Property Tax FAQs

If you own let property personally, your rental profit is added to your other income and taxed at your income tax rates. You can deduct allowable expenses such as letting agent fees, repairs, insurance and service charges. For residential lets, mortgage interest isn't deducted but given as a basic-rate tax reduction. A company pays corporation tax on its rental profits instead.

Often because of Section 24. Since April 2020, individual landlords of residential property can't deduct mortgage interest from rent. You're taxed on profit before interest, then get a 20% tax reduction. For higher and additional-rate taxpayers, that relief is worth less than the tax paid on the same income, and it can push you into a higher band.

Yes, for property income of individuals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. From 6 April 2027, it's due to be taxed at separate property income rates of 22%, 42% and 47%, two percentage points above the current rates. The tax reduction for finance costs is due to rise to 22% at the same time. Companies aren't affected.

It depends on the numbers and your plans. A company pays corporation tax on profits and gets full relief for mortgage interest, which can help higher-rate landlords with significant borrowing. But taking money out usually means more tax, and moving existing properties into a company can trigger capital gains tax and SDLT. For new purchases, the comparison is often simpler.

Sometimes. Incorporation relief can defer capital gains tax when a business is transferred to a company in exchange for shares, but the letting must amount to a business rather than passive investment, and all the business assets other than cash must be transferred. From 6 April 2026 the relief must be claimed. Whether you qualify depends heavily on the facts.

Usually, yes. A company buying property from someone connected with it, such as its shareholder, pays SDLT on at least the market value, even if it pays less or issues shares instead. The higher rates for additional dwellings normally apply. In some cases, such as a genuine partnership transferring property, special partnership rules can reduce the charge.

For individuals, gains on residential property are taxed at 18% where they fall within the basic rate band and 24% above it, after the annual exempt amount of £3,000. Your other income decides how much of the gain falls into each band. Companies pay corporation tax on their gains instead.

If you're UK resident and sell a UK residential property with capital gains tax to pay, you must report the sale and pay the estimated tax within 60 days of completion, using HMRC's online service. The gain is then also included on your Self Assessment return. Late reporting and payment can lead to penalties and interest.

Possibly. Transfers between spouses or civil partners living together are free of capital gains tax, so moving a share of a property to a lower-earning spouse can reduce the tax on rent and future gains. But it must be a genuine transfer of the beneficial interest, and mortgaged property can trigger SDLT on the share of debt taken over.

In England and Northern Ireland, buying an additional residential property usually means paying the standard SDLT rates plus a 5% surcharge in each band. Non-UK resident buyers pay a further 2%. Companies buying a home for more than £500,000 can face a flat 17% rate unless a relief, such as for property rental businesses, applies.

Multiple dwellings relief was abolished for purchases completing on or after 1 June 2024. However, where six or more dwellings are bought in a single transaction, the purchase can be treated as non-residential, which uses lower rates and no surcharge. Each case needs checking, because the conditions and the best treatment depend on the facts.

Yes. Let property is usually counted in full in your estate, and it typically doesn't qualify for Business Relief because letting is treated as holding investments. Above the nil-rate band of £325,000, and the residence nil-rate band where your home passes to direct descendants, the estate is taxed at 40%. Both bands are frozen until April 2031.

A gift can fall out of your estate if you survive seven years and don't keep any benefit, such as the rent. But giving property away is a disposal at market value for capital gains tax, so tax can arise immediately with no cash to pay it. The children may also face income tax on the rent. Plan the whole picture first.

For inheritance tax, shares in a property company are valued much like the properties inside it, and they usually don't qualify for Business Relief either. But a company can make it easier to pass value to the next generation gradually, for example by giving shares or using different share classes, while parents keep control. That's the idea behind a Family Investment Company.

No. The furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished from 6 April 2025 for income tax and capital gains tax, and from 1 April 2025 for corporation tax. Holiday lets are now generally treated like other residential lettings, so the finance cost restriction applies to individuals and the special capital gains reliefs are no longer available, subject to transitional rules.

Yes. UK rental profits remain taxable in the UK wherever you live. Under the non-resident landlord scheme, your letting agent or tenant must deduct basic-rate tax from the rent unless HMRC approves you to receive it gross. You'll still need to file a UK tax return each year, and selling UK property brings its own reporting rules.

Private residence relief covers the period you lived in it as your main home, plus the final 9 months of ownership in most cases. The gain for the let period is usually taxable. Lettings relief now only applies where you shared the home with your tenant. The calculation can be complex, so it's worth checking before you sell.

No. Only borrowing used for the letting business qualifies for relief. However, if you remortgage a rental property and use the money elsewhere, relief can still be available on the interest up to the value of the property when it was first let, broadly where the borrowing replaces capital you'd put into the business. The rules need care.

Costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the letting, such as letting agent and management fees, repairs and maintenance, insurance, ground rent and service charges, accountancy fees, and the replacement of furnishings in let homes. Improvements, such as an extension, aren't deductible from rent but may reduce a later capital gain. Mortgage interest is relieved separately.

It will if your qualifying income, meaning gross rents plus any self-employment turnover, is over the threshold: £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. You'll then need to keep digital records and send quarterly updates using compatible software. Property held in a company isn't covered by these rules.

The main ways are a salary, dividends, repaying money you've lent to the company, and pension contributions. Each is taxed differently. Dividend rates from April 2026 are 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35%, after a £500 allowance. Repaying a director's loan is usually tax-free, which is why the way a company is funded at the start matters.

Before any decision that's hard to undo: buying the next property, moving properties into a company, remortgaging a portfolio, selling, gifting to family or moving abroad. Advice before the event usually costs less and saves more than fixing problems afterwards. We work on fixed fees, agreed upfront, after a free first call.

Yes, in most cases. Rental income is normally reported on a Self Assessment tax return. If your gross property income is £1,000 or less a year, the property allowance may mean you don't need to report it. If you have undeclared rental income from past years, it's usually better to come forward voluntarily through HMRC's disclosure service.

Yes. Depending on your position, options can include rebalancing ownership between spouses, buying new properties in a company, incorporating an existing portfolio where relief is available, timing sales and repaying the most expensive borrowing first. None suits everyone, and some have upfront costs. A review compares the options with real numbers.

A property tax adviser looks at how your portfolio is owned, financed and run, and finds the structure that keeps the most tax-efficient result over time. That covers Section 24, whether to incorporate, buying in a company or personally, selling, extracting profits and inheritance tax. Good advice usually pays for itself many times over, because the decisions affect tax every year for as long as you own the properties.

It depends on your tax rate, your mortgages, the gains already built up in the properties and your plans. A company pays corporation tax on profits and isn't restricted by Section 24, which can help higher-rate landlords. But moving existing properties can trigger capital gains tax and SDLT, and taking money out of a company is taxed again. We compare both routes with your real numbers before you decide.

Section 24 stops individual landlords deducting mortgage interest from rental income. Instead you get a tax credit at the basic rate. If you pay tax at the higher or additional rate, you lose relief on the difference, which can be thousands of pounds a year on a mortgaged portfolio. It can also push your income into a higher band. Our free Section 24 calculator shows your figure in a minute.

Sometimes. Incorporation relief can defer the gain where you're transferring a property business, not just investments, in exchange for shares. The courts have said the letting needs to be run with real business activity, so it isn't available to every landlord. Where it doesn't apply, the gain may be taxable on transfer. We test your position carefully before anything moves.

Usually yes. A transfer to a company you're connected with is normally charged to SDLT on market value, including the surcharges for additional properties and companies. Some reliefs can reduce it, for example where a genuine partnership has been running the property business. SDLT is often the biggest cost of incorporation, so it needs working out before you decide.

A Family Investment Company is a private company used to hold property or investments, with parents keeping control and children owning shares that carry future growth. It can help with inheritance tax and with reinvesting profits at corporation tax rates. Setting one up with existing properties has the same CGT and SDLT issues as incorporation, so it often suits new purchases or cash best.

Rental property is usually treated as an investment, so it rarely qualifies for business relief. It's included in your estate and taxed at 40% above the available nil-rate bands. Gifts made more than seven years before death fall outside the estate, and Family Investment Companies, trusts and life insurance can all help. The earlier planning starts, the more options there are.

If you're UK resident and sell a UK residential property with capital gains tax to pay, you must report the sale to HMRC and pay the tax within 60 days of completion. The gain also goes on your Self Assessment return. Missing the 60-day deadline brings automatic penalties and interest, so it's worth planning before you exchange contracts.

Yes. After a free first call, we agree a fixed fee for the work upfront, in writing, before anything starts. You won't get an hourly bill or surprise extras. The fee depends on what's involved, for example a Section 24 review is simpler than incorporating a large portfolio, and we'll tell you exactly what's included.

The same working day. Send an enquiry, email or WhatsApp message, and our team will reply the same working day to arrange a call. If you're up against a deadline, such as a purchase completing or a 60-day CGT return, tell us and we'll prioritise it.

Your advice comes from a Big 4-trained team that includes ICAEW and ACCA Chartered Accountants, and every plan is reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser. We've advised more than 100 landlords and portfolios, incorporated more than £100m of property, and worked on portfolios of up to £30m. Property Tax Advisory is part of ASWATAX.

We focus on landlords with three or more properties, and on property companies and families with larger portfolios. That's where the structure makes the biggest difference and where specialist advice pays for itself. If you have fewer properties but a specific issue, such as a sale or an inheritance, get in touch and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.

Yes. We focus on tax advice and planning, so we work alongside your accountant, who can keep your accounts and returns, and your mortgage broker, who arranges the finance. Incorporation in particular needs everyone working to the same plan, and we're happy to coordinate.

Yes. Landlords living abroad with UK property face their own rules, including the non-resident landlord scheme, the SDLT surcharge for non-resident buyers and capital gains tax on UK property. We advise UK property owners wherever they live.

A rough list of your properties is enough: how many, roughly what they're worth, what's mortgaged, who owns each one and when they were bought. It also helps to know your other income and your plans, for example growing, selling or passing the portfolio on. You don't need documents for the first conversation.

They're designed to show the scale of an issue, such as your Section 24 cost or the SDLT on a purchase, using current rates. They can't take account of everything, such as your full income, allowances and the history of each property. Use them to see whether it's worth a conversation, then we'll give you advice based on your actual figures.

Start with the sale price and deduct the selling costs, such as agent and legal fees. Then deduct what you paid for the property, the buying costs (including SDLT and legal fees) and the cost of capital improvements like an extension. What's left is the gain. Take off any losses and your annual exempt amount of £3,000, and the rest is taxed at 18% or 24%, depending on how much of your basic rate band is left.

Each owner is taxed on their own share of the gain. If you and your spouse own a property 50:50, each of you reports half the gain, deducts your own £3,000 annual exempt amount and pays tax at 18% or 24% depending on your own income. That's why joint ownership often reduces the tax on a sale. If the property is owned in unequal shares, the gain follows the beneficial ownership, not just the names on the deeds.

Normally the earlier tax year. For capital gains tax, the date of disposal is the date contracts are exchanged unconditionally, not completion. So a sale that exchanges on 20 March and completes on 20 April usually falls into the tax year ending on 5 April, using that year's rates, exempt amount and basic rate band. The 60-day reporting and payment deadline still runs from completion. Conditional contracts are treated differently.

Yes. The 60-day return is filed through HMRC's online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, which is separate from your Self Assessment account. Setting it up takes time, so don't leave it until the last week. Your accountant or adviser can report for you through HMRC's agent service. If you're registered for Self Assessment, you also include the sale on your tax return for that year.

HMRC charges automatic late-filing penalties and interest on tax paid late, and further penalties can follow if the return or payment is very late. The 60-day return is separate from your Self Assessment return, so you need to file it even if your accountant will include the sale on your annual return later. If you've already missed it, file and pay as soon as possible and get advice on the figures.

Only if the work was a capital improvement that's still reflected in the property when you sell, such as an extension, a loft conversion or adding a bathroom. Repairs and like-for-like replacements are revenue costs. They're claimed against rental income instead and can't be deducted twice. Keep invoices for all significant work, because you'll need to show what was done and when if HMRC asks.

It can save tax. Transfers between spouses or civil partners who live together are treated as no gain and no loss, so there's no CGT on the transfer itself. Your spouse then sells their share and can use their own £3,000 annual exempt amount and any unused basic rate band at 18%. The transfer must be a genuine, outright gift of a beneficial share, made before contracts are exchanged, and your spouse then owns that share of the proceeds.

Yes. If your spouse takes on part of the mortgage, that debt can count as consideration for SDLT. HMRC can also challenge a transfer that isn't genuine, for example if the proceeds all come back to you under a prior arrangement. Lenders may need to agree to a change of ownership. And a share transferred on paper but not in substance won't work. Talk to us before you instruct the solicitor, not after exchange.

Often it is, if your plans allow. Each tax year gives you a fresh £3,000 annual exempt amount and a fresh basic rate band, so spreading sales across tax years can tax more of your gains at 18%. Exchange date matters, because that's normally the date of disposal. Spreading sales has to be weighed against market conditions, mortgage costs and the rent you'd lose while a property is empty.

Yes. A capital loss is set against gains in the same tax year first, then any unused loss is carried forward to later years. Losses have to be claimed within four years of the end of the tax year of the sale, so report them even if you have no gains yet. Losses on sales to family members or other connected people can usually only be set against gains on disposals to the same person.

Your starting cost is the property's market value at the date of death, usually the value agreed for probate, not what the person who died originally paid. Add the cost of any improvements you've made, deduct your buying and selling costs, and the rest is your gain. If the probate value was low, or the property was never formally valued, get a retrospective valuation before you sell, because HMRC can challenge it.

Only in limited cases. Since 6 April 2020 lettings relief is only available where you lived in the property and let part of it at the same time, for example a lodger or a self-contained part of your home. Where you moved out and let the whole property, lettings relief no longer applies. Where it does apply, it's capped at the lowest of £40,000, the private residence relief due and the gain from letting.

Sometimes. Personal pension contributions paid under relief at source extend your basic rate band by the gross amount paid. Because gains that fit within the basic rate band are taxed at 18% rather than 24%, a bigger band can mean more of the gain is taxed at the lower rate. The saving is modest next to the pension relief itself, and contribution limits apply. Plan it with your financial adviser before the tax year ends.

They're taxed differently. A company pays corporation tax on its gain, at 19% to 25% depending on its profits, but then you pay tax again when you take the money out, usually as dividends. Selling personally means CGT at 18% or 24% with the money in your hands. If you plan to reinvest in more property, keeping proceeds in a company can work well. If you need the cash, personal ownership is often simpler.

Only for property bought before 1 January 2018, and only for inflation up to December 2017. Indexation was frozen for companies at that date, so a property bought in 2010 gets an allowance for 2010 to 2017 but not for later years. Property bought from January 2018 onwards gets no indexation at all. Individuals haven't had indexation allowance on gains for many years.

There's no CGT on death. Your executors and heirs are treated as acquiring the properties at their market value on the date you die, so the gain built up in your lifetime is wiped out for CGT. But the properties are then in your estate for inheritance tax at 40% above the nil-rate bands. Holding until death avoids one tax but can expose the portfolio to a larger one.

You'll need the completion statements for the purchase and the sale, invoices for any improvements, legal and agent fees on both sides, and SDLT paid on purchase. If you inherited the property, you'll need the probate value. If you lived in it, note the dates. If it changed hands between you and your spouse, you'll need the original cost. Missing records can be rebuilt, but it's slower and less certain.

Usually, first repay any money you've lent the company, because that comes back to you tax-free. After that, most landlords use a mix of dividends, sometimes a modest salary, interest on loans to the company and employer pension contributions. The right mix depends on your other income, which tax bands are free, whether you need the cash now and how much you want to leave in the company to repay debt or buy more property.

Yes. If you've put money into the company as a loan, for example a deposit, or you were credited with a loan when you transferred properties, the company can repay it at any time without tax, as long as it has the cash. That's why we often recommend lending deposits rather than subscribing for shares, and why the loan account balance is worth keeping accurate.

The first £500 of dividends each year is covered by the dividend allowance. Above that, dividends are taxed at 10.75% in the basic rate band, 35.75% in the higher rate band and 39.35% in the additional rate band. Dividends are paid from profits after corporation tax, so the combined rate on profit taken out as a dividend is higher than either figure alone. Dividend rates aren't changing in April 2027.

If you borrow from your close company and the loan isn't repaid within nine months after the end of the company's accounting period, the company pays a temporary tax charge. For loans made on or after 6 April 2026, the rate is 35.75%, matching the dividend upper rate. The tax is reclaimable once the loan is repaid, but anti-avoidance rules stop you clearing the loan and quickly re-borrowing.

It can, and a salary is a deductible expense for the company if it's paid wholly and exclusively for the business and is reasonable for the work done. Directors who manage the portfolio actively are in a stronger position than passive ones. Employer National Insurance is 15% above £5,000 a year in 2026/27, so many landlords keep salaries modest, often to protect state pension entitlement.

Yes. Employer pension contributions are generally deductible for the company if they're wholly and exclusively for the business, and they aren't taxed on you as income. They count towards your annual allowance, normally £60,000 a year but lower for very high earners. From April 2027 most unused pension funds come into your estate for inheritance tax, which changes the long-term picture for some landlords.

It can be worthwhile. Interest at a commercial rate is deductible for the company and is savings income for you, which may be covered by your personal savings allowance or taxed at your savings rates. A company paying yearly interest to an individual normally has to deduct income tax at source and report it to HMRC. Savings rates rise by 2% from April 2027, which narrows the advantage for higher-rate lenders.

If you don't need the money, often yes. Profits kept in the company have only borne corporation tax, so more is left to repay mortgages or fund the next purchase. Over a decade the difference compounds. The trade-off is that the value builds up in the company, and eventually in your estate, so retaining profits works best alongside an inheritance tax and succession plan.

Common approaches are drawing down a director's loan, paying dividends spread across years and family members to use lower bands, using pension savings built up through employer contributions, or selling properties and winding the company up. A company wound up through a formal liquidation usually pays out as capital, taxed at capital gains rates, subject to anti-avoidance rules. Planning a few years ahead gives the most options.

It can be, because distributions in a formal liquidation are usually taxed as capital gains at 18% or 24%, not as dividends at up to 39.35%. But the company first pays corporation tax on gains when it sells properties, and anti-avoidance rules can tax the distribution as income if you carry on a similar activity afterwards. Business Asset Disposal Relief isn't normally available for an investment company.

Yes, if they own shares. Adult children with their own shares can receive dividends taxed at their own rates, which can be much lower if they're students or early in their careers. Different share classes let the company pay dividends to some family members and not others. The shares must be genuinely theirs, and gifting shares can have capital gains and inheritance tax consequences, so the set-up needs care.

If your spouse or civil partner genuinely owns shares, dividends on those shares are taxed on them. That can use a lower tax band. HMRC can challenge arrangements under the settlements rules, for example where shares carry only the right to income, though outright gifts of ordinary shares between spouses are generally protected. Simple ordinary shares with full rights are the safest route.

It can make the payment, but it isn't free money. Any personal cost the company pays for you has to be treated as a dividend, salary or a withdrawal from your director's loan account. If the company owes you money, it can simply reduce that balance. If not, your loan account goes overdrawn, which can mean a section 455 charge for the company and possibly a taxable benefit for you. Decide the route before the money moves.

If you draw money that isn't covered by a dividend, salary or repayment of your own loan, your director's loan account becomes overdrawn. That can trigger the section 455 charge for the company if not repaid in time, and a taxable benefit for you if the loan is large and interest-free. Dividends can only be paid from distributable profits, so an illegal dividend may have to be repaid.

Refinancing puts cash into the company, not into your pocket. Borrowing against company properties isn't taxable for the company, but getting that cash to you still needs a route: repayment of a director's loan, a dividend or salary. If the company owes you money, a refinance can fund repaying it. Otherwise refinancing mainly funds more purchases, which is how many companies grow.

Legally, it's the same kind of private limited company. The difference is the design. A Family Investment Company is set up with different share classes and articles so parents keep control and decide on dividends, while children or a family trust own shares that carry future growth. An ordinary property company is usually owned by the landlord alone or with a spouse, with one class of shares.

Typically parents hold voting shares, which carry control but little or no right to future growth, and children hold non-voting shares, which carry most of the value growth and can receive dividends. Separate classes let the directors pay dividends to some family members and not others. The rights attached to each class are set out in the articles of association, which need careful drafting for tax and family reasons.

Both are common, often together. A loan from you to the company can be repaid to you tax-free over time, and you can charge interest, which is taxable income for you. The loan stays in your estate but doesn't grow. Subscribing for shares puts value in the company in exchange for shares you own. Gifting cash to children to buy their own shares moves value out of your estate after seven years.

Usually not. A gift of cash to an adult child who then subscribes for shares is normally a potentially exempt transfer. There's no tax at the time, and it falls out of your estate if you live seven years. If shares are given to a trust instead, the gift is usually a chargeable transfer, with 20% tax on any value above your available nil-rate band. Annual exemptions can be used alongside.

They can, often through a bare trust or with shares held for them. But if you're the parent who provided the money and dividends are paid to or for a child under 18 who isn't married, the income is taxed as yours if it's over £100 a year. So companies with minor shareholders often don't pay dividends on those shares until the children turn 18, and let the value grow instead.

The company carries on. The shares you still own are in your estate at their value, and so is any loan you made to the company, but the growth shares your children already hold are not. Voting shares with little economic value may be worth relatively little. Your will should deal with who inherits your shares and who takes over as director, and the articles should say how shares can pass.

You can, but it's usually expensive. A transfer to a company you're connected with is treated as a sale at market value for capital gains tax, and SDLT is normally charged on market value too, including the 5% higher-rates surcharge. Incorporation relief may defer the gain if your letting is a genuine business, but it needs the whole business transferred for shares. That's why many families use a FIC for new purchases instead.

