Buy-to-let in your personal name vs a limited company

Holding in your personal name

Owning a buy-to-let personally is simpler and usually has lower mortgage rates and fees. The catch is tax: since the phasing out of full mortgage interest relief, individual landlords can no longer deduct mortgage interest as a straightforward expense. Instead you get a basic-rate tax credit, which can push higher-rate taxpayers into a much less favourable position. Rental profit is taxed at your personal income tax rate.

Holding through a limited company

Owning through a limited company (often a special purpose vehicle, or SPV) means rental profit is subject to corporation tax rather than income tax, and mortgage interest is generally a deductible business expense. This can be more tax-efficient for higher-rate taxpayers and buy to let property portfolio landlords. The trade-offs: limited company buy-to-let mortgages often have higher rates and fees, there is more administration and accountancy cost, and extracting profit from the company has its own tax implications.

Which tends to suit whom

Why advice matters here

This decision sits at the intersection of mortgage and tax, and the numbers vary a lot by individual circumstance. The mortgage rate difference, the tax difference, the cost of running a company, and your long-term plans all feed into it. We work alongside your accountant so the mortgage structure and the tax structure line up. Getting this right at the outset saves a great deal later.