Landlord services guide
Forming a buy-to-let limited company (SPV): fees and providers
What it costs to form a limited company to hold rental property: the Companies House fee, the identity checks now required, and the published prices of seven formation agents and accountants, read on 24 October 2026, with each firm’s company record. Listed A to Z, not ranked. LetCompliance, the software that runs the let for company and personal properties in one account, is set out first and forms no companies.
- Reviewed
- Editor
- Erdem Volkan
- Firms
- 7, A to Z
LetCompliance, the publisher’s own software
Runs the let beside every firm here
Landlord software for the whole let: adverts and applications, the tenancy and its signatures, rent and Direct Debit, arrears and the Section 8 notice, repairs, deposits, certificates and Making Tax Digital for UK property income.
From £7.99 a month for one property.
Forming a company online costs £100 in Companies House’s own fee, and every director and person with significant control must now verify their identity, which GOV.UK One Login does at no charge. Formation agents’ packages start at £2.48 on top of that fee (Your Company Formations), and an accountant’s set-up costs £149.17 + VAT (Provestor, with a monthly plan) to £175 + VAT (UK Landlord Tax), read on 24 October 2026. Once the company owns a property, LetCompliance runs its let beside your personal ones and keeps it out of your personal tax figures.
LetCompliance, the publisher’s own software
What LetCompliance does once the company owns a property
The company holds the property; the let runs the same. LetCompliance runs it beside any you own personally, in one account, and keeps each one in the right tax figures.
Company and personal properties in one account
Mark each property as yours, the company’s or not in your return. A company property leaves every personal tax figure (the SA105 pack, Making Tax Digital and the accountant link) and stays in the rent, Finance and the reports.
On every plan
The portfolio in from a spreadsheet
Import the properties with each one’s tax treatment, ownership share, value and mortgage balance, so equity, loan to value and the tax figures are right from the first day.
On every plan
Personal or company, for the year you choose
The Section 24 calculator compares the tax on personal and company ownership for the tax year you choose, from your own figures.
On every paid plan, not in the trial
The let itself, the same either way
Adverts and applications, the tenancy agreement and its signatures, rent and arrears, Direct Debit collection into your own Stripe account, deposits, certificates and repairs. No commission is taken on the rent. Stripe charges 1% of each Direct Debit payment with a 20p minimum and a £4 cap, and £5 for a disputed payment.
On paid plans and the trial
What it does not do. LetCompliance forms no companies and gives no tax advice. It prepares no company accounts, Corporation Tax return (CT600) or confirmation statement; Making Tax Digital for Income Tax does not apply to a company; and the properties table does not group by owner or company.
LetCompliance publishes this guide and is landlord software. It is not one of the firms compared below and is not ranked against them.
Plans are one price for each size of portfolio, never a charge per property, a month: £7.99 for 1 property, £14.99 for up to 3, £19 for up to 10, £29 for up to 20 and £49 for any number. Every new landlord account starts with a 3-day trial and no card.
Listed A to Z, not ranked
Seven ways to form the company, A to Z
Prices as each provider’s own page showed them on 24 October 2026, with VAT as the page states it. Formation agents form the company; the accountants add set-up advice and the company’s accounts.
| Firm | What it offers | Published price (read 24 October 2026) | Anti-money laundering supervision | Company (Companies House) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies Made Simple | Online company formation packages, from a basic formation to packages with a registered office address and more. |
Read on companiesmadesimple.com | An authorised agent (ACSP) on Companies House’s list, with HMRC as its anti-money laundering supervisor. | MADE SIMPLE GROUP LIMITED, 04214713 Incorporated 11 May 2001. |
| GoForma | Same-day Companies House registration by an accountancy firm, with the certificate emailed. |
Read on goforma.com/packages | Not stated on the page read. | Incorporated 9 March 2019. Found on the register by name: the pages read give no company number. GoForma’s site names Ember Nine Limited as the company it trades through. |
| Inform Direct | Company secretarial software that forms companies and files with Companies House. |
Read on informdirect.co.uk, pricing | Not stated on the page read. | INFORM DIRECT LIMITED, 07887285 Incorporated 20 December 2011. |
| Provestor | Property accountants: a limited company started for you as part of a monthly plan, with the company’s accounts on the higher plans. |
| Not stated on the page read. | PROVESTOR ACCOUNTS LTD, 10510713 Incorporated 5 December 2016. |
| Rapid Formations | Online company formation, with identity verification included in every package, as its page says. |
Read on rapidformations.co.uk | An authorised agent (ACSP) on Companies House’s list, with HMRC as its anti-money laundering supervisor. | RAPID FORMATIONS LIMITED, 08683949 Incorporated 10 September 2013. |
| UK Landlord Tax | Accountant-led company set-up for landlords, with annual or quarterly company accounts after it. |
Read on uklandlordtax.co.uk/fixed-fees | An authorised agent (ACSP) on Companies House’s list, with HMRC as its anti-money laundering supervisor. | Incorporated 20 July 2010. |
| Your Company Formations | Online company formation packages; every package includes Companies House identity verification, as its page says. |
Read on yourcompanyformations.co.uk | An authorised agent (ACSP) on Companies House’s list, with HMRC as its anti-money laundering supervisor. | YOUR COMPANY FORMATIONS LTD, 09094616 Incorporated 19 June 2014. Found on the register by name: the pages read give no company number. |
The fixed part
The fixed costs and the rules
- Companies House charges £100 to incorporate online (£124 on paper), and £50 for the yearly confirmation statement (GOV.UK, Companies House fees).