Usually the parents, at least at first, because the directors make the day-to-day decisions on buying, selling, borrowing and dividends. Adult children can be added as they become ready to take part. Directors have legal duties to the company and all its shareholders, so they can't simply act in their own interests. The articles and a shareholders' agreement can set out how decisions are made and who can appoint directors.

Yes, if each child holds a separate class of shares. The directors can then declare a dividend on one class and not another, so each child's dividends can reflect their own tax position and needs. The share rights must be genuine and set out in the articles. Paying dividends to a minor child, or to a spouse, needs particular care because of the rules that can tax that income on the parent instead.

Yes, that's one of the main reasons for using one. Parents are usually the directors and hold the voting shares, so they decide on purchases, sales, borrowing and dividends. The articles and a shareholders' agreement can add protection, for example rules on what happens if a child's marriage breaks down, or restrictions on selling shares outside the family.

No. A company that mainly holds let property or other investments is excluded from Business Relief, so any shares you still own are in your estate at their value. The inheritance tax benefit comes from moving shares, and therefore growth, to the next generation while you're alive, not from relief on the shares you keep. A minority holding may be valued at a discount, which can help.

Not simply because you're a director with voting shares. Control alone doesn't usually mean you've reserved a benefit from shares you've given away. Problems arise if you keep a benefit from the gifted shares themselves, for example dividends flowing back to you, or if the arrangements are designed so the value never really leaves you. The share rights and articles need to be drafted with this in mind.

Often, yes. An existing company can reorganise its share capital, adopt new articles and create new share classes, and parents can then give or sell growth shares to their children. The company keeps its properties, so there's no SDLT or capital gains tax on the properties themselves. But gifts of shares are disposals at market value for capital gains tax, and gifts for inheritance tax, so the timing and valuation need planning.

There are annual accounts, a corporation tax return and a confirmation statement, plus ATED returns if the company owns dwellings worth over £500,000. Dividends need proper paperwork and board decisions. Shareholders may need their own tax returns. The running costs are higher than owning property personally, so the structure needs to be big enough for the tax savings to clearly outweigh them. We set up the structure on a fixed fee.

Yes. Many lenders offer buy-to-let mortgages to limited companies, often asking for personal guarantees from the directors. The interest is deductible against rental profits without the Section 24 restriction. Loans from parents can sit alongside bank borrowing. Lenders sometimes have rules about company structure and share classes, so check with your broker before the company is set up.

Yes. Grandparents can lend money to a company or gift cash to adult children or to a trust for grandchildren, using the same rules. The parental settlement rule that taxes a minor child's income on the parent doesn't apply to gifts from grandparents, so dividends to grandchildren under 18 can be taxed as theirs. Each gift still needs to be considered for inheritance tax and the seven-year rule.

The special furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished from 6 April 2025 for income tax and capital gains tax, and from 1 April 2025 for corporation tax. Since then, holiday lets have been taxed in the same way as other rental property, as part of your UK or overseas property business. There's no longer a set of occupancy tests to meet, because there's no separate category to qualify for.

When you sell, the part of the price that relates to fixtures, furniture and equipment you claimed allowances on is brought into the pool as a disposal value. If that's more than the pool balance, the excess is taxed as a balancing charge. Where the pool is left with a balance after the qualifying activity ends, a balancing allowance may be due. How the price is split between the property and its fixtures matters, so agree it with the buyer.

You can't claim capital allowances on new spending on furniture, fixtures and equipment after the abolition date. Instead, replacement of domestic items relief applies, which gives a deduction for replacing like-for-like furnishings, but not for the first purchase. If you had a capital allowances pool before April 2025, you can carry on claiming writing-down allowances on the balance.

Losses carried forward from a furnished holiday let business before April 2025 can now be set against future profits of your wider UK or overseas property business, not just the holiday let. That's a helpful change if you also have long-term lets. Make sure your accountant carries the losses forward correctly, because they're easy to lose sight of when the business categories change.

Generally not any more. Business Asset Disposal Relief, rollover relief and gift holdover relief were available on qualifying holiday lets, but were withdrawn with the regime. There's one exception: if your holiday let business actually stopped before 6 April 2025 (1 April for companies), a sale within three years of it stopping can still qualify, if the conditions were met. The BADR rate is 18% from 6 April 2026.

Not with gift holdover relief for business assets, which was withdrawn for holiday lets from April 2025. A gift to your children is treated as a sale at market value, so capital gains tax can be due on the gain at 18% or 24%. A gift into a trust can still allow the gain to be held over in some cases, but brings inheritance tax charges if it exceeds your nil-rate band.

No. Furnished holiday let profits used to count as relevant UK earnings, which set how much you could pay into a pension with tax relief. That ended with the regime. If your holiday let income was what allowed you to make large pension contributions, you may need to review how much you can contribute and get relief on from 2025/26 onwards.

On a 50:50 basis by default, if you own the property jointly and live together. Under the old rules, couples could split holiday let profits in line with their ownership shares without any declaration. From 2025/26 the normal rule for jointly held property applies. If you own it in unequal shares, you can make a Form 17 declaration, which must reach HMRC within 60 days, to be taxed on your actual shares.

It stopped owners locking in the old capital gains reliefs by signing an unconditional contract before the abolition date and completing afterwards. The rule applies from 6 March 2024, the date the abolition was announced. If you entered into such a contract after that date, you may not get the reliefs you expected. Most owners won't be affected, but it's worth checking if you sold around that time.

Not necessarily. The tax changes made holiday lets less attractive, especially for heavily mortgaged properties owned personally, but they're still taxed like any other rental property. The decision depends on the income after tax and costs, your plans for the property, and the capital gains tax on a sale at 18% or 24%. Compare keeping, converting to a long-term let and selling, with the numbers.

It can make sense for a higher-rate taxpayer with mortgaged holiday lets, because a company deducts interest in full and pays corporation tax at 19% to 25%. Incorporation relief may defer capital gains tax where the letting is run as a genuine business, and holiday lets often involve more day-to-day activity than long-term lets. But SDLT on market value usually applies, and every case needs testing on its facts.

There's no tax charge simply for changing how you let the property, because holiday lets and long-term lets are now in the same property business. Your income and expenses will change, and furniture and furnishings may be treated differently. Check your mortgage terms, because holiday let and buy-to-let mortgages often have different conditions, and local planning or licensing rules may also matter.

Rarely, and the abolition didn't change that. Business Relief isn't available where a business mainly consists of making or holding investments. The courts have generally treated holiday letting as an investment business, even where the owner provides some services. Only lettings with substantial hotel-type services have a realistic chance. Plan on the basis that holiday lets will be in your estate in full for inheritance tax.

There's no election or form to make. From 2025/26, holiday let income is simply reported with your other property income on your Self Assessment return, or on your company's corporation tax return. What matters is that your accountant stops applying the old rules: interest is now restricted for individuals, capital allowances are only claimed on the existing pool, and joint income between spouses follows the 50:50 rule unless you make a Form 17 declaration.

The income tax and capital gains tax changes apply across the UK, so the abolition affects holiday lets everywhere. But property taxes differ. Scotland and Wales have their own land transaction taxes, and local rules on council tax, business rates and short-term let licensing differ too. Those don't change your income tax position, but they do affect the running costs and whether holiday letting still pays.

It depends mainly on your tax rate and what you'll do with the profits. If you're a higher or additional rate taxpayer with a mortgage, and you'll reinvest the rent, a company often comes out ahead because profits are taxed at 19% to 25% and interest is fully deductible. If you need the income to live on, or you're a basic rate taxpayer, owning personally may be simpler and cheaper.

It can. Profits kept in a company aren't your personal income, so they don't count towards the £100,000 level where your personal allowance starts to be withdrawn. Rental profits you own personally do, and Section 24 can push your taxable income higher. Buying new property through a company, and only drawing what you need, can stop your income creeping over that threshold. Dividends you do take out count as your income.

Yes, and many landlords do. Existing properties often stay in personal names, because moving them would trigger capital gains tax and SDLT, while new purchases go into a company. That leaves two sets of accounts and returns, and two ways of drawing income. It works well when the company is used to reinvest profits and the personal properties provide your income.

Often, if one of you pays less tax. Rental profits from property you own jointly as a married couple are split 50:50 by default. If you own it in unequal shares, you can make a declaration on Form 17 so you're each taxed on your actual share. It must reflect real beneficial ownership and reach HMRC within 60 days. Joint ownership also uses two capital gains tax allowances on a sale.

HMRC updated its guidance in July 2026. Interest is allowable only where the borrowed money funds business expenditure, and a capital account that isn't overdrawn doesn't settle the question by itself. Money drawn out to buy another rental property is usually fine. Money used for a home, a car or school fees can mean the interest on that part isn't relievable. Check the position before you refinance, not afterwards.

Refinancing an existing rental property and using the money to buy another rental property generally keeps the interest within your property business, so it gets the same relief as other mortgage interest. If the new property will be in a company, you can lend the money to the company. The company pays your loan back tax-free when it can, while it gets full relief on its own borrowing.

Profits in a company can be reinvested after corporation tax at 19% to 25%, without paying income tax first. Personally, you pay income tax at up to 45% (47% from April 2027) before reinvesting. That difference compounds over years, which is why companies suit landlords who are building rather than living off the portfolio. A Family Investment Company can add inheritance tax benefits too.

Yes, if they genuinely do the work and the pay is reasonable for what they do, such as viewings, tenant liaison or bookkeeping. Wages paid on those terms are a deductible cost of the property business, and they're taxed as the child's income, where their personal allowance may cover them. Pay that's more than the work is worth, or for work that isn't done, isn't deductible. Keep records of hours and tasks.

Usually around a natural trigger: a remortgage when fixed rates end, a change in your income, a plan to sell or gift, or the new property income rates from April 2027. Restructuring has costs, mainly capital gains tax and SDLT, and conditions like the business test for incorporation relief. The best time to look is before you sign a new mortgage deal, so the lending fits the structure.

It depends on the state of the property when you bought it. Repairs to a property that was already fit to let, such as redecorating or replacing a worn kitchen with a similar one, are usually deductible. If the property couldn't be let until the work was done, and the price reflected that, the work is usually capital. Capital costs aren't deductible against rent, but improvements can reduce the gain when you sell.

As your rental profits rise, so do your payments on account. Under Self Assessment you usually make two advance payments towards the current year's tax, on 31 January and 31 July, with a balancing payment the following 31 January. A big jump in profits can mean a large first bill, because the balance and the first payment on account fall due together. If profits will fall, for example after a sale, you can apply to reduce the payments.

The rates don't rise with the number of properties you own, but every residential purchase as a landlord pays the 5% higher-rates surcharge. Multiple dwellings relief has gone, so buying several houses together no longer reduces SDLT, unless you buy six or more in a single transaction and choose non-residential rates. A company buying a dwelling over £500,000 can face 17% unless a relief applies.

Think carefully first. Profits kept in a trading company can be invested in property without paying personal tax to extract them, which is tempting. But significant investment property can make the company fail the trading tests for Business Asset Disposal Relief and reduce Business Relief for inheritance tax. A separate property company, perhaps under a common holding company, is often better. If you've already done it, see our page on separating property from a trading business.

Each of you is taxed on your share of the profits and of any gain, which normally follows your beneficial ownership. Owning property jointly doesn't by itself make you a partnership for tax. If you want a defined arrangement, a declaration of trust, a formal partnership, an LLP or a jointly owned company can each work, with different tax results. Agree what happens if one of you wants to sell before you buy.

If you're UK resident, rent from overseas property is taxable in the UK, but it's treated as a separate overseas property business. Losses from it can't be set against UK rental profits, or the other way round. Tax paid in the country where the property is can usually be credited against the UK tax on the same income. Local taxes, ownership rules and inheritance laws abroad need local advice as well.

The purchase price, SDLT, legal fees and survey costs are capital. They aren't deductible against rent, but they're added to the property's cost and reduce the gain when you sell. Mortgage arrangement and broker fees are finance costs, which for individuals get the same basic rate tax credit as interest. Costs of letting the property, such as agent fees for finding tenants, are deductible against the rent.

Typically for higher or additional rate landlords with significant mortgages who plan to keep and grow the portfolio and reinvest profits. It is less likely to pay for itself if you're a basic-rate taxpayer, need most of the profit to live on, have little debt or expect to sell soon. The break-even point is when the yearly saving has repaid the one-off costs of moving, mainly SDLT and refinancing, so it needs modelling with your figures.

Ramsay v HMRC [2013] is the leading case on whether letting property is a business for incorporation relief. Mrs Ramsay ran a block of flats and spent around 20 hours a week on it herself, and the tribunal found her activity was a business. HMRC now uses that decision's indicators: a serious undertaking earnestly pursued, reasonable continuity, real substance, sound business principles and the pursuit of profit. Passive investment with everything outsourced is harder to fit.

HMRC's guidance says it will accept relief where an individual spends 20 hours or more a week personally on activities that are the sort carried out by a business, such as finding tenants, managing repairs and dealing with arrears. Below that, it looks at each case on its facts. Hours alone aren't decisive, though: the scale, organisation and activity of the letting all matter, and good evidence of what you actually do is essential.

Yes, for transfers on or after 6 April 2026. Incorporation relief used to apply automatically, but Finance Act 2026 changed it so you must make a claim, giving HMRC the details it asks for, including the business, the company and the shares issued. The deadline is the first anniversary of 31 January after the tax year of transfer, so 31 January 2029 for a transfer in 2026/27. The old election to disapply the relief has gone.

Your existing buy-to-let mortgages are in your personal name, so in practice the company will usually need new borrowing to repay them, or your lender must agree to transfer them, which is uncommon. That means arrangement fees, valuations, possibly early repayment charges and company lending criteria. For incorporation relief, HMRC accepts that business liabilities taken over by the company are not treated as non-share consideration, under its concession ESC D32.

There's no legal minimum. What matters for incorporation relief is whether your letting is a business, and portfolios with several properties and real management activity are more likely to meet that test than one or two passively let flats. In practice the costs, especially SDLT and refinancing, mean incorporation tends to make most sense for larger, mortgaged portfolios. Our incorporation calculator gives a first view.

You can transfer selected properties, but incorporation relief requires the whole business and all its assets, other than cash, to go to the company in exchange for shares. Move only part, and relief is unlikely to apply, so any gains on those properties would normally be taxable on transfer. Some landlords accept a gain on a few low-gain properties deliberately, or leave older properties out and buy new ones in a company.

The existing tenancies normally carry on, with the company stepping into your shoes as landlord from completion. Tenants should be told in writing who their new landlord is, deposit protection records should be updated, and letting agency agreements, insurance, licences and certificates moved into the company's name. From completion the rent belongs to the company, so it needs its own bank account and records from day one. Your conveyancer and agent will handle most of this.

Where a property business has been genuinely carried on as a partnership, special SDLT rules for partnerships can reduce or remove the SDLT when the partnership transfers properties to a company owned by the partners. The relief depends on partners being connected with the company and on how the property came into the partnership. It only works on the right facts, with a real partnership operating for good reasons, and HMRC examines these arrangements closely.

No fixed period is set out in the SDLT rules, but a partnership created just before incorporation, mainly to save SDLT, is exactly what HMRC's anti-avoidance rule in section 75A targets. There is also a three-year rule that can charge SDLT where capital or interests change after property goes into a partnership. A partnership that has really operated for several years, with its own accounts and returns, stands on much firmer ground.

Not by itself. The Partnership Act 1890 says joint ownership, even where you share the rent, doesn't of itself create a partnership. A partnership needs a business carried on in common with a view to profit, usually shown by an agreement, a partnership tax return, joint management and a real business. That distinction matters for partnership SDLT relief, so co-owners shouldn't assume they qualify.

Generally no. There's no statutory clearance for incorporation relief, and HMRC's non-statutory clearance service won't give a view on questions of fact, including whether certain activities amount to a business. It may help where there is genuine uncertainty about how the law applies to agreed facts. In practice, landlords rely on a careful analysis of their activity, solid evidence and a well-documented transaction.

If the company owns a dwelling worth more than £500,000, it falls within the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings. Properties let commercially to unconnected tenants usually qualify for property rental business relief, but the company must still file a Relief Declaration Return each year, by 30 April for properties held on 1 April. Letting to family members or allowing them to live there can lose the relief and trigger the charge.

Usually a few months from first advice to completion, depending mostly on the lender. The tax analysis and modelling can be done in weeks, but new company mortgages, valuations, conveyancing for each property and the share issue all take time. Fixed-rate mortgages ending is often the trigger, so starting six months or more ahead of your rate expiry gives you room to plan properly.

SDLT is usually the largest, followed by refinancing costs such as arrangement fees, valuations and any early repayment charges. Add conveyancing on each property, our tax advice and ongoing company accounts and returns. There can also be capital gains tax if incorporation relief doesn't apply. We weigh these against the annual tax saving to show how many years it takes to break even.

Yes, but money doesn't simply flow to you as it did before. Profits belong to the company, so you take them as dividends, salary, pension contributions or repayment of money you're owed. If part of the transfer was paid by crediting a director's loan account, you can draw that down tax-free over time. How you extract profits is a big part of whether incorporation pays.

HMRC says no. In its Spotlight 69, published in April 2025, it set out why moving properties into an LLP, then liquidating it so the properties pass to a company, doesn't work. A new rule for liquidations from 30 October 2024 treats members as disposing of the property at market value, and HMRC also cites SDLT anti-avoidance. Landlords sold these arrangements should take independent advice.

Business Relief isn't available where a business consists wholly or mainly of making or holding investments, or dealing in land or buildings. HMRC treats a property rental business as an investment business, even a large, actively managed one. That applies whether you own the properties personally, in a partnership or through a company. So a portfolio is normally taxed in full at 40% above the nil-rate bands, unlike a trading business.

Usually not. From 6 April 2026, 100% Business and Agricultural Property Relief is limited to the first £2.5m of qualifying property per person, with 50% relief above that. But the allowance only matters if the property qualifies in the first place, and let residential property normally doesn't. It can matter for landlords who also own a trading business, or for genuinely trading activities such as some hotels, where the rules need checking carefully.

Everyone has a nil-rate band of £325,000. If you leave a home you've lived in to your children or grandchildren, a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 can be added. Unused bands pass to a surviving spouse or civil partner, so a married couple can have up to £1m between them. Above that, tax is charged at 40%. These bands are frozen up to and including 2030/31.

Potentially, yes. The residence nil-rate band applies to a property you lived in as your home at some point while you owned it, so a former home that you later let out can qualify, as long as it passes to your direct descendants. A buy-to-let you've never lived in can't. If there's more than one qualifying property, your executors choose which one to use, and the band is still tapered for estates over £2m.

Each estate includes your own share of the portfolio, less your share of the mortgages. If you own as tenants in common, you can leave your share to whoever you choose, such as your children, using your own nil-rate band on the first death. As joint tenants, your share passes automatically to your spouse. Anything passing to a spouse is usually exempt, but it builds up the estate taxed on the second death.

Generally yes. Mortgages secured on the properties are normally deducted from their value, so a highly geared portfolio has a lower taxable value than its gross worth suggests. There are rules that can restrict the deduction in some cases, for example where borrowing funds assets that are themselves exempt. As loans are repaid, the taxable value of the estate rises, which is worth bearing in mind when planning repayments.

An outright gift to a person is a potentially exempt transfer. If you live seven years, it's outside your estate. If you die within seven years, it's added back and uses your nil-rate band first. Tax on the gift itself is reduced on a sliding scale if you die between three and seven years after it: 32%, 24%, 16% or 8% instead of 40%. Remember a gift of property can also trigger capital gains tax.

Yes, if they're genuinely regular, made out of your income rather than capital, and leave you with enough to keep your normal standard of living. Gifts that meet those tests are exempt straight away, with no seven-year wait and no upper limit. Surplus rental income can fund school fees, savings for grandchildren or premiums on a life policy in trust. Keep clear records of income, spending and gifts each year for your executors.

The growth belongs to the person you gave it to, and isn't added to your estate. If you die within seven years, it's the value at the date of the gift that's brought back into account, not the value at death. That's why giving away assets expected to grow, or putting future purchases into a family company owned by your children, can save more than giving away the same value in cash.

Each person can usually transfer up to their available nil-rate band, £325,000, into a trust without the 20% lifetime charge, as long as they haven't made other chargeable transfers in the previous seven years. A couple who own property jointly can therefore each transfer value. Seven years later, each nil-rate band is available again. Capital gains, SDLT where there's a mortgage, and the trust's ongoing charges all need checking first.

It can, mainly by moving future growth out of your estate. You fund the company, and your children hold shares that receive the growth while you keep control through voting shares. A loan you make to the company stays in your estate, but doesn't grow. Shares you give away are gifts that fall out after seven years. It's slower and more controlled than giving property away outright.

For a couple, a joint whole-of-life policy that pays out on the second death is common, because that's usually when the tax falls due. Written in a suitable trust, the payout isn't part of your estate and reaches your family quickly. A term policy can cover the seven years after a large gift. We work out the likely liability, and a regulated financial adviser arranges the cover.

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will count as part of your estate for inheritance tax. Personal representatives will be responsible for reporting and paying the tax. Death-in-service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions are excluded. Landlords who planned to leave their pension untouched and spend other assets first may want to look again at the order in which they draw on their wealth.

Usually no. Assets left to a spouse or civil partner are normally exempt, and the unused nil-rate band passes to them. But that only delays the tax. On the second death, the whole combined portfolio is in one estate, often well above the £2m taper threshold. Planning often works best while both of you are alive, using both sets of allowances and the seven-year clock.

Executors usually need to pay at least some inheritance tax before probate is granted, which is difficult when the estate is mainly properties that can't be sold yet. Tax on land and buildings can usually be paid in ten yearly instalments, with interest on the balance, but it becomes due in full once a property is sold. Life cover, cash reserves or lender facilities can all help. Planning ahead avoids forced sales at the wrong time.

