Property accountants for UK landlords and investors

A property accountant prepares the accounts and tax returns for rental and investment property and plans the tax around them. For you that means rental accounts, the property pages of your Self Assessment return, company accounts if you use a limited company, Making Tax Digital updates, the capital gains return when you sell, and advice on how to hold the next purchase. We do all of it, and nothing outside property.

A specialist does the same work as any accountant for a landlord, but sees enough property cases to catch what a generalist misses. Typical examples are a refurbishment claimed as a repair when part of it was an improvement, a joint ownership split that does not match the paperwork, or a sale reported late. We work only on property, so these are everyday questions for us.

No law says a landlord must use an accountant, and you can file your own return. The usual point to bring one in is when the tax stops being simple: a second or third property, a limited company, a property owned with someone else, or a sale. At that point the rules start to interact, and mistakes are harder to spot yourself.

Often not. A single let with no mortgage and routine costs is a return many owners manage alone. Three things usually change that: a mortgage while you pay higher rate tax, because the interest restriction then costs real money; a refurbishment that mixes repairs with improvements; or qualifying income above £50,000 from April 2026, falling to £20,000 by April 2028, which brings quarterly Making Tax Digital filing. The first call will show which side of that line you are on.

The difference is depth on property rules, not the ability to file a return. A regular accountant can prepare a correct return from what you hand over. A property accountant starts from the property instead: who owns it, how it is financed and what you plan to do next, and that shapes the return, the structure and the timing of any sale. Because we only do property, we raise those questions before you ask.

It depends on how many properties you own, whether they are held personally, in a company or both, whether we keep your books through the year, and whether Making Tax Digital applies. We quote once we know those four things, and you approve the fee before any work starts. Our guide to property accountant fees shows what firms across the market charge and what each level should include.

You can, and there is no need to wait for the year end. We contact your current accountant for professional clearance, collect your past returns, workings and any losses or allowances carried forward, and continue from where they stopped. Changing accountant does not reset anything with HMRC, and we explain at the start what the handover involves in your case.

Yes, and it is a common mix: older properties in your own name and newer purchases in a company. We prepare your Self Assessment return as well as the company accounts and corporation tax return, and we plan them together, because where the next purchase goes and how you take money out of the company both depend on the whole picture.

Yes. We model your numbers and give you a straight answer, including when it is no. Moving property into a company usually triggers capital gains tax and stamp duty at the point of transfer, so the yearly saving has to repay that cost first. It tends to suit a higher rate landlord with large mortgages who plans to hold for many years, and rarely suits a basic rate landlord or someone selling soon.

It replaces one annual return with quarterly digital updates plus a year-end return. It applies from 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income is over £50,000, from April 2027 over £30,000 and from April 2028 over £20,000. We choose and set up the software, keep your records current through the year, and file each quarter, so nothing has to be rebuilt in a rush in January.

We need whatever shows money in and out: rent statements from your agent or bank, mortgage interest statements, insurance, repair and maintenance invoices, service charge and ground rent bills, and the completion statement for anything you bought or sold. For a company, add its bank statements and anything you paid personally on its behalf. If your records are a box of receipts, we can work with that and set up something better.

Yes. If you live abroad and let property in the UK, your rent normally falls under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, and any UK property you sell has to be reported within 60 days whether or not tax is due. We handle the UK returns and the scheme approvals for you, and our non-resident landlord service covers that work in more detail.