- Identity verification has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025 for directors and people with significant control. It is free of charge through GOV.UK One Login, or can be done through an authorised agent (GOV.UK). An authorised agent must always be registered with at least one anti-money laundering supervisory body (GOV.UK).
- The nature of business codes used for rental property include 68100 (buying and selling of own real estate), 68209 (other letting and operating of own or leased real estate) and 68320 (management of real estate on a fee or contract basis) (Companies House SIC codes).
- A company pays the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax on a residential property of £40,000 or more; above £500,000 the 17% rate for corporate bodies may apply instead (GOV.UK, England and Northern Ireland).
Before you choose
What to check
Formation is the small part
The company costs £100 or so to form. The cost that matters is moving properties into it: a transfer is a sale to the company, so Stamp Duty Land Tax and Capital Gains Tax can arise. Take advice from a qualified adviser before you transfer anything.
A registered office
The registered office address is public. Several packages here include one so that your home address stays off the register.
Identity checks
Every director and person with significant control must verify their identity. Check whether a package includes it or whether you do it yourself through GOV.UK One Login.
After the formation
A company files accounts, a confirmation statement and a Corporation Tax return every year. Price the accountant for those, not only the formation.
Before you rely on this page
This page is not tax, legal or financial advice. Whether a company suits you depends on your income, your plans and the properties concerned. Take advice from a qualified adviser before you form a company or move a property into one.
It covers forming the company only. This page does not cover borrowing or lenders.
Method
How this page was put together
- Fees: each firm’s own pages, read on 24 October 2026, without making an account or asking for a quote. Pages that draw their prices in the browser were read in one. Every fee is given as the page gave it, with VAT as the page states it, and a fee a page does not publish is marked as not published.
- Registers: the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and the Financial Conduct Authority registers where a firm is regulated, Companies House for the company behind each firm, and Companies House’s published list of authorised agents (dated 21 October 2026), all read the same day. Where a firm’s pages give no company number, the company found on the register under the name it gives or trades as is shown, and the cell says so.
- Not ranked: the firms are listed A to Z. Nothing was bought or tried; this is a desk comparison of published pages and public registers. Any link that pays LetCompliance a fee is marked Sponsored; the links here go to the pages that were read.
- LetCompliance publishes this guide and makes landlord software. It is set out first because it is the publisher’s own product, and it is not compared with the firms.
Official sources read
FAQs
Questions landlords ask
How much does it cost to set up a limited company for buy-to-let?
Companies House charges £100 to incorporate online. On the prices published on 24 October 2026, formation agents’ packages start at £2.48 plus that fee (Your Company Formations), or £104.99 + VAT with the fee and ID checks included (Companies Made Simple, Basic), and accountants charge from £149.17 + VAT (Provestor, with a monthly plan) to £175 + VAT (UK Landlord Tax) for a set-up. The company then files accounts and a Corporation Tax return every year.
Which SIC code should a buy-to-let company use?
Companies House’s list includes 68209 for other letting and operating of own or leased real estate, 68100 for buying and selling of own real estate and 68320 for managing real estate for others. Many buy-to-let companies use 68209, often with 68100; your accountant can confirm which describe what the company will do.
Can I move my rental properties into a limited company?
Yes, but it is a sale to the company: Stamp Duty Land Tax is charged on the purchase, at the higher rates for a company, and Capital Gains Tax can arise on your gain. Some reliefs exist for particular cases. Take advice from a qualified adviser before you transfer anything.
Does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax apply to a limited company?
No. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is for individuals with self-employment or property income. A company pays Corporation Tax and files its own return. In LetCompliance, a property marked as held in a company stays out of your personal Making Tax Digital figures.