It can make sense if your children are already well provided for. Property left to children is likely to be taxed again when they die, so leaving some directly to grandchildren, or to a trust for them, can skip one round of inheritance tax. Grandchildren also count as direct descendants for the residence nil-rate band. If grandchildren are young, a trust is usually needed so the properties can be managed for them.

Apply to HMRC for approval to receive rent with no tax deducted, online or on form NRL1 if you're an individual, NRL2 for a company or NRL3 for trustees. HMRC will usually approve if your UK tax affairs are up to date, you've had no UK tax obligations before, or you don't expect to owe UK income tax for the year. Once approved, HMRC tells your agent or tenant directly.

Yes. Approval to receive rent gross only changes how the tax is collected, not whether it's due. Individual non-resident landlords normally still file a Self Assessment return each year, declaring the rental profit and paying any tax by the usual deadlines. If you're late with returns or payments, HMRC can withdraw your approval, and your agent will have to start deducting tax again.

For the scheme, an individual whose usual place of abode is outside the UK, which HMRC treats as living abroad for more than six months of the year. That's not the same test as tax residence, so you can be a non-resident landlord under the scheme while still being UK tax resident. For companies and trustees, the scheme also looks at their usual place of abode.

Only if the rent is more than £100 a week. A tenant paying a landlord who lives abroad more than that, with no letting agent involved, must deduct basic-rate tax from the rent, pay it to HMRC quarterly and give the landlord a certificate after the tax year. Many tenants don't know this, so landlords without an agent usually apply to receive rent gross to avoid problems.

For 2026/27, basic-rate income tax of 20%, applied to the rent less allowable expenses the agent pays. From 2027/28 HMRC says the deduction will be at the new property basic rate of 22%. The tax deducted isn't a final charge: you claim credit for it on your Self Assessment return, so you may get some back if your liability is lower, or pay more if it's higher.

Some non-residents can. British citizens, citizens of a European Economic Area country and people who've worked for the UK government during the year are entitled to it, and some double tax agreements give the same right. If you qualify, the first £12,570 of your UK income can be tax-free. You claim it through your Self Assessment return.

Yes. The mortgage interest restriction applies to individuals whether or not they live in the UK, so a non-resident landlord with a UK buy-to-let mortgage gets the basic-rate tax credit rather than a deduction. If your UK income is modest and you qualify for the personal allowance, the effect may be small. A company owning the property, including a non-UK company, deducts interest under the corporation tax rules instead.

Yes. Non-residents must report every disposal of UK land and property to HMRC within 60 days of completion, using a UK property return. That applies even if there's no tax to pay or you've made a loss. Any capital gains tax due is normally paid within the same 60 days. Missing the deadline brings penalties and interest, so it's worth planning before you exchange.

Often. Non-residents only came into UK capital gains tax on residential property from April 2015, and on commercial property from April 2019. If you owned before then, you can usually measure the gain from the market value at that date, rather than what you paid, or use other methods if they give a better result. That can remove much of the gain, so old valuations are worth finding.

Often, yes. Since 1 April 2021, buyers who aren't UK resident pay an extra 2% SDLT on residential purchases in England and Northern Ireland. For individuals, you're non-resident for this purpose if you weren't present in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before buying. It's added on top of the 5% higher rates for additional properties, so a non-resident buying an additional property can pay 7% above standard rates.

Possibly. If you're an individual and you spend at least 183 days in the UK in a continuous 365-day period within the year after your purchase, which can start up to a year before it, you can usually claim the 2% back. The claim has a time limit, so if you're planning to move, keep a record of your days in the UK from the start.

Since 6 April 2020, non-UK resident companies pay UK corporation tax, not income tax, on profits from UK property. That brings corporation tax rates, corporation tax returns and corporate rules on interest and losses. The non-resident landlord scheme still applies, so agents and tenants may still deduct tax unless the company is approved to receive rent gross, with any tax deducted credited against the company's corporation tax.

Not for UK homes. Since April 2017, shares in an overseas company or interests in a partnership are within UK inheritance tax to the extent their value comes from UK residential property. So enveloping a UK buy-to-let in an offshore company doesn't take it out of your estate. UK property held directly is within inheritance tax wherever you live, so non-resident landlords need planning too.

Usually not in full. The UK taxes rent from UK property whatever your residence, and many countries also tax their residents on worldwide income. Double tax agreements normally give the UK the first right to tax UK property income and require your country of residence to give credit for UK tax paid, or to exempt the income. The details vary by country, so check the treaty and local rules.

It depends on your income, financing, plans and where you live. A UK or overseas company pays corporation tax on rental profits and deducts interest in full, but faces the 2% non-resident surcharge if it's non-resident or controlled by non-residents, possibly ATED, and tax again when profits reach you. Your country of residence may also tax company profits or dividends differently. We compare both with your figures.

You leave the non-resident landlord scheme, so tell your agent and HMRC, and rent is paid without deduction. You stay in Self Assessment and are taxed on your worldwide income once UK resident again, depending on the statutory residence test and any split-year treatment. If you'll move back into a property you let, private residence relief and the timing of a later sale need thinking about.

Its market value on the date of the gift. A gift to a child, or anyone connected with you, is treated as if you sold the property for its full value, so you can owe capital gains tax at 18% or 24% on the growth since you bought it, even though you received nothing. The 60-day reporting and payment deadline applies too. Your child takes the property at that value for their own future gain.

Not with an outright gift. Gift holdover relief for business assets covers trading assets and shares in trading companies, and an ordinary rental property isn't a trading asset. Furnished holiday lets used to qualify, but that ended in April 2025. Holdover is available on gifts into most trusts, because those gifts are chargeable transfers for inheritance tax, which is one reason trusts are still used.

A gift with no payment is normally exempt from SDLT. But if your child takes over the mortgage, or a share of it, the debt they take on counts as the price, and SDLT is charged on that amount. If they already own a home, the 5% higher-rates surcharge can apply too. Clearing or keeping the mortgage before the gift changes the SDLT result, so plan the order.

Yes. You can give a share of a property each year, for example a quarter at a time. Each gift is a separate disposal for capital gains tax, so you can use a fresh £3,000 annual exempt amount and basic rate band each year, and each starts its own seven-year clock for inheritance tax. You'll need a declaration of trust, your lender's agreement, and to make sure the rent follows the ownership.

Only your share. If you give your child half a property, the rent should be split in line with the new ownership, so you keep half and they receive half. Keeping more than your share is a reservation of benefit for inheritance tax, so the gifted part stays in your estate. It also creates a mismatch for income tax between who owns the rent and who receives it. Set the split out in a declaration of trust.

It's a trade-off. A lifetime gift can save inheritance tax at 40% if you survive seven years, but it triggers capital gains tax now. Leaving property in your will means no capital gains tax, because gains are wiped out on death, but inheritance tax applies in full. Properties with small gains are often the best to gift, while those with large gains may be better kept.

You can, but tax looks through the price. For capital gains tax, a sale to your child is treated as made at market value, whatever they pay. For inheritance tax, the difference between the value and the price is a gift, subject to the seven-year rule. SDLT, on the other hand, is usually charged on the price actually paid, including any mortgage taken over.

Yes, by giving them a share. A gift of, say, half of a property is treated as a disposal of that share at market value for capital gains tax, and as a gift for inheritance tax. From then on, rental profits are normally taxed on each owner by their actual share, because the 50:50 rule only applies to married couples and civil partners. Your lender will need to agree.

Each owner is taxed on the share of profit they're actually entitled to, which normally follows the beneficial ownership set out in a declaration of trust or the deeds. Unlike spouses, there's no automatic 50:50 split. If you keep more of the rent than your ownership share, HMRC may look at the reality of the arrangement, and for inheritance tax it can be a reservation of benefit.

Gifts into most trusts let you hold over the capital gain, so there's usually no CGT up front. But they're immediately charged to inheritance tax at 20% on value above your available nil-rate band, and the trust then has charges of up to 6% every ten years and when property leaves it. Trustees pay CGT at 24% on later gains. Many families transfer up to the nil-rate band every seven years to avoid the entry charge.

Yes. A loan isn't a gift, so there's no capital gains tax and no seven-year clock. But the loan stays in your estate at its full value for inheritance tax, while any growth in the property belongs to your child. You can write off part of the loan later as a gift. Put the loan in writing, and decide whether it should be secured on the property and whether it carries interest, which would be taxable income for you.

Only if you pay a full market rent for living there, and keep doing so. Otherwise it's a gift with reservation of benefit and stays in your estate for inheritance tax. Your child would also be taxed on the rent you pay. If the property was your main home, private residence relief may cover your gain on the gift, but it won't usually be your child's main home for their later sale.

A property given outright belongs to your child and can be taken into account in a divorce. Trusts, family company shares with restrictions in the articles, and prenuptial agreements can all give more protection than an outright gift. It's one reason families often prefer structures that keep the asset separate from the child's personal wealth, at least while they're younger.

The capital gains tax side usually does. If you're UK resident and there's tax to pay on a gift of residential property, a 60-day return and payment are needed, as on a sale. The gift then goes on your Self Assessment return. A potentially exempt transfer isn't reported for inheritance tax at the time, but keep records, because your executors will need them.

It can. Once she owns a residential property, she's no longer a first-time buyer, so she loses first-time buyer relief. And because she'll own another dwelling when she buys her own home, she'll usually pay the 5% higher-rates surcharge on that purchase too. The extra SDLT can be significant. It's often better to time a gift after she has bought her own home, or to use a trust or family company instead.

Look at the gain on each property, the expected growth, the mortgage and the rent. A property with a small gain but strong growth prospects is often a good candidate, because the capital gains tax now is low and the future growth leaves your estate. Mortgaged properties bring SDLT and lender issues. We rank the options for your portfolio with the numbers.

SPV stands for special purpose vehicle. In buy-to-let, it means a limited company set up only to buy, hold and let property, with no other trading activity. Lenders prefer SPVs because the company's finances are simple to assess. Tax-wise it's an ordinary company: it pays corporation tax on rental profits and gains, and you're taxed again when you take money out as dividends or salary.

From 1 April 2026, 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% on profits above £250,000, with marginal relief giving an effective rate between those figures. The limits are shared between associated companies, so owning several companies can push each into the higher rate sooner. Rental profits are calculated with mortgage interest deducted in full, and gains on selling property are also charged to corporation tax.

Form the company at Companies House before you exchange contracts, with a property-letting business activity, the directors and shareholders you've planned for, and its own bank account. Lenders usually want a company that only holds property. Decide the shareholdings first, because changing them later can have tax consequences, and think about lending your deposit rather than paying it in as share capital. Remember that companies pay the SDLT higher rates on every residential purchase.

Often a little, though the gap has narrowed as more lenders offer limited company buy-to-let. Interest rates and fees can be higher, the choice of lenders is smaller, and nearly all lenders ask directors and main shareholders to give personal guarantees. Lenders also look at rental cover differently for companies. Your mortgage broker can compare products, and we'll make sure the structure they finance works for tax.

Not usually. A close company that exists mainly to make investments is a close investment-holding company, which pays the 25% main rate on all its profits. A company letting land commercially escapes that, but letting to people connected with the company, including their spouses and relatives, doesn't count as commercial. Letting a company-owned property to family can also bring ATED and income tax issues for the occupier.

Many landlords simply hold the shares personally, which keeps things simple. A holding company can help when you have several property companies or a trading business, for example to move money between companies or keep risk separate. It adds cost and the companies become associated, sharing the corporation tax limits. Our sister site [holding-company.co.uk](https://holding-company.co.uk) explains the wider structuring.

It can make sense. Spreading shares across family members can use their personal allowances and lower tax bands on dividends, and can move future growth out of your estate for inheritance tax. There are rules to watch: income from shares a parent gives to their own minor child is generally taxed on the parent, and HMRC can challenge arrangements that simply divert income. Different share classes, as used in Family Investment Companies, give more flexibility.

Yes, and it's common. Most landlords subscribe for a small number of shares and lend the rest of the deposit to the company through a director's loan account. The company can repay that loan to you tax-free later when it has the cash. You can also charge the company interest, which it deducts, though you're taxed on the interest as savings income.

Companies don't pay capital gains tax. Their gains are included in profits and charged to corporation tax at 19% to 25%. There's no annual exempt amount for companies. Unlike individuals, a company doesn't currently need to make a separate 60-day return on a UK residential sale if it's UK resident. To get the proceeds to you personally, there's a second layer of tax when you take them out.

Less often. Much of the case for a company comes from full mortgage interest relief, which doesn't matter if there's no debt. For a cash buyer, the comparison is corporation tax plus tax on extraction against personal tax at your marginal rate. If you'd reinvest profits for years, the company can still win. If you need the income now, owning personally is often simpler and cheaper.

You can, but it's usually expensive. The company is treated as selling at market value, so it pays corporation tax on any gain. You're then treated as receiving value from the company, typically a dividend or distribution, unless you pay full price. SDLT can be due on what you pay or any mortgage you take over, including the surcharge if you own other homes. It's far better to choose the right owner at the start.

No. One company can own a whole portfolio, and that's usually simplest. Some landlords set up more than one, for example to keep a development project separate from long-term lets, to suit a lender, or for different family members. Each company adds accounts and filings, and companies under common control share the corporation tax thresholds, so more companies doesn't mean more lower-rate profit.

A company must keep accounting records, file annual accounts and a confirmation statement at Companies House, and file a corporation tax return with HMRC. It also needs a register of shareholders and directors and of people with significant control. If it owns a dwelling over £500,000, it files ATED returns. Keeping company money separate from your own, and documenting loans with the company, avoids most problems.

Often when you're a basic-rate taxpayer who needs most of the rental profit to live on, when you have little or no borrowing, or when you plan to sell within a few years. The double layer of tax on extraction, extra running costs and company mortgage terms can outweigh the saving. A company tends to suit higher-rate landlords building a long-term portfolio and reinvesting profits.

You can, and some buyers prefer it. You'd pay capital gains tax on the gain on your shares, at 18% or 24%, rather than the company paying corporation tax on each property and you paying tax again to extract the cash. The buyer pays 0.5% stamp duty on the shares instead of SDLT on the properties. Buyers usually ask for a discount for the gains built up inside the company, and want thorough due diligence.

From 6 April 2027, individuals pay separate property income rates of 22%, 42% and 47% on rental profits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Companies are unaffected and continue to pay corporation tax. So the gap between personal and company ownership widens slightly for profits that stay in the company. Dividend rates haven't changed for 2027, so the overall comparison still depends on how much you take out.

Start with what's prompting the question. Rising tax on mortgaged rentals points to Section 24 and possibly incorporation. A new purchase raises whether to buy personally or in a company, and the SDLT. A sale brings capital gains tax and the 60-day return. Thinking about the next generation means inheritance tax and passing property on. If you're not sure, a first call will identify which issues matter most for your portfolio.

Yes, and for many landlords that's the most useful starting point. A portfolio review looks at ownership, borrowing, income, gains already built up, your plans and your estate together, because a fix for one tax can create a problem in another. Incorporating to solve Section 24, for example, affects SDLT, capital gains and inheritance tax. You get a written summary of the options worth pursuing, on a fixed fee.

At least every few years, and whenever something significant changes: a new purchase, a remortgage, a sale, a change in your other income, a move abroad, marriage, divorce or a death in the family. Tax rules also change. The new property income rates from April 2027 and the changes to incorporation relief claims from April 2026 are good reasons to look again even if nothing else has moved.

From 6 April 2027, individuals' rental profits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are taxed at 22%, 42% and 47%, with the Section 24 credit rising to 22%. Before then, check what the change costs you, whether income should be split differently with a spouse, whether new purchases belong in a company, and whether incorporating the existing portfolio now looks more attractive. Companies aren't affected by the new rates.

Yes, it's one of the most common set-ups we see: older properties held personally, newer ones bought through a company. We look at both together, because decisions about one affect the other, for example how you fund deposits, which properties to sell first, how much to take from the company and how the whole portfolio is passed on. Sometimes the answer is to leave both as they are.

Yes. Houses in multiple occupation and serviced accommodation are taxed under the same property income rules, and since April 2025 holiday and short lets no longer have special treatment. These portfolios often involve more hands-on management, which can be relevant to whether the letting is a business for incorporation relief. They also raise their own SDLT and VAT questions, which we'll flag where they arise.

Yes, for landlords whose portfolios include shops, offices or mixed-use buildings alongside residential lets. Commercial property is treated differently in several ways: Section 24 doesn't restrict interest on commercial loans, SDLT uses non-residential rates, and VAT can apply. Mixed portfolios need the borrowing and ownership looked at carefully, because the split between residential and commercial affects how much tax relief you get.

Yes. Trusts holding property have their own rules for income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax, including periodic and exit charges for most trusts. Trustees are also within Section 24. We advise trustees and families on how a trust-held portfolio is taxed, whether property should stay in trust, and what happens when it is distributed to beneficiaries, working with the trust's solicitors.

You normally take the properties at their value at the date of death, so a later sale is only taxed on growth since then. Think about whether to keep, sell or restructure before you start letting on your own account, how they fit with properties you already own, whether to share ownership with family, and your own inheritance tax position now that your estate is larger. A deed of variation may be worth considering within two years.

Yes, ideally several months before. A remortgage is often the cheapest moment to change structure, because you're already arranging new borrowing and may avoid early repayment charges. If incorporation, a transfer to a spouse or a new company is on the cards, the new loans need to fit that plan. Arranging a five-year fix first and planning afterwards can lock you in.

Yes, and the time to ask is before you exchange contracts. We'll look at whether to buy personally, jointly or through a company, the SDLT including any surcharges, how the deposit should go in, and how it fits the rest of your portfolio and plans. Ownership is far cheaper to get right at the start than to change later, when SDLT and capital gains tax can apply.

Yes. Selling in the right order and in the right tax years can make a real difference to capital gains tax. We look at the gain on each property, who owns it, your other income, annual exempt amounts, any losses and whether a property was ever your home. We'll also flag the 60-day reporting deadline and whether proceeds should repay debt, be reinvested or be gifted.

Rarely. Long-held properties often have large gains, which can make moving them expensive, but there's still plenty to plan: how income is split, how future purchases are made, how and when properties are sold, and how the portfolio passes on. For inheritance tax, the seven-year clock means earlier is better, but planning in your seventies or eighties can still save a great deal.

Yes. Landlords often come to us after being offered a scheme or a restructure and wanting an independent view before committing. We review the proposal, the assumptions behind it and the risks, and tell you plainly whether it holds up. We're particularly cautious about arrangements HMRC has publicly challenged, such as LLP and liquidation routes for moving a portfolio into a company.

Yes. We advise companies that already own portfolios on corporation tax, extracting profits, director's loan accounts, ATED, bringing family members in as shareholders, adding a holding company and selling or winding up. We also advise landlords setting up a company for new purchases. Many clients have both personal and company-owned property, and we look at the two together.

Yes. Business owners often hold investment property inside their trading company, which can block Business Asset Disposal Relief and complicate a sale. Moving the property out, typically through a demerger, can fix that, but it needs careful structuring and often HMRC clearance. Our sister site [Demerger Tax](https://demergertax.co.uk) explains the options, and our page on separating property from a business covers the landlord side.

Yes, and for couples it usually makes sense. Who owns what, in what shares, and who has spare tax bands are central to good property tax planning, from income splitting to inheritance tax. We can advise you jointly, with both of you on calls, and we'll be clear about any point where your interests could differ, for example on a transfer between you.

Acting first and asking about tax afterwards. Transferring properties into a company, a spouse's name or a child's name, or buying in the wrong name, can trigger capital gains tax and SDLT that can't be undone. Other frequent issues are missing the 60-day CGT deadline, poor records of what each loan funded, and drawing money from a company without a plan. A short conversation beforehand avoids most of them.

Leaving the UK changes how your rent is collected, how a sale is reported and sometimes how a purchase is taxed. Decide first whether to keep, sell or restructure, because some changes are easier while you're UK resident. Then tell your letting agent, consider applying to receive rent gross under the non-resident landlord scheme, and plan for Self Assessment, the 60-day return on any sale and the SDLT surcharge if you buy again.

Yes. Most landlords come to us about income tax or incorporation, but the same decisions shape inheritance tax, so we always consider it. Let property rarely qualifies for Business Relief, so a large portfolio can face 40% tax above the nil-rate bands. Gifts, Family Investment Companies, trusts and insurance can all help, and we'll show you how today's choices affect your estate.

Yes. Choosing who owns a property, whether to buy through a company, how to take profits and when to sell or gift are all legitimate choices the tax rules expect people to make. What HMRC challenges is artificial avoidance: contrived steps with no real purpose beyond saving tax, such as some LLP and liquidation schemes it has publicly warned against. We advise on planning that works on its facts and stands up to scrutiny.

If you already own a home or another residential property, a buy-to-let purchase is charged at the higher rates: 5% on the first £125,000, 7% from £125,001 to £250,000, 10% from £250,001 to £925,000, 15% from £925,001 to £1.5m and 17% above that. Each rate applies only to the slice of the price in that band. These apply to purchases in England and Northern Ireland.

Because companies pay the higher rates on every purchase of a dwelling in England or Northern Ireland, whether or not they own other property. Individuals only pay the surcharge if they already own another residential property and aren't replacing their main home. So a landlord's first company purchase pays the same higher rates as their tenth. It's one of the costs to weigh when deciding whether to buy personally or through a company.

When a company, or another non-natural person, buys a dwelling for more than £500,000. Instead of the banded calculation, 17% is charged on the whole price. But relief from the flat rate is available for a genuine property rental business letting to unconnected tenants, and for developers and traders. Where relief applies, the company pays the higher banded rates instead. The relief is withdrawn if conditions stop being met within three years.

Usually not. Relief from the 17% flat rate is for genuine property rental businesses letting to unconnected tenants. If someone connected with the company, such as a director, shareholder or a member of their family, lives in the property, the relief isn't available, and it can be withdrawn if that happens within three years of the purchase. ATED relief is affected too. A company property for family use needs separate advice before you buy.

