plans.
What the calculator compares
- Personal ownership: rent taxed at your marginal income tax rate, with mortgage interest earning only a 20% basic rate credit under Section 24.
- Company ownership: interest fully deductible, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and dividend tax only on what you take out, at the new 2026 rates.
Try a higher-rate taxpayer with £24,000 rent, £12,000 mortgage interest and £3,000 of costs: roughly £6,000 of tax personally versus £1,710 through a company that reinvests. Draw everything as dividends instead and the company still wins, but the gap narrows. The answer moves with every input, which is exactly why folklore fails here.
What the calculator cannot see
Company buy-to-let mortgages carry slightly higher rates and fewer lenders. Accounts and filings cost more than a personal tax return. Getting money out has its own tax. And your exit plans, family situation and other income all push the answer around. The calculator starts the conversation; it should not finish it.
Run it, then test it against reality
Two minutes on the calculator, then book a free consultation. We do this modelling properly for landlords every week as part of our Property and SPV service, mortgage realities included.
