Around 80% of new UK buy-to-let purchases now go through a limited company (SPV) because companies escape Section 24. But the decision is not automatic: companies pay corporation tax, then dividend tax on extraction; SPV mortgages cost 0.5-1pp more than personal BTL; and incorporating an existing portfolio triggers SDLT and CGT. This calculator runs the personal and limited-company routes in parallel under three extraction strategies (extract all, retain all, hybrid split), surfaces the year your structure overtakes, and bakes in the 2pp dividend tax rise (April 2026) and the 2pp property income tax rise (April 2027).
Personal vs Limited Company (SPV)
Around 80% of new UK BTL purchases now go through limited companies. This calculator runs both routes in parallel — Section 24 on the personal side, corporation tax + dividend extraction on the company side — and shows the year your structure overtakes.
From 6 April 2027 — separate property income tax rates (22% / 42% / 47%)
Spousal income shifting (Form 17) — underused tool
ATED — annual charge on SPV-owned residential property >£500k
My scenarios (0/10)
Save snapshots of your inputs to switch between scenarios (e.g. “65% LTV, higher-rate” vs “75% LTV, basic-rate”). Stored in your browser only — no login needed.
Cumulative wealth after 15 years
Personal (S24)
£24,989
Ltd · extract all
£40,032
Ltd · retain all
£58,134
Ltd · hybrid
£50,424
Company route overtakes personal in year 1. Before that, one-off incorporation costs (see Incorporation Cost calculator) may not have paid back.
Cumulative after-tax wealth
Personal vs the three company strategies.
Annual after-tax cash by route
Year-by-year — see how the gap widens (or doesn't) as rents rise.
Cumulative wealth by strategy — 15 years
Lowest bar = the route that costs you most.
Personal-vs-company is not advice. Incorporating has one-off costs (SDLT, CGT, fees) — use the Portfolio Incorporation Cost calculator to see if the annual saving repays them.
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Related guides
Plain-English explainers for the rules behind this calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions UK property investors most often have about this tool and the underlying rules.
- Is a limited company always better for BTL in 2026?
- No. Limited companies usually win for higher-rate landlords planning to hold long-term and retain profits — but for basic-rate landlords planning to extract all profits as dividends, personal can still be better once you factor in the SPV mortgage rate premium and dividend tax. The crossover depends on your income band, rate delta, extraction strategy and horizon. Run the numbers on your specific deal.
- How much does a limited-company BTL mortgage cost vs personal?
- SPV mortgages typically cost 0.5-1.0 percentage points more than personal BTL — sometimes more from specialist lenders. Set the "company rate" higher than the "personal rate" in this calculator to reflect this. Headline 2026 SPV BTL 5-year fix rates are around 5.0-5.5% (vs 4.5-5.0% for personal BTL on similar criteria).
- What changed in April 2026 and 2027 for limited-company landlords?
- April 2026: ordinary dividend tax rose from 8.75% to 10.75%, upper from 33.75% to 35.75%, additional unchanged at 39.35% (Autumn Budget 2025). April 2027: separate property-income tax bands of 22%/42%/47% for individuals (not companies). The combination shifts the personal-vs-Ltd maths further toward Ltd for higher-rate landlords from 2027 onwards.
- Do I need to extract dividends every year?
- No. Retained profits compound inside the company at the post-corporation-tax rate, with no further personal tax until extraction. This "retain all" strategy is the most tax-efficient for portfolio-builders — but liquidity comes only on extraction (or share sale at CGT rates). The calculator shows all three strategies (extract, retain, hybrid) side-by-side so you can see the trade-off.