Nothing directly. Multiple dwellings relief was abolished for purchases completing on or after 1 June 2024, unless contracts were exchanged on or before 6 March 2024. The main remaining option for bulk purchases is that six or more dwellings bought in a single transaction can be treated as non-residential, which uses lower rates and no surcharge. For fewer than six, the residential rates are applied to the total price of all the linked purchases, which can push more of it into the higher bands.

Yes, if the six or more dwellings are bought in a single transaction, you can choose to treat the purchase as non-residential. The non-residential rates are 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above that, with no higher-rates surcharge. On a block of flats this can be much cheaper than residential rates. The dwellings must genuinely form one transaction, such as one contract with one seller.

A property that includes both residential and non-residential elements, such as a shop with a flat above, is usually charged at the non-residential and mixed-use rates: 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above. The higher-rates surcharge doesn't apply. HMRC looks closely at claims that a property is mixed use, for example a house with a paddock, so the facts need to support it.

You are, as the buyer. Your conveyancer usually prepares and files the return, but the legal responsibility for the tax, and for any underpayment, interest and penalties, sits with you. That matters on investor purchases, where claims such as non-residential treatment, mixed use or relief from the 17% rate can be challenged by HMRC. Get advice on any claim that reduces the tax before the return is filed.

It can. A gift with no payment is normally exempt, but taking over a mortgage counts as paying a price. If your son takes over a £150,000 mortgage on a property you give him, SDLT is worked out on £150,000, and if he already owns a home, at the higher rates. Transfers between spouses on divorce under a court order or formal agreement are exempt.

No. SDLT is charged on land and buildings, not on furniture and other moveable items. If you're buying a furnished property, part of the price can be allocated to the furniture, and SDLT is charged only on the rest. The split must be a just and reasonable reflection of what the items are worth, and HMRC challenges inflated figures. Fixtures that form part of the building, such as a fitted kitchen, count as part of the property.

No. Wales has Land Transaction Tax instead of SDLT, with its own rates. Since 11 December 2024, the higher residential rates for additional properties start at 5% up to £180,000 and rise in steps to 17% above £1.5m. Companies always pay the higher rates. The bands and reliefs differ from England, so calculations for Welsh properties need to use the Welsh rules.

Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. Investors usually pay the Additional Dwelling Supplement, 8% of the whole purchase price since 5 December 2024, on top of the normal LBTT rates. It applies to most residential purchases by companies even if they own no other dwellings. Revenue Scotland collects LBTT, and its rules and reliefs differ from SDLT, so treat Scottish purchases separately.

Often it's the same for an existing landlord, because both pay the higher rates on a buy-to-let. The differences are the 17% flat rate for a company buying a dwelling over £500,000, unless a relief applies, and the fact that a company pays the higher rates even on its first purchase. Looking ahead, moving a property into a company later means paying SDLT again on market value, so decide the long-term owner at the start.

Generally not on a buy-to-let. Refunds of the higher rates are for individuals who paid the surcharge when buying a new main home and then sell their previous main home within the time limit. A purchase that's an investment from the start doesn't qualify. If you think a purchase was charged incorrectly, for example where mixed use or six-dwelling treatment was missed, an amendment may still be possible within the time limits.

No. Buying shares in a company that owns property is subject to stamp duty on shares at 0.5%, not SDLT on the property. That can make buying a property-owning company look attractive. But the company keeps the properties' original base cost for gains, may come with liabilities, and lenders and buyers will want thorough due diligence. It needs careful advice on both sides of the deal.

You add back your mortgage interest and other finance costs, so you're taxed on the rental profit before interest. HMRC then gives a tax reduction equal to the basic rate on the lowest of three figures: your finance costs (plus any unused amount brought forward), your property profits for the year, and your taxable income above your personal allowance excluding savings and dividends. For 2026/27 the reduction is 20%. Anything that can't be relieved this year carries forward to the next.

No. Section 24 only restricts finance costs on loans that relate to residential lettings, which the legislation calls dwelling-related loans. Interest on a loan used for a shop, office or other commercial property let as part of your property business is still deducted in full when working out your profit. If a portfolio mixes residential and commercial property, the borrowing needs to be split sensibly between the two, and good records of what each loan funded make a real difference.

Often not directly, because a basic-rate taxpayer gets a 20% credit on interest that would otherwise have been relieved at 20%. The catch is band creep. Because the interest is added back, your taxable income rises and part of it can tip into the higher rate band. Landlords with large mortgages and modest rental margins are most exposed, sometimes paying higher-rate tax on income they never actually had in their pocket.

Yes, under the rules legislated in Finance Act 2026. From 6 April 2027, rental profits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are taxed at new property rates of 22%, 42% and 47%, and the Section 24 credit is calculated at the property basic rate of 22% instead of 20%. The higher credit offsets the rate rise on the interest itself, so the extra tax is roughly 2% of your profit after interest.

Broadly, about 2% more on rental profit after interest. Take a higher-rate landlord with £50,000 of rent less expenses before interest and £20,000 of interest. In 2026/27 the bill on that income is 40% of £50,000 less a 20% credit on £20,000: £16,000. In 2027/28 it becomes 42% of £50,000 less a 22% credit on £20,000: £16,600. Real figures depend on your bands and other income.

It can. The personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and disappears at £125,140. Because Section 24 adds your mortgage interest back into income, your adjusted net income can cross £100,000 even if your real profit is well below it. The effective tax rate in that band is very high, which is why landlords near the threshold should model their position each year.

It can do. The High Income Child Benefit Charge applies where adjusted net income is over £60,000, and the full benefit is clawed back at £80,000. Since Section 24 adds mortgage interest back into your income, rental profits can pull you over the threshold even though your cash income hasn't changed. Families claiming child benefit with a mortgaged portfolio should check where their adjusted net income really falls.

It isn't lost. If the credit is capped, for example because finance costs exceed your property profits or your taxable income is low, the unrelieved finance costs carry forward to later years with no time limit. They're added to the next year's finance costs when the credit is worked out. That carried-forward figure is worth tracking, because it has value if your rental profits rise or you restructure.

Yes. The restriction applies to individuals, including individuals in a partnership, and to trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries of estates. Companies are the main exception. Trust and estate cases have their own rules for the tax reduction, so a portfolio held in a trust, or one being administered after a death, needs the calculation done carefully rather than assumed to work like a personal return.

No. Section 24 applies to individuals whether they let property alone or in partnership, so simply forming a partnership doesn't restore full interest relief. A genuine partnership can be useful in other ways, for example for flexible profit sharing or as part of a later move to a company, but it isn't a fix in itself. Be wary of schemes promising otherwise, as HMRC has challenged several.

Paying down debt removes the restricted interest, so it is the simplest fix, and it suits landlords with cash or properties they'd sell anyway. But capital tied up in a property earns only the rental yield, you may face early repayment charges, and selling to repay debt can trigger capital gains tax. It's worth comparing the after-tax saving on interest with what that money could earn or fund elsewhere.

Moving a share to a spouse or civil partner with spare basic-rate band can cut Section 24 tax. Transfers between spouses or civil partners living together are normally at no gain and no loss for capital gains tax, so the gain isn't triggered. Watch for SDLT where mortgage debt moves with the share, lender consent and the need for the beneficial ownership to be genuine.

Form 17 must reach HMRC within 60 days of the date the last spouse or civil partner signed it. HMRC applies that limit strictly and can't extend it. The new income split applies from the signature date, not earlier, so it can't be backdated. Form 17 only works where you genuinely own the property in unequal shares, usually evidenced by a declaration of trust, and the income split matches the ownership.

No. Joint tenants own the whole property together, not separate shares, so they can't declare unequal interests. Married couples and civil partners who own as joint tenants are taxed 50:50 on the income. To change that, you would first need to sever the joint tenancy so you hold as tenants in common, then record unequal shares, usually with a declaration of trust, before sending Form 17.

The restriction itself works the same way, but Scottish taxpayers pay Scottish income tax rates on rental profits, so the gap between the tax you pay on interest and the 20% credit can be wider. From April 2027 the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd can set their own property income rates, and the details for Scottish landlords were still to be confirmed at the time of writing. We'll check the current position for you.

Yes. Furnished holiday lets used to be outside Section 24, but the special regime was abolished from 6 April 2025 for income tax. Since then, finance costs on former holiday lets are restricted in the same way as other residential lettings, with only the basic-rate credit. Owners who relied on full interest relief for holiday lets often see a sharp rise in tax and should review their options.

Yes. Companies aren't affected by Section 24, so interest on a company's buy-to-let mortgage is deducted in full against its rental profits before corporation tax. That's why many growing landlords buy new properties through a company while keeping existing ones personally. The trade-offs are company mortgage terms, SDLT surcharges on every purchase, and tax when you take money out, so it's worth modelling first.

Common reasons are a planned sale of the trading business, where the buyer doesn't want the property; protecting the property from the risks of the trade; passing the business and the property to different family members; and protecting tax reliefs. Investment property inside a trading company can affect Business Asset Disposal Relief, Business Relief for inheritance tax and holdover relief, because those reliefs depend on the company being mainly trading.

Yes. Business Asset Disposal Relief on a share sale needs the company to be a trading company, which means its activities don't include non-trading activities to a substantial extent. HMRC uses 20% as an indicator, looking at things like income, assets, expenses and time. A company that has built up a significant let property portfolio alongside its trade can fail that test and lose the relief for its shareholders.

Shares in a trading company can qualify for Business Relief, which from April 2026 gives 100% relief on the first £2.5m of qualifying property per person. But property that isn't used in the business is an excepted asset, so its value is taken out of the relief. If the investments become the main activity, the company can lose Business Relief altogether, because businesses mainly holding investments are excluded.

It can, but it's often expensive. If the company sells or transfers the property to you, the company is taxed on any gain at corporation tax rates. You're then taxed on the value you receive, usually as a dividend at up to 39.35%. SDLT can also arise, for example if you take over a mortgage on the property. A demerger is designed to avoid that double charge by moving the property to a new company owned by the same shareholders.

It's a reorganisation that splits a company's trade and its property into separate companies, usually both owned by the original shareholders. Done properly, it can move the property out without the corporation tax, income tax and SDLT charges that a simple transfer would bring. There are several routes, each with conditions, and most need advance clearance from HMRC. Our sister site, Demerger Tax, covers them in depth.

Usually not. The statutory demerger rules are designed for splitting trades. They require the companies involved to be trading companies or trading groups, and dealing in or holding land isn't treated as a trade for this purpose. So separating a let property portfolio from a trade normally relies on a different route, such as a capital reduction demerger or a liquidation demerger, which use the reconstruction reliefs instead.

It's a route where a new holding company is put on top of the trading company, the property is transferred up, and then the holding company reduces its share capital by transferring the property, or a company holding it, to a second new company owned by the shareholders. Company law allows this with a solvency statement, without going to court. Tax reliefs for reconstructions can then apply if the conditions are met.

The original company is placed into members' voluntary liquidation, and the liquidator transfers the trade to one new company and the property to another, with each issuing shares to the shareholders. It's well established but involves a licensed insolvency practitioner, a declaration of solvency and formal liquidation steps. It's often used where a capital reduction route isn't available, or where the company is being restructured more widely.

In practice, yes. The capital gains, income tax and transactions in securities rules all have anti-avoidance tests, and clearance applications let HMRC confirm in advance that it won't apply them. HMRC normally responds within 30 days of a complete application. Since 26 November 2025, the reconstruction reliefs have used a main purpose test, so the commercial reasons for the demerger need to be set out clearly.

There can be. SDLT reliefs exist for transfers within a group and for company reconstructions, but they have conditions and can be withdrawn if there's a change of control within three years. A market value rule also applies to transfers to connected companies. The SDLT cost often decides which demerger route is used, so it needs modelling at the start, not after the steps are agreed.

Usually, if the buyer only wants the trade. Separating it first lets you sell the trading company on its own, and keep the property, perhaps letting it back to the business. But the anti-avoidance rules look at whether the demerger is part of arrangements with a main purpose of avoiding tax, and a sale that follows soon after needs careful handling. Start well before you approach buyers.

Yes, and many do. The property company grants a lease to the trading company at a market rent. The rent is deductible for the trading company and taxable in the property company. Keeping the terms commercial and documented matters, because a buyer of the trading business will want a proper lease, and HMRC will expect arm's length terms between the two companies.

Yes, and that's often the aim. Premises used in the trade are part of the trading business, so they don't count against trading status and normally qualify for Business Relief along with the shares. It's investment property, let to outsiders or not used in the trade, that causes the problems. A demerger can be designed to move only the investment properties, leaving the business with the premises it needs.

Typically a few months from first advice to completion. Clearance applications alone take around 30 days for HMRC to respond, and longer if they ask questions. Valuations, legal documents, lender consent and accounts also take time. If you're planning a sale or a family transfer, allow plenty of time before any deadline. We respond the same working day, so an initial view can come quickly.

Not always. If the property is a small part of the company's value and income, and isn't threatening its trading status or a sale, it may be simpler to leave it where it is. A demerger has legal, valuation and advisory costs, and ongoing costs for a second company. We'll look at the numbers and tell you honestly if separating isn't worth it.

It runs your figures twice. First it taxes your rent less costs with mortgage interest left out of the profit and given back only as a basic-rate tax credit, which is how Section 24 works. Then it taxes the same figures as if the interest were fully deductible, the way rental profits were taxed before the restriction. The difference is the extra tax Section 24 costs you each year. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored.

Four numbers for a full tax year: the rent you receive, the mortgage interest you pay on your rental properties, your other allowable letting costs, and your other taxable income such as salary, pension or self-employment profit. Your last tax return or your accountant's rental accounts are the easiest source. If you own properties jointly, enter your own share of the rent, interest and costs, because each owner is taxed separately on their share.

No. Only the interest part of your mortgage payments is a finance cost. Capital repayments reduce the loan rather than being a cost of borrowing, so they're never deductible and never qualify for the Section 24 credit, even though they come out of your cash. If you have repayment mortgages, your annual lender statement usually shows how much of the year's payments was interest. Leave out interest on loans for commercial property too, as Section 24 doesn't apply to it.

The credit is the basic rate multiplied by the smallest of three figures: your finance costs, your rental profit before interest, and your income other than savings and dividends after the personal allowance. In 2026/27 the rate is 20%. The calculator applies the same test, so a landlord whose interest is larger than their rental profit gets a credit only on the profit, not the full interest bill. It doesn't add amounts brought forward from earlier years.

Yes. Finance Act 2026 links the credit to the new property basic rate, so from 2027/28 it's 22% rather than 20%. At the same time, rental profits will be taxed at their own rates of 22%, 42% and 47% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Choose 2027/28 in the calculator to see both changes together. For 2026/27, rent is still taxed at 20%, 40% and 45% with a 20% credit.

For a higher-rate taxpayer, Section 24 costs the gap between the rate on the rent and the rate of the credit. In 2026/27 that's 40% less 20%; in 2027/28 it's 42% less 22%. Both gaps are 20 percentage points, so the extra cost of Section 24 itself barely moves. What does change is the total tax on your rental profit, which rises by two percentage points in every band from April 2027, whatever your borrowing.

If your interest is more than your rental profit before interest, or more than your taxable income, the credit is capped and the unused interest carries forward. The calculator shows this amount separately. Carried-forward finance costs aren't lost: they're added to the next year's relievable amount and can be used whenever there's enough rental profit, with no time limit. Heavily geared portfolios and years with large repair bills are where this usually shows up.

It can. Because mortgage interest isn't deducted, your taxable income is higher than your real profit. Once total income goes above £100,000, the £12,570 personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 over, and it's gone completely at £125,140. The calculator builds in this taper, which is why landlords with income in that range can see a much larger Section 24 cost than they expected.

Often not much. If all your income, including rent before interest, stays within the basic rate band, the 20% credit matches the 20% tax you'd have saved, so the calculator may show little or no extra tax. Problems start when adding back interest pushes you into the higher rate band, or when interest exceeds your rental profit and the credit is capped. That's why landlords who see themselves as basic-rate taxpayers can still be caught.

No to both. Section 24 restricts finance costs for individuals, partnerships, trustees and estates letting residential property. A company deducts its interest in full against its rental profits and pays corporation tax instead. Loans for commercial property, such as shops or offices, are also outside the restriction. The calculator assumes residential property owned personally, so don't include rent or interest from commercial lets in your figures.

Yes. The furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished from 6 April 2025, and with it the exemption from the finance cost restriction. Interest on a former holiday let owned personally now gets only the basic-rate credit, like any other residential let. You can include holiday let rent, costs and interest in the calculator alongside your other properties. Losses from the old holiday let business carry forward against your wider property business.

Only partly. The calculator shows the corporation tax a company would pay on your cash profit: 19% up to £50,000, 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief in between. That's tax on profits left in the company. Taking money out as dividends or salary is taxed again, and moving properties into a company can trigger capital gains tax and SDLT. The incorporation calculator gives a fuller picture of that decision.

It's for one individual in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. It ignores dividends and savings income, pension contributions, Gift Aid, Scottish income tax rates, finance costs brought forward from earlier years and rental losses. It treats all the interest as relating to residential lettings. Each of these can change your real bill, so treat the result as a guide to the size of the issue rather than a figure for your tax return.

When the calculator shows a meaningful extra cost each year, when your income is near £100,000, or when you're planning to refinance, buy more or restructure. Options can include changing ownership between spouses, paying down debt or moving properties into a company, and each has costs and conditions. A Chartered Tax Adviser can look at your whole position. Work is on a fixed fee agreed upfront, and we respond the same working day.

It adds up the capital gains tax and SDLT that moving your portfolio into a company could trigger. It then works out the yearly saving: the income tax you pay on your rental profit now, with Section 24, less the corporation tax a company would pay on the same cash profit. Dividing the upfront tax by the yearly saving gives the years to recover it. If a company wouldn't save tax on your figures, it says so.

You and your company are connected, so the transfer is treated as a sale at market value even if no cash changes hands. The calculator takes the portfolio's current value, deducts what the properties originally cost, including buying costs and improvements, and taxes the gain at 18% within your remaining basic rate band and 24% above, after the £3,000 annual exempt amount. Without incorporation relief, that tax is due on the transfer.

It treats the transfer as if relief doesn't apply, so you see the full capital gains tax. That's the cautious view, because relief depends on facts HMRC won't confirm in advance. Choosing 'yes' sets the capital gains tax to nil, showing the position if the conditions are met and relief is claimed. Comparing the two answers shows how much of the decision rides on whether your letting counts as a business.

Sometimes. Incorporation relief needs a business, which is wider than a trade but more than passively holding investments. HMRC follows the Ramsay case, asking whether the letting is a serious undertaking, earnestly pursued and run on sound business principles. HMRC accepts relief where an owner personally spends 20 hours or more a week on the business; below that, it decides case by case. Landlords who actively manage several properties are more likely to qualify.

Yes. For transfers on or after 6 April 2026, incorporation relief is no longer automatic. It must be claimed, with the information HMRC asks for, such as details of the business, the company and the shares issued, plus a computation. For a transfer in the 2026/27 tax year, the deadline is 31 January 2029. The calculator's 'yes' option assumes a valid claim is made in time and the conditions are met.

It postpones it. The gain is deducted from the base cost of the shares the company issues to you, so it comes back into charge if you later sell or otherwise dispose of those shares. The company itself takes the properties at market value. Relief requires the whole business, with all its assets other than cash, to be transferred as a going concern for shares. Where part of the payment isn't in shares, relief is reduced proportionately.

A company buying a dwelling worth over £500,000 can pay a flat 17%, but a company running a property rental business can usually claim relief from that rate. The calculator assumes that relief applies, so it uses residential rates with the 5% higher-rates surcharge, charged on the market value of everything transferred, because a transfer to a connected company is taxed on market value. Relief from the 17% rate can be withdrawn if conditions stop being met within three years.

When six or more dwellings are bought in a single transaction, the buyer can use non-residential rates instead: nothing on the first £150,000, 2% to £250,000 and 5% above. With the 5% surcharge, residential rates on a large portfolio are usually higher, so the calculator takes the lower of the two. Multiple dwellings relief, which used to reduce SDLT on bulk purchases, was abolished from 1 June 2024.

No. Where a property business is genuinely run as a partnership, the special SDLT rules for partnerships can reduce or remove SDLT when properties move to a company connected with the partners. Those rules have strict conditions, three-year clawback rules and anti-avoidance provisions, and HMRC challenges arrangements put in place mainly to save tax. Because whether they apply depends so much on your facts and history, the calculator shows SDLT without them.

No. It compares the tax you pay personally now with the corporation tax a company would pay on the same cash profit, assuming the company keeps its profits. If you need the rental income to live on, dividends are taxed again at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% in 2026/27, after a £500 allowance. For landlords who reinvest, the calculator's comparison is closer to reality; for those who draw everything out, the saving can be much smaller.

Several. It doesn't include refinancing (lenders usually need new company mortgages, which can mean arrangement fees and early repayment charges), legal and conveyancing costs, valuations, accountancy, or ATED for company-owned dwellings worth over £500,000, which needs annual returns even where relief means nothing is paid. It also ignores inheritance tax. Any of these can change the payback period noticeably, so they belong in a proper review.

No. It uses 2026/27 rates for the personal side, with rent taxed at 20%, 40% and 45% and a 20% Section 24 credit. From April 2027, rental profits held personally will be taxed at 22%, 42% and 47%, with a 22% credit. Companies aren't affected, as they pay corporation tax. So for a profitable portfolio, the yearly saving shown is likely to understate the gap from 2027/28, and the payback period may be shorter.

Not directly, as it assumes a single owner with one set of other income and one annual exempt amount. A rough approach is to run it once for each owner's share of the value, cost, rent and interest, using their own other income, then take the SDLT from a single run on the full value. Joint ownership also affects whether the letting is run as a partnership, which matters for both incorporation relief and SDLT.

