Investment in property has been and continues to be a popular form of investment by many people.
It is seen as a route by which: 
- relatively secure capital gains can be made on an eventual sale
- income returns can be generated throughout the period of ownership
- mortgage finance is covered in repayment terms by the security of the eventual sale of the property and in interest terms by the rental income
Of course, the net returns in capital and income will depend on a host of factors. But on the basis that the investment appears to make commercial sense, what factors should you take into account?
Who or what should purchase the property?
An initial decision needs to be made whether to purchase the property;
- as an individual.
- as joint owner or via a partnership (often with a spouse).
- via a company.
There are significant differences in the tax effects of ownership by individuals or a company. Deciding the best medium will depend on a number of factors.
Commercial property
If you currently have a trading business operating as a limited company
The personal purchase of new offices or other buildings and the charging of rent for the use of the buildings to your company is very tax efficient from an income tax position as:
- the rental you receive from the company allows sums to be extracted without national insurance
- the company will be able to claim a corporate tax deduction for the rent
Capital gains
Capital gains on the disposal of an asset are calculated by deducting the cost of the asset from the proceeds on disposal and reducing this by the annual exemption. Gains are treated as an individual’s top slice of income and generally taxed at 10% or 20%, or a combination of the two.
However, gains on residential property continue to be charged at 18% and 28%.
Residential property
The decision as to who should own a residential property to let is a balancing act depending on overall financial objectives.
The answer will be dependent on the following factors;
- do you already run your business through your own company?
- will you be purachsing similar properties in the future?
- do you intend to sell the property and when?
Company versus personal ownership – eventual disposal
It may be more tax efficient to own the property personally as you will be able to make use of your CGT annual exemption (and spouse’s annual exemption if jointly owned) on the eventual disposal.
Company versus personal ownership – rental income
For a personally owned property the net rental income will be taxed at your marginal rate of tax. Previously, if you were financing the purchase with a high percentage of bank finance, the income tax bill would be relatively small.
However from April 2017, the government announced that for rented property with personal ownership the deduction for finance costs will be restricted to basic rate relief. This restriction will impact higher and additional rate taxpayers.
For property companies, the net rental income will be taxed at the current corporation tax rate of 19% (2022), which is generally lower than for an individual. Where the purchase is being financed with a high percentage of loan / bank finance, the corporation tax bill will still be relatively small.
But there are other factors to consider;
- you would incur a further tax charge should you wish to extract any of the proceeds from the company – though tax on dividends.
- inserting the property into an existing company may result in your shareholding in that company not qualifying for Business Asset Disposal Relief. You could however form another company to protect the trading status of the existing company.
If you do not have a company at present
Personal or joint ownership may be the more appropriate route but there are currently significant other advantages of corporate status particularly if you expect that you will be;
- increasing your investment in residential property and,
- unlikely to be selling the properties on a piecemeal basis or,
- mainly financing the initial purchases of the property from your own capital.
If so, the use of a company as a tax shelter for the net rental income can be attractive.
Use of company as a tax shelter
Profits are taxed at the current corporation tax rate of 19% (2022). This rate applies to trading companies or property investment companies.
Where profits are retained, the tax suffered is around half of the equivalent income tax bills. That means there are more funds available to buy more properties in the future.
Tax efficient long-term plans
There are two potential long-term advantages of the corporate route for residential property;
- is there an intention to sell the properties at all? Maybe the intention is to retain them into retirement (see below for using the company as a retirement fund)
- can the shares be sold rather than the property? (see below for issues regarding selling shares in the company)
Using the company as a retirement fund
A potentially attractive route is to consider the property investment company as a ‘retirement fund’. If the properties are retained into retirement, it is likely that any initial financing of the purchases of the property has been paid off and there will be a strong income stream. The profits of the company (after paying corporation tax) can be paid out to you and/or your spouse as shareholders.
There have been significant changes to the taxation of dividends;
- a Dividend Tax Allowance charges the first £2,000 of dividends received in a tax year at 0%.
- for dividends above £2,000, rates of tax on dividend income will be 7.5% for basic rate taxpayers, 32.5% for higher rate taxpayers and 38.1% for additional rate taxpayers.
Selling the shares
CGT will be due on the gain on the eventual sale of the shares.
The share route may also be more attractive to the purchaser of the properties rather than buying the properties directly, as they will only have 0.5% stamp duty to pay rather than the potentially higher sums of stamp duty land tax on the property purchases.
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT)
SDLT is payable by the purchaser of the property although Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is payable in Scotland.
Corporate investment in expensive residential property
Where an expensive residential property, valued at more than £500,000, is purchased by a ‘non natural person’, broadly a company, there is a potential charge – the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED). The ATED is payable by those purchasing and holding their homes through corporate envelopes, such as companies. In addition a higher rate of SDLT applies to the purchase.
There are exemptions from the higher rate of SDLT and the ATED charge; in particular, property companies letting out residential properties to third parties on a commercial basis.
CGT is charged at 28% on disposals of properties liable to ATED.
How we can help
This information has concentrated on potentially long-term tax factors. You need to decide which is the best route to fit in with your objectives. We can help you to plan an appropriate course of action, so please do contact us.
