Updated for 2026/27

Ltd Company vs Personal Buy-to-Let Calculator

Compare the tax on your rental profit if you hold property personally versus through a limited company, including the cost of incorporating an existing portfolio and how long it would take to break even.

Tax year

Personal ownership

£3,814 net per year

Taxable rental profit
£12,600
Income tax on rental profit
£3,986
Section 24 mortgage interest credit
− £1,200
Net tax on rental income
£2,786

Limited company ownership

£4,922 net per year

Taxable company profit
£6,600
Corporation tax
− £1,254
Profit after corporation tax
£5,346
Dividend tax on extraction
− £424

Assumes all post-tax profit is extracted as dividends on top of your other income, after the £500 dividend allowance.

A limited company looks better off by

£1,108 per year

Based on your figures for the selected tax year, before incorporation costs.

Cost and timeline to incorporate

Estimated SDLT on transferring 1 property
£15,750
Estimated legal & accountancy cost
£1,500
Total estimated cost to incorporate
£17,250

Indicative only — actual legal, mortgage and accountancy costs vary by adviser and portfolio. We've also assumed roughly £1,200/yr of extra ongoing accountancy cost for running a company when working out the net annual benefit below. Always get a specific quote before deciding.

On these figures, a limited company doesn't show a net annual benefit once extra running costs are accounted for, so there's no meaningful break-even point — incorporating an existing portfolio is unlikely to pay for itself on the numbers alone.

Beyond the numbers

  • Buy-to-let mortgages for limited companies are a smaller market, typically with higher rates, fees and personal guarantee requirements.
  • Running a company means statutory accounts, a corporation tax return and Companies House filings each year — more admin and accountancy cost than personal ownership.
  • Profit inside the company belongs to the company, not you personally, until it's extracted (and taxed again on the way out).
  • Transferring existing properties in triggers SDLT and potentially CGT — this calculator estimates the SDLT cost only.
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Frequently asked questions

No. Limited companies often come out ahead on the ongoing tax comparison, especially for higher-rate taxpayers with mortgaged properties, because Section 24 does not restrict mortgage interest relief inside a company and corporation tax rates are generally lower than higher and additional rates of income tax. But you also have to extract profit (usually via dividends, which are taxed again), pay to incorporate, often face higher mortgage rates and more limited lender choice, and take on extra accounting and admin costs. The right answer depends on your own numbers, plans and how you intend to use the income.

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