Not in practice. There's no statutory clearance for incorporation relief, and HMRC's non-statutory clearance service won't give a view on matters of fact, including whether your activities amount to a business. That's why the evidence of how the portfolio is run, and the way the transfer is documented, matter so much. An adviser can assess your position against HMRC's published guidance and the case law before you commit.

If the calculator shows a payback period you could live with, a review is the next step, before you speak to lenders or solicitors. We look at whether relief is likely, the SDLT position, refinancing, how you'll draw income and your long-term plans for the portfolio. We've advised on £100m+ of property incorporated, for portfolios up to £30m. Work is on a fixed fee agreed upfront, and we respond the same working day.

It takes the sale price and deducts the purchase price, your buying and selling costs, and any capital improvements. What's left is the gain. Each owner then deducts the £3,000 annual exempt amount from their share, and the rest is taxed at 18% or 24% depending on how much of their basic rate band is left. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored.

The costs of buying and selling: SDLT paid on the purchase, solicitors' and surveyors' fees, and the estate agent's fee on the sale. You can also deduct capital improvements, such as an extension or loft conversion, that are still reflected in the property when you sell. Repairs, redecoration and mortgage costs can't be deducted from the gain; repairs are normally claimed against rental income instead.

An improvement adds something new to the property or changes its nature, like an extension, a loft conversion or a new garage. A repair or redecoration keeps the property in the condition it was already in, such as fixing a roof, servicing a boiler or repainting. Improvements go in the calculator's capital improvements box. Repairs don't, because they're an expense against rent. Some works are partly both and need splitting.

It works out how much of your £37,700 basic rate band is used by your other taxable income for the tax year of the sale, after the personal allowance. Gains that fit in the remaining band are taxed at 18%, and anything above at 24%. For portfolio landlords with significant rental profits, little or no band is usually left, so most of the gain is taxed at 24%.

Yes. Your rental profit for the tax year of the sale is taxable income, so it uses up your basic rate band just like salary or pension. Include it with any other taxable income for that year. Leaving it out would overstate how much of the gain falls in the 18% band. Under Section 24, your taxable rental profit is worked out before mortgage interest, so it may be higher than your cash profit.

Often, yes. Each owner is taxed on their own share of the gain, with their own £3,000 annual exempt amount and their own basic rate band. Choose 'two of us, equally' and the calculator splits the gain 50:50 and taxes each half separately. Where one owner has little other income, more of their share may fall in the 18% band. Unequal shares need a separate calculation for each owner.

It adds 60 days to the completion date you enter. That's the deadline for a UK resident to report the sale of UK residential property on a UK property return and pay the estimated CGT, where tax is due. Completion, not exchange, starts the clock. Late reporting or payment can mean interest and penalties, so it's worth gathering your purchase, cost and improvement records before the sale completes.

For UK residents, no. If there's no tax to pay, for example because the gain is within your annual exempt amount or covered by private residence relief, you don't need to file a UK property return. Non-residents are different: they must report every disposal of UK property within 60 days of completion, even if there's no tax to pay or they've made a loss. The calculator assumes you're UK resident.

Because it's designed for properties that were never your home. If you lived in a property before letting it, private residence relief can exempt part of the gain, and the final nine months of ownership always qualify. Lettings relief now only applies where you shared the home with a tenant. These reliefs depend on dates of occupation and absence, so they need a separate calculation. For a former home, the calculator will overstate the tax.

Not reliably. Non-residents pay UK tax on gains from UK property, but the rules differ. Gains on residential property owned before April 2015 can usually be worked out from its value at that date, and every disposal must be reported within 60 days of completion even if there's no tax to pay. The calculator assumes a UK resident seller using the original purchase price, so non-resident landlords should take advice.

No. The new property rates of 22%, 42% and 47% from April 2027 apply to rental income charged to income tax, not to capital gains. CGT on residential property is 18% and 24% in 2026/27, the same rates as for other assets. Your rental profit still uses up your basic rate band, though, so higher rental income can push more of a gain into the 24% rate.

No. A company pays corporation tax on its chargeable gains, at between 19% and 25% depending on its profits, rather than capital gains tax, and the individual's annual exempt amount doesn't apply. Getting the money out to shareholders is then taxed again, as dividends or on winding up the company. The calculator is for individuals selling property they own personally, so company sales need a separate calculation.

Usually, yes. A gift to a family member is treated as a disposal at market value, so you can owe CGT even though you receive nothing. Gift holdover relief doesn't generally apply to gifts of let residential property to individuals, and it's no longer available for former furnished holiday lets. You can use the calculator by entering the market value as the sale price, but remember there are no sale proceeds to pay the tax from.

It doesn't allow for capital losses, other gains in the same tax year that use your annual exempt amount, private residence relief, non-residence, unequal ownership shares, gifts to family, or property held through a company or trust. It also assumes the whole gain falls in one tax year. Any of these can change the tax, so use the result as an estimate and check the position before you complete.

Ideally before you agree the sale. Timing across tax years, which owner sells, ownership splits, past occupation of the property and the order of sales across a portfolio can all affect the tax. Advice is also worth having if you're non-resident, own through a company, or plan to reinvest the proceeds. A Chartered Tax Adviser can check the figures well before the 60-day deadline, and we respond the same working day.

It splits the price into the SDLT bands and applies the rate for each slice, adding the 5% higher-rates surcharge for an additional property or a company purchase, and 2% more for a non-resident buyer. The table shows each slice, its rate and the tax on it, with the total rounded down to the pound. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored.

For an additional property or a company purchase in England or Northern Ireland: 5% on the first £125,000, 7% from £125,001 to £250,000, 10% from £250,001 to £925,000, 15% from £925,001 to £1.5 million, and 17% above that. That's the standard rates from 1 April 2025 plus the 5% surcharge, which has applied since 31 October 2024. Non-resident buyers pay 2% more on every slice.

For a UK resident individual buying an additional property, it's £25,000: 5% on the first £125,000 (£6,250), 7% on the next £125,000 (£8,750) and 10% on the last £100,000 (£10,000). That's about 7.1% of the price. A non-resident buyer would pay 2% more on the whole price, adding £7,000. At standard rates, without the surcharge, the same purchase would cost £7,500.

If the company will let the property as part of a rental business and qualifies for relief from the 17% rate, it pays the higher rates: £6,250 on the first £125,000, £8,750 on the next £125,000 and £35,000 on the remaining £350,000, so £50,000. Without that relief, 17% applies to the whole price, giving £102,000. Switch the rental business answer in the calculator to compare the two.

No. A company buying residential property pays the higher rates, including the 5% surcharge, even on its very first purchase. So there's usually no SDLT saving from buying through a company, and on a dwelling over £500,000 a company can face the 17% flat rate unless a relief, such as the one for property rental businesses, applies. Any case for a company rests on income tax, not SDLT.

The relief can be withdrawn. Relief from the 17% rate for a property rental business comes with a three-year control period. If, within three years of the purchase, the property stops being used for a qualifying purpose, for example because someone connected with the company lives in it, the company may have to pay the difference between the higher rates and the 17% rate. The calculator assumes the conditions keep being met.

If you say the buyer isn't UK resident, the calculator adds 2% to every band, on top of the 5% higher-rates surcharge where that applies. For SDLT, an individual is generally non-resident if they weren't present in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase. The test is specific to SDLT and isn't the same as the residence test for income tax.

If a single transaction includes six or more dwellings, the buyer can choose non-residential rates instead: nothing on the first £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above. The calculator works out both and shows the lower figure, which is usually the non-residential one once the 5% surcharge is in play. Multiple dwellings relief, which used to average the tax across dwellings, ended for transactions from 1 June 2024.

Yes. Where properties are bought together from the same seller, or as part of one deal, the purchases are usually linked and SDLT is worked out on the total price. Since multiple dwellings relief was abolished, there's no averaging across the properties, so a bundle of modest houses can reach the higher bands. Enter the combined price, then choose 'six or more' if there are at least six dwellings.

Yes. It's for a purchase that replaces your only or main residence, where the surcharge doesn't usually apply even if you own buy-to-lets, so the calculator uses standard rates: 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above. The conditions for that exception are strict, particularly if you buy before selling your old home, so check them before relying on standard rates.

Yes, for completeness. First-time buyer relief gives 0% up to £300,000 and 5% from £300,001 to £500,000, and isn't available at all where the price is over £500,000, when standard rates apply instead. It's only for someone buying their first home to live in, so it doesn't help investors. Landlords sometimes use it to check the cost when a child is buying their first home.

It's the total SDLT as a percentage of the purchase price, worked out at residential rates. Because SDLT is charged in slices, the effective rate is always below the top rate that applies to your purchase. It's a handy way to compare deals: for an additional property it rises from 5% on a small purchase towards 17% on very expensive ones. It doesn't include legal fees or other buying costs.

The SDLT return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion. Your solicitor or conveyancer normally files the return and pays from funds you provide, so the SDLT figure needs to be in your budget from the start. If the return is wrong, for example because a surcharge or relief was applied incorrectly, the buyer is responsible for the shortfall, plus any interest and penalties.

Only partly. It's built for residential purchases, using non-residential rates only where six or more dwellings are bought in one transaction. Commercial and genuinely mixed-use property, such as a shop with a flat above, is charged at non-residential rates of 0%, 2% and 5%, without the 5% surcharge. Whether a property is genuinely mixed-use depends on the facts. Leases, Welsh land transaction tax and Scottish LBTT aren't covered.

Before exchange, ideally. SDLT on bulk purchases, company purchases over £500,000, mixed-use property, buying from a connected person, and transfers between family members or into a company can all turn on detail. Getting the analysis right before you commit can avoid overpaying or a later HMRC enquiry. We work alongside your conveyancer and mortgage broker, on a fixed fee agreed upfront, and we respond the same working day.

It adds up your estate: the rental portfolio less its mortgages, your home net of any mortgage, and everything else less debts. It then deducts the £325,000 nil-rate band and, if your home goes to children or grandchildren, the residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000. The rest is taxed at 40%. If you're married, it allows for both spouses' bands on the second death. Nothing you enter is stored.

Inheritance tax is charged on the net value of what you own, so debts secured on the properties normally reduce the estate. A £2.5 million portfolio with £900,000 of mortgages adds £1.6 million to the estate, not £2.5 million. There are rules that restrict the deduction for some debts, depending on what the borrowing was used for and whether it's repaid, so check the position on your own loans before relying on it.

Anything left to a spouse or civil partner is normally free of inheritance tax, and any unused nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band can pass to the survivor. The calculator assumes everything passes to your spouse first and is taxed on the second death, with two nil-rate bands of £325,000 and up to two residence nil-rate bands of £175,000. That gives up to £1 million before tax, for estates under £2 million.

The residence nil-rate band is reduced by £1 for every £2 the estate is worth over £2 million. So a single person's £175,000 band disappears at £2.35 million, and a married couple's combined £350,000 disappears at £2.7 million. Because the portfolio counts in full, many landlords lose this band entirely. The calculator applies the taper to the net estate you enter and shows when the band has been reduced.

No. It only applies to a home you've lived in that passes to your direct descendants, such as children, stepchildren or grandchildren. Buy-to-let properties don't qualify, however they're left. The calculator caps the band at the value of your home, so if your home is worth less than the band available, only the home's value is relieved. Your other assets still benefit from the ordinary nil-rate band.

Because let property rarely qualifies. Business relief excludes businesses that consist wholly or mainly of making or holding investments, and HMRC regards a property rental business as likely to fall within that exclusion, however actively it's managed. The same goes for shares in a company that holds a rental portfolio. So the calculator treats the whole portfolio as taxable, which is the realistic starting point for most landlords.

It's the part of the inheritance tax bill attributable to your rental portfolio, worked out pro rata to its net value as a share of the whole estate. If the portfolio is half your net estate, half the tax is shown against it. It's a simple way to see how much of the bill planning around the portfolio could address. Who actually bears the tax depends on your will and how the estate is divided.

Yes. The £325,000 nil-rate band, the £175,000 residence nil-rate band and the £2 million taper threshold are frozen up to and including 2030/31. As property values rise, more of a portfolio's growth falls into the 40% charge each year. The calculator uses these frozen figures, so it's a fair guide to the position today, but the bill grows as your portfolio does.

An outright gift to an individual falls out of your estate if you live for seven years after making it. If you die within seven years, it's counted again, though tax on the gift is reduced on a sliding scale where death is three to seven years later. The calculator doesn't include gifts, so only take a gifted property out of your figures once seven years have passed. Gifting a rental property can also trigger capital gains tax.

Not without an inheritance tax problem. If you give a property away but keep benefiting from it, such as keeping the rent or using it free of charge, that's a gift with reservation of benefit and it stays in your estate. The calculator assumes you own everything you enter outright. Structures such as Family Investment Companies and trusts can separate control, income and growth, but each has tax costs and conditions of its own.

No. From 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will come into the estate for inheritance tax, with personal representatives responsible for reporting and paying. Death-in-service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions are excluded. If you have significant pension savings, the estimate will understate your position from that date. You can add your pension value to 'everything else' to see the likely effect.

Roughly, yes. If you own shares in a property company, their value is part of your estate. Enter the value of your shareholding, broadly the company's net assets, in place of the portfolio and mortgages. Shares in a property investment company don't usually qualify for business relief. Valuing shares for inheritance tax can involve discounts, for example for a minority holding, so the real figure may differ.

The calculator doesn't model it, but the rules can help. Gifts to charity in your will are free of inheritance tax, and if at least 10% of your net estate goes to charity, the rate on the rest falls from 40% to 36%. For landlords who already plan to leave something to charity, meeting the 10% test can be worthwhile. Your will needs careful drafting to get it right.

It ignores gifts made in the last seven years, trusts, pensions, life insurance, charity gifts, business and agricultural relief, overseas assets and residence status, and the detail of how nil-rate bands transfer between spouses. It assumes the residence nil-rate band is fully available on the second death and applies the taper to the whole estate. Use it to understand the scale of the bill, not to plan your will.

Earlier than most do. The seven-year rule for gifts, the time needed to restructure a portfolio, and the capital gains tax on moving property all favour starting while you're healthy and have options. Planning is usually worth exploring once the calculator shows a meaningful bill. We look at gifting, Family Investment Companies, trusts, wills and the order of steps, on a fixed fee agreed upfront, and we respond the same working day.

Usually, yes. Moving properties from a landlord to their own company is a transaction in its own right, and LBTT, not SDLT, is charged on it in Scotland. The amount depends on the consideration and on which rates and reliefs apply. It should be quantified before the decision is made. In this case it was paid in full, and the client's Scottish solicitor calculated and submitted it.

Under section 59 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013, if six or more dwellings are the subject of a single transaction, they are treated as non-residential property for that transaction. That brings the non-residential rates into play. Whether that gives a lower bill depends on the values involved. It was used in this case, and the tax was compared with the other relief available.

Yes. Schedule 5 to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 still provides relief for transactions involving more than one dwelling. Scotland did not follow the change made in England and Northern Ireland, where SDLT multiple dwellings relief was abolished from 1 June 2024. The relief was considered in this case, alongside the six-dwellings rule, against the actual values.

The buyer, here the company, is responsible for the return and payment, and in practice a Scottish solicitor usually handles it with the title transfers. In this case the client's Scottish solicitor of about 20 years quantified the tax and submitted the return, with our input on the tax position. We advise on the structure and the tax and work alongside the solicitor.

Yes. The restriction on finance cost relief applies to individual landlords across the UK, including Scotland. Mortgage interest is not deducted from rent. A tax credit at the basic rate is given instead, so a higher-rate taxpayer can pay tax on rent that is largely spent on interest. A company deducts finance costs as an expense, and Section 24 does not apply to it.

The more interest a landlord pays, the larger the amount that is taxed before the credit. With mortgages over 65% of the property value, interest takes a large share of the rent. Taxable profit can then be much higher than the real profit, and a higher-rate taxpayer may pay a very large share of what is left. A company is taxed on profit after finance costs.

It can be done, but lenders must usually be involved, because the loans may need to be refinanced or moved to the company. Incorporation relief for capital gains tax can still apply: HMRC's extra-statutory concession D32 says business liabilities taken over by the company are not treated as payment for the business. The lender's position and the refinancing cost should be checked early.

Alphabet shares are separate classes of share in the same company, often named A, B and C. Because each class is separate, the directors can declare different dividends on each. Here the classes were used for the landlord's spouse and mother. The company's articles must allow it, dividends must follow the rules for each class, and the tax position of each shareholder needs to be checked.

Shares given to family members can spread dividend income between several people and start moving future growth out of the main owner's estate. Gifts of shares have inheritance tax and, in some cases, capital gains tax consequences, and each person's own tax position matters. Whether it works depends on the family's circumstances and what the owner wants to keep control of.

No. In this case no trust was used, and shares were issued to the landlord's spouse and mother directly. A trust adds flexibility and control, but also adds inheritance tax charges, registration and administration. Whether one is worth it depends on the family, the ages of the beneficiaries and how much control the owner wants to keep.

This one took between two and four months. The time depends on the mortgages, because lenders need to be involved, and on the solicitor's work on the title transfers and the LBTT return. A larger portfolio with several lenders will usually take longer. Starting the lender conversations early helps, as does agreeing the LBTT figure with the solicitor before the structure is committed to.

Sometimes. If the couple run the lettings as a genuine partnership, moving the properties out of the partnership to a company they own can use the partnership rules in Schedule 15 to the Finance Act 2003. The chargeable consideration is based on the partners' shares, so it can be nil. The conditions are strict and anti-avoidance rules apply. A sale straight from personal ownership to the couple's own company normally attracts SDLT on market value.

Properties owned directly by individuals and sold to their own company are charged SDLT on market value. Properties held by a genuine partnership are treated differently when they move out to a company connected with the partners. The partnership has to be real and run as a business, not created for one step. This couple already ran their lettings full time, which is why the route was worth testing.

The main risk is that HMRC treats the partnership as a step in a scheme to avoid SDLT. Section 75A can replace the actual transactions with a notional one charged on the full value. There is also a charge if capital is withdrawn within three years of property being moved in. We checked these rules for this couple and they were not a problem on the facts, but each case needs its own analysis.

No. Incorporation relief under section 162 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 applied because the couple ran a property business and transferred it, with its assets, to the company for shares. The gain was not taxed then. It reduces the base cost of the new shares, so the tax is deferred, not removed. For transfers from 6 April 2026 the relief must be claimed.

It was for this transaction, which took place in 2024. For transfers made on or after 6 April 2026 the relief must be claimed, normally with the tax return for the year of transfer and with the information HMRC requires. The option to disapply it has gone. The date of the transfer decides which rules apply, so the position should be checked again for any new plan.

No. HMRC's non-statutory clearance service does not give clearance on matters of fact, such as whether activities amount to a business, but it can be used where there is genuine uncertainty about how the law applies. In this case we applied through that service. Whether a letting activity is a business depends on its scale, the time spent and how it is run, so the facts need to be recorded carefully.

They are two classes of share in a Family Investment Company. Freezer shares are held by the parents and capped at today's value, so the value they hold does not rise. Later growth in the company goes to the growth shares, held here by the children and a discretionary trust. That moves future growth out of the parents' estates. Setting up the classes and gifts still have inheritance tax rules to follow.

A discretionary trust lets the trustees decide who benefits and when, rather than giving the children fixed rights. That suits a family wanting flexibility. Here the couple, as settlors, are irrevocably excluded from benefiting. A lifetime transfer into a discretionary trust is an immediately chargeable transfer for inheritance tax, and the trust has its own ten-yearly and exit charges.

Splitting a company's shares into freezer and growth classes, and giving some away, has inheritance tax consequences that depend on value. The freezer shares needed a value that reflected the company's assets at that date, and the growth shares needed a value for any gift or subscription. Unquoted shares are valued as if sold on the open market. Here the valuation was prepared in house.

Section 24 restricts relief on finance costs for individuals, who get only a basic rate tax credit instead of a deduction. This couple had no borrowing but planned to borrow to buy more. In a company, finance costs are deducted under the corporate rules and Section 24 does not apply. Future borrowing would therefore not have been restricted if the portfolio was held by a company.

Yes. A company pays corporation tax on its profits, deducts finance costs, and can keep profits inside to fund further purchases. Taking money out personally brings further tax, so the plan depends on how much the family needs to draw. Buying through a company also has its own SDLT position, including the higher rates that apply to companies.

Under two months for the incorporation and the Family Investment Company, which included the non-statutory clearance application and the share valuation. The partnership had been formed earlier, in 2022. The time depends on the facts and on how quickly information and signatures are available. Complex mortgages, or a partnership that does not yet exist, will take longer.

In practice, yes. A company is a separate legal person, so its rent, mortgage payments and costs should go through its own account, not yours. Mixing company and personal money makes it hard to keep the director's loan account accurate, and payments from the company for your personal costs can be treated as loans or income. A separate account also makes accounts and lender reporting simpler.

Because the price is over £500,000, the starting point is a flat 17% of the whole price: £102,000. If the company buys the property for a genuine property rental business and the conditions are met, relief from the 17% rate applies, and the company pays the higher residential rates instead, which come to £50,000. The relief can be withdrawn within three years if the conditions stop being met.

You can agree any price, but the tax follows market value. Because you and the company are connected, SDLT is charged on at least the market value, and for capital gains tax you are treated as selling at market value. Selling cheaply therefore doesn't reduce either tax. It also creates an undervalue that can have consequences for other shareholders and for inheritance tax.

Yes. Each person who lends the company money has their own loan account, which the company can repay to them without tax. If the company pays interest, each lender is taxed on their own interest as savings income, so a spouse with unused allowances or a lower rate may pay less tax on it. Loans should be documented, and the terms should be commercial.

