Limited-company landlords: what the company files, and why MTD for Income Tax does not reach it
acrenvo.com/guides/limited-company-landlords-filing, last reviewed 12 October 2026
Owen and his sister Ruth are fictional. A few years ago they set up a limited company to buy and let flats, and the company now owns a small portfolio. Most of what they read about landlords and tax is about Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, and they have started to wonder whether it applies to them. At the same time, they keep hearing that company filing is changing. This guide explains why MTD for Income Tax is not the company’s concern, what the company does file, and where the two can meet.
Why MTD for Income Tax does not reach the company
MTD for Income Tax is built around individuals. GOV.UK’s test has several conditions that must all apply, and the first is that you’re a sole trader or a landlord registered for Self Assessment.
A company has its own tax, and GOV.UK puts it simply. A limited company pays Corporation Tax on its profits, and it must keep company and accounting records and prepare a Company Tax Return to work out how much Corporation Tax to pay. When Owen and Ruth’s tenants pay rent to the company, that rent is the company’s income, so it is reported on the company’s return and not on either of their own tax returns. GOV.UK draws the same line from the other side: you do not send a Company Tax Return if you’re self-employed as a sole trader or in a partnership - but you must send a Self Assessment return.
GOV.UK does not say “MTD for Income Tax does not apply to companies” in so many words. Its eligibility page describes who is in, and companies are not on that list. It also says that partnerships will also need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in the future. We’ll set out the timeline for this at a later date. If you are unsure how your own set-up is treated, the GOV.UK page is the one to read, and an accountant can confirm it for your company.
GOV.UK’s overview of Corporation Tax does not mention rent by name either. It lists the kinds of profit the tax covers in general terms. Taxable profits for Corporation Tax include the money your company or association makes from:
- doing business (‘trading profits’)
- investments
- selling assets for more than they cost (‘chargeable gains’)
How a property company’s rent fits into those headings is a question for its accountant rather than for this guide.
What the company files each year
The company has two bodies to file with, each on its own clock. You do not get a bill for Corporation Tax. There are specific things you must do to work out, pay and report your tax. GOV.UK sets out the deadlines like this.
| What the company does | Deadline |
|---|---|
| File first accounts with Companies House | 21 months after the date you registered with Companies House |
| File annual accounts with Companies House | 9 months after your company’s financial year ends |
| Pay Corporation Tax or tell HMRC that your limited company does not owe any | 9 months and 1 day after your ‘accounting period’ for Corporation Tax ends |
| File a Company Tax Return | 12 months after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends |
The accounts also go further than Companies House. You must always send copies of the statutory accounts to:
- all shareholders
- people who can go to the company’s general meetings
- Companies House
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as part of your Company Tax Return
Companies House charges a penalty when accounts arrive late. For a private limited company, GOV.UK gives these amounts.
| Time after the deadline | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 |
The penalty is doubled if your accounts are late 2 years in a row. You can be fined and your company struck off the register if you do not send Companies House your accounts or confirmation statement. HMRC has its own penalties for a late Company Tax Return, which the guide to Company Tax Returns and iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) sets out.
Software for a property company
Both company filings now depend on software. HMRC’s free service closed on 31 March 2026, so the Company Tax Return goes through commercial software, and from 1 April 2028 Companies House will take the accounts only through software too. These are separate lists from the one HMRC keeps for MTD for Income Tax. A product that suits your personal lettings is not necessarily set up for the company, so it is worth checking the company lists themselves.
- HMRC’s list of commercial software for Company Tax Returns
- Companies House’s tool for finding software to file accounts
The guide to filing after HMRC’s service closed explains what to check on each list before choosing.
If you also let property in your own name
Some landlords hold some property personally and some through a company, and that is where the two systems meet. The personal rents count towards your own MTD for Income Tax test, while the company files as described above. The profit on those personal rents is taxed as your own income, not the company’s, and the guide to the new property income tax rates explains the separate rates for it from 6 April 2027, and what is different in Scotland and Wales. The guide to mixed property portfolios covers the personal side, and the guide for joint property owners explains how a share of jointly owned rent is counted.
Companies based outside the UK
A company based abroad that lets property in the UK is also in Corporation Tax, not Income Tax. From 6 April 2020, non-UK resident companies including those who invest in UK property through collective investment vehicles will need to pay Corporation Tax instead of Income Tax on profits from UK property.
Directors’ identity checks
One more change reaches Owen and Ruth as directors rather than as landlords. Directors now have to verify their identity with Companies House, and the guide to identity verification for directors explains the free route and the dates. As there are two of them, the first prosecutions are worth knowing about too, and the guide explains them under a co-director who does not verify.
Questions from limited-company landlords
Does MTD for Income Tax apply to my property company?
MTD for Income Tax does not cover rent that belongs to your company, because GOV.UK's test starts with the person. Its first condition is that you’re a sole trader or a landlord registered for Self Assessment. That rent is the company's income, so the company reports it on a Company Tax Return instead. A limited company pays Corporation Tax on its profits, and it must keep company and accounting records and prepare a Company Tax Return to work out how much Corporation Tax to pay.
I let some properties in my own name and some through a company. What do I file?
The rent from the properties in your own name counts towards your own MTD for Income Tax test, and the company files its own accounts and Company Tax Return, so you have two separate jobs. The guide to mixed property portfolios covers the personal side.
When are the company's accounts and return due?
Annual accounts go to Companies House 9 months after your company’s financial year ends. The Company Tax Return goes to HMRC 12 months after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends, and the tax itself is due 9 months and 1 day after your ‘accounting period’ for Corporation Tax ends.
What about a company based outside the UK that lets UK property?
A company based outside the UK pays Corporation Tax, not Income Tax, on its profits from UK property. From 6 April 2020, non-UK resident companies including those who invest in UK property through collective investment vehicles will need to pay Corporation Tax instead of Income Tax on profits from UK property.
More in: Company accounts and Company Tax Returns
Next in this stage
Companies House identity verification for new directors
Since 18 November 2025, anyone becoming a company director must verify their identity with Companies House. This guide explains what that involves, that Companies House's own route through GOV.UK One Login is free, and what the dates mean for new and existing directors.
Other guides in this stage
- HMRC's free company filing service has closed: what a company needs now
- Company accounts by software only from April 2028: what Companies House requires
- Filing dormant company accounts after April 2028: what changes and what software can do it
- Filing micro-entity and small company accounts after April 2028: iXBRL, abridged accounts and your first software filing
- Company Tax Returns, iXBRL and what filing software has to do
- Company accounts and Company Tax Return deadlines, and the penalties for filing late
- Correcting company accounts and amending a Company Tax Return
- Getting ready to file company accounts by software: your authentication code and presenter account
- When an accountant files your company accounts: what stays with the director
Sources
This is general information, not tax, accounting or legal advice. For advice on your own company, speak to an accountant or tax adviser.