UK property through a company

Who is actually buying: three typical routes

When readers from abroad want to buy UK property through a company, they usually end up with one of three routes: a new UK limited company, their existing company at home, or a UK limited company owned by their company at home. For tax these routes differ less than many think, because the UK almost always taxes UK land itself.

The difference is in the detail: the UK limited company is fully taxable in the UK and pays corporation tax on its profit. The foreign company pays corporation tax on UK rents and gains, but must also register on the register of overseas entities. And for stamp duty a limited company controlled from abroad may itself count as non-resident.

If you are after a house or flat to live in, read buying a house in England first. This page goes deeper into the corporate side.

The 17 percent, and how to avoid it legally

If a company buys a residential property for more than £500,000, stamp duty of 17 percent applies. The rate targets companies that merely hold an expensive home. If you run a business with the property, you can claim relief, for example where it is used in a property rental business, bought by a developer or trader, open to the public as part of a business, or occupied by the buyer's employees. Each relief has its own conditions, and if you stop meeting them later, you can lose it.

Even with relief it costs more than buying privately: companies pay the higher rates on every residential property from £40,000, 5 percentage points above the standard bands. If the buyer is not UK resident, another 2 points apply on top of the 5-point surcharge.

A foreign company counts as non-resident if it is not UK resident for corporation tax. Important for our readers: even a UK limited company can be treated as non-resident for this surcharge if it is a close company controlled by people outside the UK. Setting up a limited company just to avoid the surcharge therefore usually does not work.

Commercial property is more relaxed. For offices, warehouses, shops and mixed-use property the rates are 0 percent up to £150,000, 2 percent up to £250,000 and 5 percent above, and the non-resident surcharge does not apply.

Running tax: rents inside the company

A UK limited company pays corporation tax on its rental profit, currently 25 percent at the main rate and 19 percent for small profits up to £50,000, with marginal relief in between. Since 6 April 2020 that applies to foreign companies too: they pay corporation tax rather than income tax on profits from UK property. If you start letting after that date, you are not registered automatically and must register with HMRC yourself.

Unless the company is approved by HMRC to receive rent gross, tenants or agents deduct tax for foreign landlords. How the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme works and how to apply for gross payment is in letting as a non-resident landlord.

Why this needs re-running in 2026: for individuals, the Budget of 28 October 2026 announced that income tax on property income in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will rise to 24, 44 and 49 percent from 6 April 2027, with the Finance Bill 2026-27. The company's corporation tax is not affected. So the gap between holding privately and holding in a company widens; whether it outweighs the higher purchase costs depends on the property, the financing and how you later take profits out of the company.

Sale, register and the group

If a foreign company sells UK property, it has paid corporation tax on the gain since 6 April 2019. It must register with HMRC within three months of the liability arising, even if it does nothing else in the UK. For individuals and the details of reporting, see selling UK property.

Since 1 August 2022 a foreign company that wants to buy, sell or transfer UK land must register on the register of overseas entities at Companies House and disclose its beneficial owners. Before registration, a UK-supervised agent verifies the identity of all beneficial owners. After that an annual update is due. The Land Registry needs the overseas entity ID the company receives when it buys, sells, transfers or charges property, so this step belongs at the very start.

If a group holds several properties in several companies, group relief from stamp duty comes into play. Budget 2026 tightened it: the relief is also to be withdrawn where the buyer leaves the group after the selling company has been liquidated. That applies to transfers in England and Northern Ireland from 29 October 2026 and comes with the Finance Bill 2026-27.

And at home?

Under the UK's treaties the UK may tax rents and gains from UK property. If your company at home holds the property directly, your home country either exempts that income or credits the UK tax, depending on its treaty with the UK and its own law. If a UK limited company holds the property, your home country usually only taxes the dividend paid up to the parent; the UK withholds nothing on dividends, as our piece on UK dividend withholding tax explains. How your country's participation exemption and local taxes work out in your case is a question for an adviser there; the treaty principles are in the UK's tax treaties.

Sources: GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax, corporate bodies; GOV.UK: Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax; GOV.UK: Rates of SDLT for non-UK residents; GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax (rates); GOV.UK: Paying Corporation Tax if you're a non-resident company landlord; GOV.UK: Register a non-resident company who disposed of UK property or land; GOV.UK: Register an overseas entity and its beneficial owners; GOV.UK: Budget 2026