Yes. The interest is deductible for the company and taxable on you as savings income. The company normally pays it net of 20% income tax, reports the deduction to HMRC on form CT61 and pays it over, and you claim credit for it on your return. Savings income rates rise to 22%, 42% and 47% from 6 April 2027, so the personal tax on interest goes up along with the property rates.

No. The £3,000 annual exempt amount is for individuals, and trusts have their own smaller amount. A company pays corporation tax on the whole of its chargeable gains, at the rate that applies to its profits, between 19% and 25%. That is one reason why the comparison between personal and company ownership should include the eventual sale of the properties, not just the yearly rent.

No. The 22%, 42% and 47% property income rates are income tax rates for individuals, trustees and estates. A company pays corporation tax on its rental profits instead, at 19% to 25% for the year from 1 April 2026. That difference widens the gap between personal and company ownership from April 2027, although you still pay income tax on whatever you take out of the company as dividends or interest.

It can. In Scotland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax has an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the full price, and it applies to most residential purchases by companies, even if they own nothing else. In Wales, companies always pay the Land Transaction Tax higher residential rates, starting at 5% and rising to 17%. The SDLT 17% rule for dwellings over £500,000 applies in England and Northern Ireland.

Yes, but it is treated as a sale at market value. You may pay capital gains tax on the gain, and the company pays SDLT on the market value, including the 5% surcharge, because you and the company are connected. Incorporation relief only applies where a whole business is transferred for shares, not a single property. So it usually makes sense to keep existing properties where they are unless the full portfolio is moving.

The properties stay in the company. What passes under your will is your shares, which are valued for inheritance tax and generally don't qualify for Business Relief if the company holds investment property. Your heirs take the shares at their market value for capital gains tax, but the company's own base cost in the properties doesn't change, so gains inside the company aren't wiped out on death.

We respond the same working day, and we can often give a first view on the structure of a single purchase within days, once we know the price, how it is funded and your other income. The key decisions, such as who owns the shares, how the deposit is lent and whether any reliefs apply, are much easier to get right before exchange. Our fee is fixed and agreed upfront.

HMRC says the aim is to improve the information it holds about who uses the relief, so it can analyse it and target compliance work at avoidance. Before April 2026, relief applied automatically and HMRC often had no record that it had been relied on. Now every claim identifies the transferor, the business, the company and the computation, so incorporations of property portfolios are far more visible than before.

The claim must be made by the first anniversary of 31 January following the tax year of the transfer. For a transfer between 6 April 2026 and 5 April 2027, that is 31 January 2029. For a transfer in 2027/28, it is 31 January 2030. HMRC expects most claims to be made in or with the tax return for the year of transfer, which is also the sensible time to do it.

HMRC's guidance asks you to identify the type of transferor (individual, trustee, partnership or LLP), the business transferred and the company, and the asset disposals covered. It also wants the computation: values of the chargeable assets and other assets, the shares received and any non-share consideration, and the amount of relief claimed. In short, the claim needs a proper calculation and a clear description of the business, prepared before the return is filed.

The formal election to disapply the relief, section 162A, has been repealed for transfers on or after 6 April 2026. It is no longer needed, because relief now applies only if you claim it. If you would rather pay tax on the gain now, for example to use your annual exempt amount or because the gain is small, you simply don't make the claim. That decision should be taken deliberately, with figures.

Without a valid claim, the relief doesn't apply and the gain on the transfer is chargeable to capital gains tax for the year of transfer, with interest if it is paid late. HMRC may accept late claims only in limited circumstances, and you should not rely on that. Put the deadline in your diary on the day the transfer completes, and make the claim with the tax return for that year if you can.

No. A transfer completed before 6 April 2026 is dealt with under the old rules, where relief applied automatically if the conditions were met. HMRC can still look at whether those conditions were satisfied, including whether the letting activity was a business. If you incorporated before April 2026, keep the evidence you relied on, because the tax position can be checked within the normal enquiry and assessment time limits.

Yes. Capital gains are charged on partners individually, and HMRC's guidance on the change refers to individuals, partners in a partnership and trustees making claims. Each partner should make their own claim, based on their share of the gain and the shares they receive. Where a partnership is incorporated, the claims should be consistent with each other and with the partnership's records and the company's share register.

HMRC says the purpose of the change is better data on the relief and better targeting of compliance work against avoidance. Claims will give HMRC a clear list of incorporations, so landlords should assume they are more visible than before. That isn't a reason to avoid a valid claim. It is a reason to make sure the business test is met and documented before the transfer, and that the computation is right.

The best evidence is a record of what you actually do and how long it takes: a weekly time log, records of viewings, tenant referencing, rent collection, arrears handling, arranging and supervising repairs, and safety and licensing compliance. HMRC accepts the business test where owners spend 20 hours or more a week personally on such activities. Evidence of scale, continuity and a business-like approach, such as separate accounts and plans, also helps.

No. Incorporation relief is a capital gains tax relief only. SDLT is a separate tax, and when you transfer properties to a company you are connected with, the company is normally charged SDLT on their market value, including the higher rates for additional dwellings. Any SDLT relief, such as the partnership rules or the non-residential rate for six or more dwellings, depends on its own conditions.

No, as long as they are business liabilities. Under HMRC's extra-statutory concession D32, the company taking over the business's liabilities is not treated as consideration for incorporation relief, so it doesn't reduce the relief. Personal debts are different. If the company takes on a personal liability, such as a loan used for your own home or your tax bill, that counts as non-share consideration and part of the gain becomes chargeable.

Yes. Section 162 applies to a person who is not a company, and HMRC's guidance confirms trustees can transfer a business to a company and claim relief. The same business test applies, so a trust that simply holds let property with an agent doing the work may struggle. Trustees should also consider the trust deed, their powers to hold shares and the inheritance tax position before going ahead.

A little. In our illustration, the landlord's personal tax rises from about £14,430 in 2026/27 to about £15,080 in 2027/28 under the new property income rates, an increase of around £650 a year, while the company's tax is unchanged. That shortens the payback period, but not dramatically. The bigger drivers remain SDLT, the business test for incorporation relief, borrowing costs and how much income you draw.

It can, but the saving is smaller than many expect. Company profits are taxed at 19% or 25%, then again as dividends at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% above the £500 allowance. For a landlord who needs all the income to live on, the combined rate is often close to the personal rate, and the advantage comes mainly from full interest relief. Retaining profits to repay debt or buy more property is where a company does best.

Usually not on income tax grounds alone. A basic-rate landlord already gets a Section 24 credit at the same rate as their tax, so the restriction costs little, and dividends drawn from a company add a second layer of tax. Exceptions arise where Section 24 pushes rental profit into the higher rate band, where the portfolio is growing quickly, or where long-term succession planning makes a company attractive for other reasons.

They can. In our illustration the yearly saving is £4,000 to £6,500 on £45,000 of interest. If company borrowing cost even one percentage point more on £900,000 of loans, that would add £9,000 of interest a year before tax relief, more than cancelling the saving. That's why lending terms need to be known before deciding, and why your mortgage broker should be part of the conversation from the start.

The company acquires the properties at their market value on the date of transfer, because you and the company are connected. That's useful: if the company later sells a property, its gain is measured from that value. If you claim incorporation relief, your own deferred gain is deducted from the base cost of your new shares instead, so it would come back into charge only if you later dispose of the shares.

Because the saving depends heavily on whether profits are taxed at 19%, 25% or somewhere in between. Profits up to £50,000 are taxed at 19% and profits over £250,000 at 25%, with marginal relief between. The limits are shared between associated companies, and a company that lets property to connected people may lose the small profits rate altogether. Using the wrong rate can make incorporation look far better than it is.

Yes, the company can credit you with a loan account instead of issuing shares for part of the value, and you can then draw that balance later without further tax. The catch is that incorporation relief only covers the part of the consideration paid in shares, so taking a loan account means part of the gain becomes taxable now. Some landlords accept a modest gain in return for tax-free drawings later. It needs careful modelling.

They can. Where six or more dwellings are acquired in a single transaction, the buyer can choose to use non-residential rates, with a top rate of 5%, instead of the residential higher rates. On a portfolio transferred to a company, that can cut the SDLT bill substantially. Multiple dwellings relief was abolished from 1 June 2024, so the six-dwelling rule is now the main SDLT lever on a direct transfer.

Rarely. You pay SDLT and costs up front and may not hold the properties long enough to recover them. If you claimed incorporation relief, your deferred gain sits in your shares, and money from property sales reaches you only after corporation tax and then a further charge on extraction. For a landlord planning to sell soon, a selective disposal plan held personally is often cheaper.

No. Shares in a property investment company are generally not eligible for Business Relief, so they are taxed in your estate just like the properties were. A company does make it easier to pass value on gradually, for example by giving shares or creating growth shares for children, but those are separate planning steps with their own tax consequences. Incorporation is a tool for succession planning, not a solution by itself.

Often, yes. Early repayment charges on personal fixed-rate mortgages can be large, and the company will normally need new borrowing. Timing the incorporation to coincide with the end of fixed-rate periods can remove a significant cost. The tax analysis, evidence of the business test and valuations can be prepared in the meantime, so the transfer is ready to go when the lending allows.

For each property: current value, original cost and improvement spending, mortgage balance and rate, and rent. Then your other income, how much of the rental profit you need to live on, and any plans to sell, buy or pass property on. With those, we can estimate the CGT and SDLT on transfer, the annual tax in both structures and the break-even point. We work on a fixed fee agreed upfront.

Almost never. Business Relief excludes businesses that consist wholly or mainly of dealing in land or buildings or making or holding investments, and HMRC says a property rental business is likely to fall within that exclusion. That applies whether you own the properties personally, in a partnership or through a company. The higher £2.5 million Business Relief allowance introduced from April 2026 doesn't change this, because the property never qualified in the first place.

Only if you lived in it as your home at some point while you owned it. The residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 applies to a home passing to direct descendants. A buy-to-let you never lived in doesn't qualify. A former home that you later let out can, which can be useful where your current home is modest. The band is reduced by £1 for every £2 your estate exceeds £2 million.

The person who received the gift may have to pay it. If your gifts in the seven years before death exceed the £325,000 nil-rate band, inheritance tax is due on the excess at 40%, reduced by taper relief for gifts made three to seven years before death. A child who has received a property may therefore face a tax bill years later, which is why many families insure against it.

In the same way as gifts of property. A gift of shares to an individual is a potentially exempt transfer, falling outside your estate if you survive seven years, with taper relief between three and seven years. Shares in a property investment company don't usually qualify for Business Relief, so there's no exemption. Small, regular gifts of shares can also use annual exemptions.

Yes. Unmarried partners don't benefit from the spouse exemption, so property left to a partner can be taxed on the first death. There's no transfer of unused nil-rate bands between unmarried partners either. Gifts of property between them are also disposals at market value for capital gains tax, not no gain, no loss. For long-term couples with portfolios, these differences can be significant.

Pension contributions still get income tax relief where you have earnings, but from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included in the estate. So a pension will no longer be an IHT-free way to pass wealth on. For landlords, the decision now turns on income tax relief and retirement needs, not on keeping money outside the estate.

Yes. A discretionary trust can hold let property, with the trustees deciding who benefits and when. Transfers into most such trusts above the £325,000 nil-rate band are taxed at 20% immediately, and the trust pays periodic charges of up to 6% every ten years and exit charges of up to 6%. From 2027/28, discretionary trusts pay 47% income tax on property income. Trusts suit control more than tax efficiency.

Usually you should review it. If properties move into a company, your will now passes shares rather than properties, and specific gifts of named properties may fail. New trusts, Family Investment Companies or changes in ownership between spouses can also change what your will needs to do. A will that works with your structure avoids wasted nil-rate bands and unexpected results for your family.

Gifts between spouses or civil partners are generally exempt from inheritance tax, so they don't need the seven-year rule to fall out of the estate. That makes rebalancing a portfolio between spouses a useful step, for example to use both nil-rate bands or to reduce income tax. Different rules can apply where one spouse is not treated as UK resident for inheritance tax purposes.

It can. The residence nil-rate band is reduced by £1 for every £2 by which the estate exceeds £2 million, so a single person's £175,000 band disappears at £2.35 million. Because a buy-to-let portfolio adds to the estate's value, landlords can lose the band even where their home is modest. Reducing the estate below the threshold through gifts or other planning can restore some or all of it.

Yes. Any nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band unused on the first death of a married couple or civil partners can be transferred to the survivor, so a couple may have up to £1 million between them before inheritance tax. Leaving everything to a spouse or civil partner normally means no inheritance tax on the first death, but it also concentrates the whole portfolio in the survivor's estate.

Earlier than most do. Gifts need seven years to fall fully outside the estate, and companies or trusts take time to set up and run properly. Planning in your fifties or sixties leaves far more options than planning in your eighties. That said, it's rarely too late to do something useful, such as making wills that work together, using exemptions and reviewing life insurance.

On gross income, not profit. HMRC counts your qualifying income, which is your total income from self-employment and property before any expenses, as shown on the tax return for the relevant earlier year. A landlord with £35,000 of rent and £25,000 of costs and interest has qualifying income of £35,000, not £10,000. Salary, pensions, dividends and savings interest are left out of the calculation.

You count your own share of the rent. HMRC's example is a property earning £50,000 owned equally by two people, where each counts £25,000 towards their own threshold. The rule is the same whether the co-owner is a spouse or someone else. If you only receive notice of your share after expenses have been deducted, for example from a managing agent, HMRC will use that net figure instead.

Updates are cumulative from the start of the tax year. The standard periods run to 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April, with updates due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May respectively. So the first update for 2026/27 was due by 7 August 2026, and the last is due by 7 May 2027. Your tax return is still due by 31 January after the tax year.

Yes. You can choose calendar update periods, running from 1 April to 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March, with the same deadlines of 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Landlords whose agents report monthly often find this easier. You must choose in your software before sending your first quarterly update, and you can't change it for that tax year afterwards.

Yes. Quarterly updates don't replace the annual return. You still submit a tax return through your software by 31 January after the end of the tax year, adding income that MTD doesn't capture automatically, such as savings interest, dividends, including those from your own company, and partnership profits. The return is also where adjustments, allowances and reliefs such as the Section 24 credit are finalised.

No. HMRC says MTD for Income Tax doesn't change how you pay or when payments are due. Balancing payments and payments on account follow the normal Self Assessment dates. Quarterly updates give you and HMRC an earlier view of your likely bill, which helps with budgeting, but the cash still leaves your account on the same dates as before.

MTD uses a points-based system. HMRC has said it won't apply penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27, though late tax returns are still penalised. After that, each late submission earns a point, and once a mandated taxpayer reaches four points a £200 penalty is charged. Late payment penalties and interest are separate and continue as before, so paying on time still matters.

Yes, as long as they link digitally to MTD-compatible bridging software that sends the updates to HMRC. The records must flow between products digitally, for example by importing a file or using a direct link, rather than by retyping figures. If you correct a figure, correct it in the spreadsheet and resend. Many portfolio landlords find dedicated software easier once they have several properties.

No. HMRC lets joint owners keep less detailed digital records for jointly let property, or leave the expenses for jointly let property out of quarterly updates entirely. You then add them before submitting your tax return, either by resending the final quarterly update or by adjusting the category totals in your software. You only need records of your own share of the income and expenses.

No. MTD for Income Tax applies to individuals with self-employment or property income, not to companies, which pay corporation tax. Rent received by your company doesn't count towards your personal threshold. Dividends or interest you take from the company don't count either, because qualifying income only includes self-employment and property income. You may still be within MTD for properties you own personally.

Not yet. HMRC has said partnerships will need to use MTD for Income Tax in the future and that it will set out the timeline later. An individual partner may still be within MTD because of property or self-employment income they receive in their own right. Partnership profit shares are added to the annual tax return rather than reported through quarterly updates.

Some people can. HMRC says there are different reasons why someone may be exempt, and gives being digitally excluded as an example. HMRC publishes separate guidance on who qualifies and how to apply, so check it before assuming you're exempt. Most portfolio landlords won't be, and an accountant can send quarterly updates on your behalf, so the practical work of complying can be shared.

No. Only gross income from self-employment and property counts as qualifying income. A landlord earning £80,000 in salary with £18,000 of rent has qualifying income of £18,000, below every threshold announced so far. The salary still affects your tax rate, and from April 2027 your rental profit is taxed after your salary at the new property income rates, but it doesn't bring you into MTD.

They start on 6 April 2027, the first day of the 2027/28 tax year. For 2026/27, rental profits are still taxed at the normal rates of 20%, 40% and 45%. From 2027/28, landlords in England, Wales and Northern Ireland pay 22%, 42% and 47% on property income instead. The change was legislated in sections 6 and 7 of the Finance Act 2026, so it is now law rather than a Budget proposal.

Only to property income. That means profits from a UK or overseas property business, plus a few related items such as post-cessation receipts. Your salary, pension, self-employed profits and other non-savings income stay on the normal 20%, 40% and 45% rates. Savings income also rises by two points from April 2027, while dividends are taxed at their own rates. Which rate band each slice falls into depends on your total income.

The Finance Act 2026 adds an ordering rule. From 2027/28, property income is treated as the slice of your income immediately below savings and dividends, so other income such as employment or pension income is taxed first. Personal allowances and reliefs are also set against that other income first. The effect is that more of your rental profit falls into the higher bands and is taxed at the new property rates, rather than being sheltered by your allowance.

Against other income first. If you have a salary or pension that uses up your £12,570 personal allowance, none of it is left for your rental profits, which are then taxed from the first pound at 22% or more. If your other income is smaller than the allowance, the unused part is set against property income. Landlords whose only income is rent still get their full allowance against it.

Yes, although the amounts are modest for most. A basic-rate landlord pays 22% instead of 20% on rental profits, and the Section 24 credit on mortgage interest rises from 20% to 22% at the same time. So the extra tax is broadly 2% of profit after interest. For a landlord with £15,000 of profit after interest, that is roughly £300 a year. Watch the band edge, though: Section 24 can push part of your rent into the 42% band.

The 22%, 42% and 47% rates apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Finance Act 2026 gives the Scottish Parliament the power to set its own property income rates for Scottish taxpayers. At the time of writing we have not seen Scottish property rates confirmed, so Scottish landlords should not assume either the UK figures or the current Scottish rates will apply from 2027/28. We will update this article when the rates are set.

The Finance Act 2026 lets the Senedd set Welsh property income rates, in the same way it sets Welsh rates on other income. Until those rates are confirmed, the safest planning assumption for a Welsh taxpayer is that rental profits will be taxed at least as heavily as in England from April 2027. If you are close to a decision such as incorporation, model both the current and expected positions.

Yes, if tax is being deducted under the non-resident landlord scheme. HMRC's technical note says withholding will be at the property basic rate from 2027/28, so 22% rather than 20% of rent less allowable expenses. Landlords with HMRC approval to receive rent without deduction are not affected by the withholding change, but still pay the new rates through their tax return.

Yes. HMRC has said that trustees of discretionary trusts will pay 47% on property and savings income from 2027/28. Trusts that hold buy-to-let property, including those set up for inheritance tax planning, should look at whether the property or the income would sit better elsewhere. Section 24 also applies to trustees, so interest relief is restricted in the same way as for individuals.

Only if the timing is genuinely flexible and a short delay won't harm the property or your tenants. A repair deducted in 2027/28 saves tax at 22%, 42% or 47%, compared with 20%, 40% or 45% now, so the extra saving is about two pence per pound spent. That rarely justifies leaving a problem unfixed. It is more useful for planned, discretionary work that you were going to schedule around April anyway.

Savings income rates rise by two points from 6 April 2027, to 22%, 42% and 47%, across the UK. Dividend rates already changed from 6 April 2026: 10.75% for ordinary rate, 35.75% for upper rate and 39.35% for additional rate, with a £500 dividend allowance. That matters for landlords comparing personal ownership with a company, because company profits usually reach you as dividends.

Yes. HMRC's technical note confirms the property allowance is unchanged, and carried-forward property losses can still be set against future property income. For portfolio landlords with three or more properties the allowance is rarely the better option, because claiming actual expenses usually gives a bigger deduction. Loss relief is more relevant: losses brought forward will reduce income that would otherwise be taxed at the new higher rates.

There isn't one answer, but the options with the lowest up-front cost are usually ownership changes between spouses or civil partners and reviewing which properties earn their keep. Transfers between spouses living together are free of capital gains tax, though SDLT can arise on a share of a mortgaged property. Incorporation usually costs the most up front. The cheapest option is the one that fixes the problem for your income level and plans.

A gift to an adult child moves the rental income to them, but it is a disposal at market value for capital gains tax, SDLT can apply if they take on a mortgage, and they also face Section 24 on any borrowing. If you keep receiving the rent, the gift won't work for inheritance tax either. For children under 18, rent from property a parent gives them is generally taxed as the parent's income if it exceeds £100 a year.

They can, if you have earnings. Personal pension contributions extend your basic rate band and reduce adjusted net income, which can keep rental profit out of the higher rate or restore a personal allowance lost above £100,000. But tax relief is limited to your relevant UK earnings, or £3,600 gross if higher. Landlords who live entirely on rent have little room to use this, and pensions come into inheritance tax from April 2027.

Up to £3,600 gross a year. Pension tax relief is limited to the greater of £3,600 and your relevant UK earnings, which include employment and self-employed income but not rental profits. A landlord living entirely on rent can therefore get relief on only £3,600 a year, paid as £2,880 with basic-rate relief added. That is too little to make a real difference to Section 24.

Section 24 depends on interest, not on the type of mortgage. Capital repayments were never deductible, so an interest-only loan isn't treated worse in principle. But interest-only borrowers pay more interest for longer on the same debt, so the restricted amount stays higher. Landlords moving to repayment mortgages reduce their Section 24 exposure over time, at the cost of higher monthly payments.

It depends on the property's return. Paying down debt with spare cash removes restricted interest but ties up capital. Selling a weak property can release cash to repay borrowing on better ones, but triggers capital gains tax at 18% or 24% and costs. Compare the after-tax return each property earns on its equity with what the money would save elsewhere in the portfolio. That comparison often points to one or two clear candidates.

Much less for income tax. If both of you already pay 40%, moving income between you saves little, and from April 2027 both of you would pay 42% on rent. It can still help for capital gains tax, because each of you has a £3,000 annual exempt amount, and for inheritance tax planning. For income tax, a company or debt reduction usually matters more at that stage.

Less, but it doesn't go away. The cost of Section 24 is roughly the interest multiplied by the gap between your marginal rate and the credit. Lower interest shrinks the cost. But many landlords decide on restructuring when rates are high and then live with the consequences for decades. A structure that only makes sense at high interest rates may not be worth the up-front cost.

Yes, and the best plans often do. A couple might rebalance ownership between them, sell one highly geared property to reduce debt elsewhere, and buy future properties in a company. Each step has its own tax costs, so the order matters. For example, rebalancing ownership before a sale can use both spouses' annual exempt amounts and basic rate bands for capital gains tax.

Usually, if the property is mortgaged. Most buy-to-let mortgages need the lender's agreement to any change of legal ownership, and adding a borrower can mean a new application. A declaration of trust changing only the beneficial interests may be possible without changing the legal title, but check the mortgage terms first. Lender issues are commercial rather than tax questions, so speak to your broker alongside us.

Claiming every allowable cost reduces your rental profit and so your tax, but it doesn't change the restriction on finance costs. Letting agent fees, repairs, insurance, service charges, accountancy and replacement domestic items remain fully deductible. Landlords who under-claim these pay more tax than they need to. HMRC's LLP liquidation route, by contrast, doesn't work, as its Spotlight 69 explains.

Yes, in the normal way. A sale to a sitting tenant is taxed like any other sale: the gain is the price less your costs, at 18% or 24% after the annual exempt amount, reported within 60 days of completion. If the tenant is a relative or otherwise connected with you, market value replaces the agreed price. A sale to an unconnected tenant at a genuine arm's length price simply uses that price.

Often, yes. Spreading sales across tax years gives you a separate £3,000 annual exempt amount each year, and a fresh basic rate band each year where gains up to the band are taxed at 18% rather than 24%. The saving depends on your income in each year. The disposal date is the exchange date, so exchanging one sale before 6 April and the other after it is what counts.

You deduct the purchase price and the costs of buying, such as SDLT and legal fees, the costs of selling, such as estate agent and solicitor fees, and capital improvement spending, such as an extension or a loft conversion. Spending must still be reflected in the property when you sell. Costs already deducted against rental income can't be claimed again. Keep invoices, because HMRC can ask for evidence long after the work.

Yes. The incidental costs of buying a property, including stamp duty land tax, legal fees and survey costs, form part of its base cost for capital gains tax. So the SDLT you paid when you bought, including any higher-rates surcharge, reduces your gain when you sell. Keep the SDLT return and completion statement, as they are the easiest evidence of what you paid.

Yes. For the transfer to work, your spouse or civil partner must genuinely own their share, which means their share of the sale proceeds belongs to them. If the money comes straight back to you under a prior arrangement, HMRC may argue the transfer wasn't real and that the whole gain is yours. Couples who are comfortable with genuinely shared ownership are the ones for whom this works.

Yes. Capital losses from most assets, including shares, can be set against gains on property. Losses in the same tax year are used first, even if that wastes your annual exempt amount. Unused losses carry forward and are used only to bring later gains down to the annual exempt amount. Losses must be claimed within four years of the end of the tax year in which they arose.

Usually, yes. If you're in Self Assessment, the gain also goes on your tax return for the year, where your final capital gains tax is worked out using your actual income. Any amount you paid with the 60-day return is credited against it. If your income turned out different from your estimate, the final figure may be higher or lower than you paid.

Not if you are UK resident. Where the gain is covered by your annual exempt amount, losses or private residence relief, you don't need to file a 60-day return, though the sale may still need to appear on your Self Assessment return. Non-residents are different: they must report every disposal of UK land or property within 60 days of completion, even where there is no gain or a loss.

Only in a limited way. Losses on disposals to connected persons, such as a child, sibling or parent, can only be set against gains on later disposals to the same person. Your spouse or civil partner is the exception, because transfers between you are no gain, no loss. Because sales to family are also taxed at market value, a below-value sale can't create a loss in any case.

Usually, yes. A swap is a disposal of the property you give up, and the consideration is the value of the property you receive. Each owner works out their gain in the normal way, and if the two sides are connected, market value applies. There's no relief for exchanging one let property for another. SDLT may also need to be considered on the property you receive.

Gains are added on top of your taxable income. The part that falls within your unused basic rate band, up to £37,700 of taxable income and gains, is taxed at 18%; anything above is taxed at 24%. A landlord with a high salary pays 24% on the whole gain, while one in a low-income year, such as after retirement, can pay 18% on a good part of it. Timing the sale around your income can help.

Not for buy-to-let property. Rollover relief applies to assets used in a trade, and letting residential property is not a trade. Former furnished holiday lets lost access to rollover relief from April 2025. Moving proceeds into a company doesn't defer the gain either, unless the whole letting business is transferred in exchange for shares and incorporation relief is claimed. For most landlords, the gain is taxed when the property is sold.

Property Tax Advisory is the specialist property practice of ASWATAX, a UK tax advisory firm. It's a service of ASWATAX LTD, a company registered in England and Wales. Advice comes from a Big 4-trained team that includes ICAEW and ACCA Chartered Accountants, with every plan reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser. We set it up to give portfolio landlords a team that focuses on property tax and nothing else.

It's part of ASWATAX. ASWATAX advises owner-managed businesses and their owners on a wide range of tax matters, and Property Tax Advisory is the part of the firm that works only with landlords and property investors. You get a specialist team for your portfolio, backed by the wider firm when your affairs also involve a trading business, a sale or a family company.

Our team has more than 15 years' experience and has advised 100+ landlords and portfolios. We have helped incorporate more than £100m of property, and we've worked with portfolios up to £30m. That covers individual landlords, couples, families who own property together and existing property companies looking at their next step.

Landlords with three or more properties and growing portfolios. That includes individuals and couples, families and property partnerships, landlords who already use a limited company, and UK property owners who live abroad. We also work with the mortgage brokers, letting agents and accountants who look after them. We're not set up for first-time or accidental landlords with a single let.

We advise on Section 24 and how mortgage interest is taxed, whether and how to incorporate a portfolio, running and taking money out of a property company, capital gains tax when you sell, stamp duty land tax when you buy, inheritance tax and passing property to children, Family Investment Companies and the non-resident landlord rules. We focus on planning and structure, not routine bookkeeping.

Not as our main service. Property Tax Advisory focuses on advice and structuring: the decisions that change how much tax a portfolio pays over many years. Many clients keep their existing accountant for annual returns and accounts, and we work alongside them. If you need help with a specific return, such as a 60-day capital gains return after a sale, ask us.

Property tax has rules of its own that rarely come up elsewhere: Section 24, the stamp duty surcharges, incorporation relief and its business test, ATED, and the way inheritance tax treats let property. Decisions such as incorporating a portfolio are hard to reverse and expensive to get wrong. Many accountants handle the annual work well and bring in a specialist for these one-off decisions.

Every plan is reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), the senior professional qualification of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. The team is Big 4-trained and includes Chartered Accountants qualified with the ICAEW and the ACCA. That combination matters for landlords, because good property tax advice needs both technical tax knowledge and a clear grasp of the numbers.

Yes, and we prefer to. Incorporating or restructuring a portfolio usually needs a broker to arrange company lending, a conveyancer to handle any transfers and an accountant to keep the books afterwards. We design the tax side, agree the order of steps with everyone and make sure each adviser knows what they need to do and when.

ASWATAX runs a small number of specialist services. Demerger Tax (demergertax.co.uk) helps owners separate property from a trading company. Holding Company (holding-company.co.uk) covers setting up a holding company. Transaction Tax Partners (transactiontaxpartners.co.uk) advises on buying and selling businesses. Our main practice is at www.aswatax.co.uk. Each focuses on one kind of work, with the same firm behind it.

Our registered office is at 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX. We advise landlords across the UK and UK property owners who live overseas. Most of our work happens by video call, phone and email, which suits busy landlords and fits around your broker's and accountant's timetables. If a face-to-face meeting would help at a key stage, ask us.

Yes. Income tax and capital gains tax on rental property work broadly the same across the UK, although Scottish taxpayers have their own income tax rates and bands. When you buy, Scotland has land and buildings transaction tax and Wales has land transaction tax instead of SDLT, each with its own rates and surcharges. We take those differences into account.

We work on fixed fees, agreed upfront. After a free first call we confirm in writing what we'll do and the fee for it, so you know the cost before any work starts. We don't charge by the hour or add surprise extras. If the scope changes later, we agree that with you before doing the extra work.

We respond the same working day. Property decisions often have a date behind them, such as a mortgage product ending, a purchase completing or a sale agreed. Tell us the date that matters when you get in touch and we'll plan around it, from the first call through to the final filings.

Property Tax Advisory is a service of ASWATAX LTD, a limited company registered in England and Wales. ASWATAX LTD is registered with the Chartered Institute of Taxation as Chartered Tax Advisers and for the purposes of anti-money laundering legislation. As the money laundering rules require, we'll ask for identity documents before we start work.

No honest adviser can promise that before looking at the facts. Sometimes the right answer is to change your structure; sometimes it's to keep things as they are and plan the timing of sales or gifts. Our job is to show you the real numbers for each option, including any costs of making a change, and recommend what fits your plans.

So the team you speak to is prepared. Knowing roughly how many properties you own, how they're held, what's borrowed and what you want to achieve lets the first call focus on your options rather than background questions. It also helps us tell you quickly whether we're the right fit, so neither of us wastes time.

About two minutes. There are three short steps: who you are, your portfolio and what you want to achieve, and how to reach you. You don't need any documents to complete it, and you can add the detail on the call. If you'd rather not use a form, email or phone us instead and we'll respond the same working day.

A band, by number of properties and rough value, is enough to show the scale of the work. Size affects which options are worth modelling: incorporation, for example, involves costs that only make sense above a certain level of borrowing and profit. Few landlords have up-to-date valuations when they first get in touch, and you don't need them.

Please still get in touch. Landlords with a smaller portfolio often have the most to gain from getting the structure right early, before they buy more. We'll be honest about whether a change is worth the cost. Sometimes the best advice for a smaller portfolio is to keep it personally owned and buy future properties differently.

Yes. Choose the band that fits and add a line about anything unusual, such as properties held in different names, a partnership, an existing company or properties overseas. The adviser will use that to prepare. We've worked with portfolios up to £30m, and larger or more complex cases simply mean a longer first conversation.

A list of your properties with rough values, mortgage balances and monthly rent is the most useful thing. It also helps to know whose names each property is in, roughly when you bought them and what you paid, and whether any are in a company already. Your latest tax return is handy. Estimates are fine at this stage.

Where it looks like a fit, you can usually choose a time for a call straight away. Otherwise, we respond the same working day to arrange one. Either way, your call is with the team who would work on your portfolio, not a sales team. You'll get a confirmation so you know your enquiry has arrived.

We work on fixed fees, agreed upfront. The first call is free. If it makes sense to work together, we'll confirm in writing exactly what we'll do and the fee for it before any work starts. The fee depends on the size and complexity of the portfolio and what's involved, which is why we agree it after we've spoken.

We respond the same working day during normal UK business hours, Monday to Friday. If you submit the form in the evening or at the weekend, we'll reply on the next working day, or you may be able to choose a call time straight away. If a deadline is pressing, such as a completion date, mention it on the form.

No. The first call is free and without obligation. It's about understanding your portfolio and whether there's planning worth doing. If there is, we'll set out the scope and a fixed fee in writing so you can decide in your own time. Many landlords take a few weeks to think it over, and that's fine.

Usually your goals first: growing the portfolio, reducing the tax on rent, selling some properties, or passing them to your children. Then how the properties are owned, financed and taxed today. The adviser will outline which options look worth exploring and the main tax points for each. It's a conversation, not formal advice.

Yes, and it often helps. Where properties are owned jointly or a family is involved, decisions usually affect more than one person, and it's useful for everyone to hear the same explanation. Your accountant or broker is welcome to join too. Just mention who'll be on the call when you book.

Yes. Choose the introducer option on the form and say whether you'd like us to speak to you first or to your client directly. We advise only on property tax, so we won't compete for your client's mortgage, letting, accounts or investment work. You can describe the client in general terms at first if you prefer.

Yes, if you can. A remortgage is often the natural point to change structure, because moving properties into a company usually means new company lending anyway. Speaking to us a few months before your products end gives time to model the options and line up a broker. Leaving it until the last minute can force a decision.

It's used only to respond to your enquiry and prepare for the call. The first conversation is confidential, so you can explain your situation openly. You can leave out names or addresses if you'd rather. Our privacy policy explains how we handle personal data and which service providers help us run the website.

Yes, but get in touch as soon as you can. If transfers or sales have already happened, deadlines may already be running, such as the 60-day capital gains return or the 14-day SDLT return. We'll review what's been done, check any exposure and tell you what still needs to happen.

Yes. Every case study we publish is based on real work our team has done for a landlord or property company, with the client's permission. We don't publish invented, composite or hypothetical examples presented as real. Where details are changed, it's only to protect confidentiality, and the tax points and outcome are kept as they happened.

Because we only publish real work with the client's permission, and many landlords understandably prefer their affairs to stay private. We add new case studies as clients agree. A short list isn't a measure of our experience: our team has advised 100+ landlords and portfolios and helped incorporate £100m+ of property over 15+ years.

Property ownership, borrowing and family plans are personal, and some details, such as a town and a portfolio size, could identify someone. So we describe each client in general terms, such as a couple with a dozen buy-to-lets, and give a value band rather than an exact figure. That shows the kind of problem we solved without exposing anyone.

Who the client was in general terms, what they wanted to achieve and why, how the portfolio was held and financed, the options we compared, what was done and the outcome. Where it helps, we explain why an option that looked attractive was rejected. Most also answer common questions about that type of situation.

An exact value, combined with a location or number of properties, could help someone identify the client. A band, such as £2m to £5m, shows the scale without revealing who it is. We mainly work with landlords who own three or more properties, and we've worked with portfolios up to £30m.

Not necessarily. The outcome depends on your own facts: how long you've owned the properties, the gains built up, your borrowing, your income, whether you run the properties as a business, and your plans for the future. A case study shows how a similar issue was approached, not a guaranteed result. We'd look at your numbers first.

Book a call and mention the case study. Our team can tell you which points are likely to apply to you, which won't, and what options are worth modelling. The first call is free and without obligation, and we respond the same working day. Any further work is on a fixed fee agreed upfront.

Only in general terms, to protect confidentiality. On a call, though, we can explain how similar situations are usually approached, why one route might be chosen over another and what to watch for in your own case. That's usually more useful than further detail about someone else's portfolio, because your own facts decide the answer.

No. Incorporation is one of the questions landlords most often ask about, but many cases end with a different answer: keeping properties personal and changing how new ones are bought, rebalancing ownership between spouses, planning the timing of sales, or setting up succession arrangements. Sometimes the best outcome is confirming that no change is needed.

Where the client agrees and the figure is meaningful, we may show the effect in broad terms. But savings depend on assumptions about future rents, interest rates, property values and tax rates, so we're careful not to overstate them. We'll never publish a figure we can't stand behind, and we don't invent numbers.

We'll publish them as clients give permission. Section 24 cases usually involve higher-rate landlords with significant borrowing, where the restriction on mortgage interest relief has pushed up their tax. The options range from restructuring ownership or borrowing to incorporating, and the right one depends on the numbers. Our Section 24 page explains the rules in the meantime.

Succession cases are among the most personal, so they're the least likely to be published, and only with clear permission. They typically involve a mix of gifts, trusts, wills and sometimes a Family Investment Company, chosen around the family's wishes. Our pages on inheritance tax for landlords and passing property to children explain the main options.

They show what can be achieved when the steps are planned and carried out in the right order. They aren't a promise that every landlord can reduce their tax in the same way. Sometimes tax can't be avoided, or a relief isn't available on the facts, and we say so at the start.

They show the kinds of problem an adviser has dealt with in practice. When comparing advisers, ask whether they've worked on portfolios like yours, how they decide whether incorporation makes sense, how they deal with lenders and conveyancers, who will do the work and how they charge. Clear, specific answers are a good sign.

Only with your permission, and always anonymised. Once our work is complete, we may ask whether we can describe it in general terms. You'll see the wording before anything is published, and you can say no without it affecting our work for you. Many clients prefer not to be featured, and that's entirely fine.

We'll include them as clients give permission. Non-resident landlords face extra rules, such as the non-resident landlord scheme for rent, non-resident capital gains tax on UK property and the 2% SDLT surcharge for non-resident buyers. Our non-resident landlords page explains how these work while we add examples, including the planning points around moving abroad.

We only publish feedback that clients have genuinely given and agreed to share. We'd rather show nothing than show something that isn't real. If you'd like to understand how we work before committing, the first call is free, and our fees are fixed and agreed upfront, so you can judge us on the advice itself.

Yes, they will. Existing property companies raise their own questions: how to take profits out, whether to add family members as shareholders, how to handle a director's loan account, and what happens on a sale or wind-up. Our pages on property limited companies and extracting profits explain the main points in the meantime.

Each case study is dated. Tax rules for landlords have changed a lot in recent years, including the Section 24 restriction, higher SDLT surcharges, the end of the furnished holiday lettings regime and new property income rates from April 2027. Check the date and take advice on the current rules before relying on any example.

Our topic pages explain the rules in plain English: Section 24, incorporating a property portfolio, property limited companies, capital gains tax on property, inheritance tax for landlords and SDLT for property investors. Our insights section goes deeper on individual questions, and the glossary explains the technical terms you'll come across.

The quickest way is the Book a call form, which takes about two minutes and asks what we need to know about your portfolio. You can also email taxadvisory@aswatax.co.uk, or call or WhatsApp +44 7537 143695. However you contact us, your enquiry goes straight to a senior adviser and we respond the same working day.

Yes. You can message or call us on WhatsApp at +44 7537 143695. Many landlords find it easier to send a quick note between viewings or work, for example to say how many properties they own and what they're thinking about. We respond the same working day and can then arrange a proper call at a time that suits you.

We respond the same working day. If you use the Book a call form and it looks like a fit, you can usually pick a time to talk straight away rather than waiting for a reply. If you get in touch in the evening or at a weekend, we'll reply on the next working day. Mention any deadline and we'll prioritise it.

Our team reads it and arranges a free first conversation. On that call we'll ask how the properties are owned, roughly what they're worth, what's borrowed against them and what you want to achieve, such as growing, selling or passing them on. We'll then tell you which options are worth exploring and whether we can help.

A rough picture is enough for the first call: how many properties you own, whose names they're in, approximate values and mortgage balances, roughly what they cost and when you bought them, and the rent they bring in. Your latest tax return is useful but not essential. Precise figures can come later, once we know which options are worth modelling.

Yes. Email taxadvisory@aswatax.co.uk with a short description of your portfolio and what you'd like to achieve, plus the best way to reach you. The form can be quicker because it asks the right questions up front, but a short email works just as well. We'll reply the same working day and suggest a time to talk.

Yes. Brokers, letting agents, accountants and wealth managers often contact us on behalf of a landlord, by form, email or phone. We focus on property tax advice, so we won't take over your mortgage, letting or accounts work, and the relationship stays with the adviser who introduced you. They're welcome to join the first call too.

Yes. Landlords often share sensitive information, such as family plans, a separation, a sale that isn't public or worries about past tax returns. What you tell us is used only to respond to you and advise you, and nothing is shared without your agreement. You can describe your situation in general terms first if you'd prefer.

An adviser. You speak to the team who would work on your portfolio, so the first conversation can get into the detail straight away. The team is Big 4-trained and includes ICAEW and ACCA Chartered Accountants, and every plan is reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser.

Yes, ideally. Many landlords get in touch while they're still weighing up whether a company makes sense. Talking early leaves more options open, because some steps, such as remortgaging, buying in a new name or transferring a share to a spouse, can make later planning easier or harder. Incorporation isn't always the answer, and we'll tell you if it isn't.

Yes. We advise UK property owners who live abroad, including on the non-resident landlord scheme, UK tax returns, non-resident capital gains tax and the stamp duty surcharge for non-resident buyers. Calls can be arranged around your time zone, and WhatsApp is often the easiest way to reach us from overseas.

We work normal UK business hours, Monday to Friday, and respond to enquiries the same working day. Enquiries made in the evening or at the weekend get a reply on the next working day. If something is time-critical, such as a completion date or a 60-day capital gains deadline, say so in your message.

No. The first call is free and without obligation. It's a chance for us to understand your portfolio and goals, and for you to decide whether we're the right people to help. If it makes sense to work together, we confirm the scope and a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.

You can, but you don't need to. Useful documents include a list of your properties with values and mortgage balances, your latest tax return and, for a company, its latest accounts. Please don't send anything you'd rather discuss first. After the call we'll send a specific information list so you only gather what's relevant.

Our registered office is at 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX. Most of our work is done by video call, phone and email, so we can advise landlords right across the UK, and overseas, without anyone needing to travel. Tell us if a face-to-face meeting would help at a particular stage.

No. Property Tax Advisory gives property tax advice and helps implement it. We don't arrange mortgages, manage lettings, sell investments or take over a landlord's annual accounts and returns as a matter of course. Your client stays your client, and we'll send them back to you for everything outside the tax advice we've been asked to give.

When a landlord asks whether to buy in a limited company, wants to move existing properties into one, or is refinancing a portfolio and wondering about the structure. Brokers can't give tax advice, and lenders often expect the client to have taken it. Bringing us in early means the lending and the tax plan fit together rather than pulling in different directions.

Letting agents are often the first to hear that a landlord is worried about Section 24, thinking of selling up, planning to move abroad or wanting to pass properties to their children. Each of those has tax consequences that need proper advice. Referring them to a specialist helps the landlord make a considered decision, which often means they keep the portfolio rather than sell.

Many accountants handle landlords' annual accounts and returns well, then bring us in for one-off decisions: incorporating a portfolio, restructuring joint ownership, a large disposal, inheritance tax planning or a Family Investment Company. We provide the specialist analysis and implementation, and hand back to you for the ongoing compliance. You stay the client's accountant throughout.

Usually succession and inheritance tax questions for clients whose wealth is largely in let property, which typically doesn't qualify for Business Relief. We can look at the options for passing property or its growth to the next generation, such as gifts, trusts or a Family Investment Company, while the wealth manager continues to advise on the client's investments and overall financial plan.

We respond the same working day. An initial view usually comes as a short call, setting out the likely options, the main tax issues and what we'd need to look at in more detail. That gives you something useful to take back to the client before anyone commits to fees.

Yes. We can report through you, join your calls with the client, or work directly with the client and keep you copied in, whichever you prefer. Tell us at the start and we'll stick to it. Our engagement covers only the property tax work agreed in writing, so there's no drift into your area.

A short outline is enough: the number of properties, whose names they're in, rough values, mortgage balances and rents, and what the client wants to achieve. For a company, the latest accounts help. If a purchase, sale or refinance is planned, tell us the timing. We'll say what else we need if it turns out to be complex.

The same way as for anyone else. The first call is free, and we then agree a fixed fee upfront, in writing, with the client before any work starts. The client knows the cost in advance, which makes it easier for you to recommend us. We don't add hidden charges or bill by the hour.

Yes. We understand the questions lenders commonly ask about a property company, such as the shareholders, directors, personal guarantees and the type of company. We'll make sure the tax structure we recommend is one the broker can realistically finance, and we'll keep the broker updated on timing so the lending and the tax steps line up.

Mainly landlords with three or more properties and growing portfolios, from individuals and couples to families and established property companies. We've worked with portfolios up to £30m. For smaller portfolios, we'll be honest about whether a change in structure would pay for itself. Every enquiry gets the same senior attention, whatever its size.

Section 24 squeezing a higher-rate landlord's profits, whether to incorporate an existing portfolio, buying the next property personally or in a company, getting money out of a property company tax-efficiently, selling part of a portfolio, landlords moving abroad, and parents wanting to pass properties to children. Each calls for different analysis, and we explain the trade-offs.

Advice comes from a Big 4-trained team that includes ICAEW and ACCA Chartered Accountants, and every plan is reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser. Our team has 15+ years' experience, has advised 100+ landlords and portfolios and has helped incorporate £100m+ of property. The same senior adviser stays involved from the first call to the final filing.

Yes, but it's better to speak to us before anything moves. If properties have already been transferred, we'll review what's been done, check the capital gains tax and SDLT position, look at whether any relief claims are still available and make sure the filing deadlines are met. Acting quickly matters because some deadlines are short.

Use the Book a call form and choose the introducer option, email taxadvisory@aswatax.co.uk, or call or WhatsApp +44 7537 143695. Let us know whether you want us to report through you or work directly with the client, and roughly what they want to achieve. We respond the same working day.

Yes. You can describe the client in general terms and we'll give you an initial view. Anything you tell us is used only to respond to you. Once the client decides to go ahead, we carry out our identity checks with them directly, as the money laundering rules require. There's no charge for that first conversation.

Section 24 is the common name for the rule, introduced by section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015, that stops individual landlords deducting mortgage interest and other finance costs from residential rental income. Instead they get a tax reduction at the basic rate. It was phased in from April 2017 and fully applied from April 2020. It doesn't apply to companies.

Finance costs include mortgage interest, interest on loans to buy furnishings, and the fees and incidental costs of taking out or repaying a loan, such as arrangement and broker fees. For individual residential landlords, these aren't deducted from rental income but relieved as a basic-rate tax reduction. Capital repayments of a mortgage were never deductible.

Legal ownership is whose names are on the title at HM Land Registry. Beneficial ownership is who is actually entitled to the property's value and income. They're usually the same, but can differ, for example under a declaration of trust. For tax purposes, rent and gains generally follow beneficial ownership, which is why it matters.

These are two ways of owning property jointly. Joint tenants own the whole property together, with no separate shares, and the survivor automatically inherits. Tenants in common each own a distinct share, which can be unequal and can be left by will. Unequal income splits between spouses using Form 17 need a tenancy in common.

A declaration of trust is a legal document recording who owns the beneficial interest in a property and in what shares. It can show, for example, that a property in one person's name is owned 70:30 with their spouse. It's often used alongside Form 17 to support an unequal split of rental income between spouses or civil partners.

Form 17 is the HMRC form married couples and civil partners use to declare that they own a jointly held property in unequal shares, so rental income is taxed according to their actual shares rather than 50:50. HMRC must receive it within 60 days of the declaration. It can't be used where the couple are joint tenants.

Incorporation relief, under section 162 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, defers capital gains tax when a business is transferred to a company as a going concern, with all its assets other than cash, in exchange for shares. The gain reduces the base cost of the shares. For a property portfolio, the letting must amount to a business.

It's an extra amount of stamp duty land tax on buying an additional residential property, such as a buy-to-let, or on purchases by companies. The surcharge is currently 5 percentage points on top of the standard residential rates in each band. It applies in England and Northern Ireland; Scotland and Wales have their own equivalents.

ATED is the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings, a yearly charge on companies and some other non-natural persons that own a UK residential property valued at more than £500,000. Property rental businesses letting to unconnected tenants can usually claim relief, but they must still file an ATED return, normally by 30 April at the start of each chargeable period.

A Family Investment Company, or FIC, is a private company used to hold family investments, such as property, with parents usually keeping control through voting shares while children hold shares that benefit from future growth. It's an alternative to a trust for passing on wealth. The tax treatment depends on how it's funded and the share rights.

The non-resident landlord scheme applies when a landlord's usual place of abode is outside the UK. Letting agents, or tenants paying more than £100 a week where there's no agent, must deduct basic-rate tax from the rent unless HMRC has approved the landlord to receive rent without deduction. The landlord still files a UK tax return.

Private residence relief removes or reduces capital gains tax on selling a home that has been your only or main residence. If you've also let it, the relief covers the periods you lived there plus the final 9 months of ownership in most cases. The rest of the gain is usually taxable, although lettings relief may help in limited cases.

When a UK resident sells a UK residential property and capital gains tax is due, they must report the sale to HMRC and pay an estimate of the tax within 60 days of completion. Non-UK residents must report any disposal of UK property or land within 60 days, even if no tax is due.

A director's loan account records money flowing between a company and its director. If you lend money to your property company, or sell properties to it on credit, the company owes you that amount and can usually repay it without further tax. If the company lends to you instead, a corporation tax charge can arise on loans not repaid in time.

It's where you give something away but keep a benefit from it, for example giving a property to your children but continuing to receive the rent or live there rent-free. For inheritance tax, the property is treated as still part of your estate when you die, so the gift doesn't save inheritance tax as intended.

The residence nil-rate band is an extra inheritance tax allowance of up to £175,000 per person when a home you've lived in passes to your direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren, on death. It's reduced by £1 for every £2 the estate exceeds £2 million. Buy-to-let properties don't qualify unless you lived in them.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requires individuals with qualifying income from property and self-employment above a threshold to keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC using compatible software. The threshold is £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. It's based on gross income, not profit.

It's the new 22% basic rate of income tax for property income, due to apply from 6 April 2027 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, alongside a property higher rate of 42% and a property additional rate of 47%. The basic-rate tax reduction for finance costs is also due to be calculated at the property basic rate from that date.

We include the terms landlords and their advisers most often meet when making decisions about a portfolio: on income, buying, selling, incorporating, companies, inheritance and non-residence. Each definition is short, plain English and checked against the current law, with a link to the page that explains the subject in more depth.

Yes. If you've come across a property tax term that isn't here, email taxadvisory@aswatax.co.uk and we'll consider adding it. We review the glossary when the law changes to keep definitions accurate. If you need a term explained for your own situation, book a free call and a senior adviser can tell you what it means in practice.

Yes. We work on fixed fees, agreed upfront. After a free first call, we confirm in writing what we'll do, what's included and the fee, before any work starts. You won't get an hourly bill or a surprise invoice. If your plans change and more work is needed, we agree a fee for that extra work with you before doing it.

Because every portfolio is different. The work involved depends on how many properties you own, how they're held, whether a company or partnership is involved, the borrowing, and what you want to achieve. A fixed fee only works if it reflects your actual situation, so we agree it after the free first call, once we understand what's needed.

Everything set out in the engagement letter for that piece of work. Typically that's reviewing your information, modelling the options, a written report with our recommendation, a call to talk it through and answering your follow-up questions. For an implementation project, it can also include coordinating your broker, conveyancer and accountant and the related tax filings. The letter lists exactly what's covered.

Work by other professionals, such as a conveyancer's legal fees, a broker's fees, lender costs or a surveyor's valuation, and any tax that's payable, such as SDLT. Annual accounts and routine tax returns are also outside our fee unless agreed. The engagement letter makes clear what's in and what's out, so there are no grey areas later.

Yes. The first call is free and without obligation. We use it to understand your portfolio and goals, give you an initial view of the options worth exploring and explain what further work would involve. If you decide to go ahead, we'll then confirm the scope and fixed fee in writing. If not, there's nothing to pay.

We tell you before doing anything extra. Sometimes new facts come to light, such as a property held in a different name, a past gift or a lender requirement. If that changes the scope, we explain why, agree a fixed fee for the additional work and only then carry it out. You stay in control of the cost.

It starts with a free first call. If it makes sense to work together, we agree the scope and fixed fee, then gather your information. We model the options, such as staying personal, incorporating or restructuring ownership, and send a written recommendation. Where you go ahead, we coordinate the steps with your broker, conveyancer and accountant, then help with the filings.

A review and written recommendation usually takes a few weeks from receiving your information, depending on the size of the portfolio. Implementing a change, such as incorporating, takes longer because lenders, valuers and conveyancers are involved, often a few months. We'll give you a realistic timetable at the start and plan around any mortgage or completion dates.

Our team, from the first call to the final filing. The team is Big 4-trained and includes ICAEW and ACCA Chartered Accountants, and every plan is reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser. You won't be passed between departments, so you won't have to explain your portfolio twice.

Usually a schedule of your properties with purchase dates, costs, current values, mortgage balances and rents, plus your recent tax returns and, for a company, its accounts. If properties are jointly owned or held on trust, we'll ask about that too. After the first call we send a specific list, so you only gather what's relevant.

Yes. Most structural changes need all three. Your broker arranges any new or transferred lending, your conveyancer handles transfers and the Land Registry, and we design the tax side and the order of steps. We keep everyone working from the same plan, which avoids delays and steps taken in the wrong order.

We respond the same working day, throughout the work. We plan around the dates that matter to you, such as a remortgage, an exchange of contracts or a tax deadline. If something urgent comes up, such as a question from a lender or a change to a completion date, tell us and we'll prioritise it.

Yes. Our recommendations are set out in writing, with the numbers behind them and the main risks and conditions explained in plain English. That gives you something to share with your family, broker or accountant and a record of why a decision was made. Key decisions on calls are confirmed by email.

Most of our work happens by video call, phone and email, which suits landlords across the UK and overseas. Some clients like to meet at a key stage, such as when a family is deciding how to pass on a portfolio. Ask if an in-person meeting would help. Either way, you deal with the same senior adviser.

We help with the follow-through: the SDLT returns, any capital gains tax reporting, claims such as incorporation relief, and what needs to go on your tax returns or the company's. We'll also point out ongoing obligations, such as ATED returns for higher-value homes in a company. Your accountant then takes over the annual compliance, with a clear handover.

Yes. Many landlords start with a fixed-fee review of their position: how the portfolio is taxed today, what the main options are and roughly what each would cost and save. You can then decide whether to go further. The review is often all that's needed if the answer is to keep things as they are.

The tax questions portfolio landlords face most: Section 24 and mortgage interest, whether to incorporate, running a property company and taking money out of it, capital gains tax when selling, SDLT when buying, inheritance tax and passing property to children, Family Investment Companies and the rules for landlords who live abroad. Each article focuses on one question.

Landlords with three or more properties and growing portfolios, and the mortgage brokers, letting agents and accountants who work with them. They're written in plain English and explain technical terms as they go, so you don't need a tax background. Our glossary covers any terms you're unsure about, and each article links to the pages that explain the wider subject.

No. The articles are general information, not advice. Whether a structure or relief works for you depends on your own facts, the detailed conditions and anti-avoidance rules, and tax law changes regularly. Speak to an adviser about your position before buying, selling, transferring or gifting property. Acting too early can cost you a relief.

Each article is dated, so you can see when it was published or last reviewed. Property tax rules change often, through Budgets and Finance Acts, so check the date and take advice on the current position before acting. We update articles when the law changes, and note what changed, so you can see whether an older point still applies.

Start with our property tax advice page, which explains the main decisions landlords face, then read the pages on Section 24 and incorporating a property portfolio. Our free guide, 'Landlord tax guide: incorporation, Section 24 and beyond', brings the main points together. The calculators let you test the numbers, and the articles go deeper on specific questions.

Yes. From 6 April 2027, property income in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be taxed at its own rates of 22%, 42% and 47%, two percentage points higher than the current rates. The relief for finance costs is also due to be given at the 22% property basic rate. We explain what this means for personally owned portfolios.

Yes. Incorporation is one of the biggest decisions a landlord makes, and it's hard to reverse. Our articles explain the capital gains tax and SDLT costs of moving properties into a company, when incorporation relief may be available, the effect on mortgages, and how the company's profits are taxed and taken out. They're designed to help you ask the right questions.

Yes. Many landlords buy new properties through a company while keeping existing ones personally. Our articles cover how a property company is taxed, the stamp duty position, how to extract profits through salary, dividends or loan repayments, and the longer-term questions about selling the company or passing it on. We also cover how lenders view company borrowing.

Yes. We explain how the gain is worked out, the rates for residential property, what costs you can deduct, how private residence relief works for a former home, and the 60-day deadline to report and pay after selling a UK residential property. We also look at timing sales across tax years and between spouses.

Yes. Let property usually doesn't qualify for Business Relief, so a portfolio can face inheritance tax at 40% above the available nil-rate bands. Our articles explain gifts and the 7-year rule, the gift with reservation trap, trusts, Family Investment Companies, and the capital gains tax that can arise when property is given away.

Yes. Non-resident landlords still pay UK tax on UK rental profits, and the non-resident landlord scheme decides whether tax is deducted from rent before it reaches you. Non-residents must also report UK property disposals within 60 days, even where no tax is due. Our articles explain these rules and the planning points around a move abroad.

Yes. SDLT is often the biggest upfront cost of growing a portfolio. We explain the higher rates for additional dwellings, the flat rate that can apply to companies buying expensive homes, the surcharge for non-resident buyers, how purchases of six or more dwellings can be treated, and the SDLT that can arise when you move properties into a company.

Sign up to our newsletter using the form in the website footer. We don't send frequent emails, and you can unsubscribe at any time. New articles are also added to this page as they're published. If you're a client and a change affects you, such as a Budget announcement on property income or SDLT, we'll tell you directly.

Get in touch through the Book a call form, by email, phone or WhatsApp. Our team can tell you whether the point applies to you and what your options are. The first call is free and without obligation, and we respond the same working day. Mention the article if it helps.

Yes, please do. They're a useful way to start a conversation about your plans. Bear in mind they're general information, so anyone reading them should take advice on their own position before acting. Brokers, agents and accountants can also introduce clients to us, and the client relationship stays with them.

Our team, which includes Big 4-trained Chartered Accountants. Articles are reviewed by a Chartered Tax Adviser. We cite legislation and HMRC guidance where it helps, so you or your adviser can check the source. Articles are checked against the current law before they're published and reviewed when the rules change.

Mostly, yes. Capital gains tax and inheritance tax work the same way across the UK. Scottish taxpayers have their own income tax rates and bands, and property purchases in Scotland and Wales are taxed under land and buildings transaction tax and land transaction tax instead of SDLT. Where those differences matter, our articles point them out.

Yes. The special tax regime for furnished holiday lettings was abolished from April 2025 for income tax and capital gains tax, so holiday lets are now generally taxed like other residential lettings. Our articles explain what changed, including mortgage interest relief, capital allowances and capital gains tax reliefs, and the transitional rules.

Yes, where it affects planning. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from April 2026 to individuals with qualifying income from property and self-employment over £50,000, with the threshold falling to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. It changes how landlords keep records and report, though not how much tax they pay.

No. Articles explain the rules in general, but the right answer for a portfolio depends on the numbers: your gains, borrowing, income, family and plans. A fixed-fee review looks at your actual position and compares the options side by side. The articles help you prepare for that conversation and ask better questions.

Five: a Section 24 calculator for the tax on mortgaged rental income, an incorporation calculator comparing personal and company ownership, a property capital gains tax calculator for sales, an SDLT calculator for purchases, and a landlord inheritance tax calculator for your estate. Each explains its assumptions so you can see what it covers and what it doesn't.

It estimates how much income tax you pay on your rental profits now that mortgage interest isn't deducted from rent but given as a basic-rate tax reduction. You enter your rent, interest, costs and other income, and it works out your own position, including the effect on your personal allowance, so you can see how much the restriction costs you. It's a quick way to judge whether a closer look is worthwhile.

It compares keeping a portfolio in your own name with holding it in a limited company, comparing the annual tax on rental profits with corporation tax, assuming profits stay in the company. It also estimates the one-off costs of moving properties into a company, such as capital gains tax and SDLT. It's a starting point for a conversation, not a decision on its own.

It estimates the capital gains tax on selling a residential property: the gain after purchase costs, improvements and selling costs, the annual exempt amount, and tax at the residential rates. It also reminds you of the 60-day deadline to report and pay after completion. It doesn't calculate private residence relief for a former home in detail.

It works out stamp duty land tax on a residential purchase in England or Northern Ireland, including the 5% higher-rates surcharge for additional dwellings and the 2% surcharge for non-resident buyers. It's useful for checking the cost of your next purchase. It doesn't cover Scotland's land and buildings transaction tax or Wales's land transaction tax.

It gives a rough estimate of the inheritance tax that could be due on an estate that includes a property portfolio, taking account of the nil-rate band, the residence nil-rate band where a home passes to direct descendants, and debts. It helps show the scale of the issue. It doesn't model gifts, trusts or reliefs in detail.

Yes. The calculators are free, with no sign-up and no need to give your name or email address. There's no obligation to contact us afterwards, though we're happy to talk through your results. You can use them as often as you like and share the link with your partner, broker or accountant.

No. The calculators run in your browser, and the numbers you enter aren't stored or sent to us. If you accept analytics cookies, we record only that a calculator was used, not what you entered. Results aren't saved, so note down anything you want to keep. That way your figures stay private to you.

They're estimates based on simplified assumptions and the figures you enter. Real tax bills depend on your whole income, other gains, allowances, reliefs, ownership shares and the timing of transactions, which a calculator can't fully capture. Use the results to understand the scale of an issue, then have your position reviewed before acting.

They use the rates and allowances for the 2026/27 tax year, and each calculator page shows when it was last reviewed. Where announced changes are coming, such as the separate property income rates from April 2027, the calculator explains whether they're included. Check the review date before relying on a result.

No. It shows how the annual tax compares under each structure, which is only part of the decision. Whether to incorporate also depends on the capital gains tax and SDLT on transfer, whether incorporation relief is available, refinancing costs, your plans for the profits and your long-term goals for the portfolio. Those need a proper review of your facts.

Because Section 24 can push your taxable income into a higher band, even though your real profit hasn't changed. Rent is taxed before mortgage interest is taken into account, so a higher-rate taxpayer pays 40% on income that's partly spent on interest, with only a 20% tax reduction back. Losing your personal allowance above £100,000 can add to the effect.

You can use them for joint ownership by entering your own share of the rent, costs, gain or value. Each owner is taxed on their own share, using their own allowances and tax band. Married couples and civil partners are usually taxed 50:50 on rent from jointly held property unless a valid Form 17 declaration is in place.

The incorporation calculator compares company ownership with personal ownership. The other calculators are mainly designed for individuals. A company pays corporation tax rather than income tax or capital gains tax, and its SDLT position can differ, so company figures need a separate look. We can model that on a call.

Partly. Capital gains tax and inheritance tax work the same way across the UK, so those calculators apply. The SDLT calculator covers England and Northern Ireland only. Scottish taxpayers have different income tax rates and bands, which the Section 24 and incorporation calculators may not reflect. An adviser can adjust for this.

Yes. Mortgage brokers, letting agents and accountants often use them to open a conversation with a landlord about Section 24 or buying through a company. If the results suggest planning is worthwhile, you can introduce the client to us and stay their adviser. No sign-up means they're quick to use in a meeting.

If the results suggest there's something to look at, talk to an adviser before acting. Don't transfer properties, set up a company or gift property to family on the strength of a calculator result, because the order of steps and the conditions for reliefs often decide the real cost. A short conversation first can avoid an expensive mistake.

Yes. Book a free first call and tell us which calculator you used and what it showed. Our team can explain what the result means for you, what it leaves out and whether there's planning worth doing. Any further work is on a fixed fee agreed upfront, and we respond the same working day.

We may, where a calculator would genuinely help landlords understand a decision. Ideas include tools for profit extraction from a property company and for comparing ownership splits between spouses. If there's a calculation you'd find useful, email taxadvisory@aswatax.co.uk and tell us about it. We review suggestions regularly and prioritise those that would help the most landlords.

Because you shouldn't have to hand over personal details to understand your own tax position. The calculators are there to help you think things through privately. If you'd like to talk about the results, you can choose to get in touch, but there's no catch and no follow-up unless you ask for it.