Who we work with
Optimise Accountants are landlord accountants for buy-to-let and rental property owners across the UK. Every client works with a named ACCA-qualified account manager, never a junior or part-qualified accountant.
• Individual landlords — one property or twenty, held in your own name
• Joint owners — spouses, civil partners and unmarried co-owners, including income split questions
• Property companies — annual accounts, Corporation Tax and Companies House filings
• Landlords with both — personally held property alongside a company, which is more common than it sounds
and needs the two kept properly apart
• Landlords living abroad: The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and UK returns
We do not act for landlords who want a return filed without records behind it. If your bookkeeping has drifted, we
will say so and quote for putting it right before we quote for the return.
Growing a larger portfolio or investing through a property company? See our property investment accountants.
What the service includes
| What we do | |
|---|---|
| Rental accounts | Annual property accounts from your records, with income and expenditure properly split between allowable costs and capital. |
| Self Assessment | Preparation and filing of your personal tax return, including the property pages and any other income. |
| Making Tax Digital | Quarterly updates and the year-end return once you are within scope. See the thresholds below. |
| Company accounts | Statutory accounts, Corporation Tax returns and Companies House filing for property companies. |
| Bookkeeping | Ongoing or year-end, depending on how you prefer to work. |
| Capital gains | The 60-day return when you sell, prepared alongside your Self Assessment rather than as an afterthought. |
| HMRC correspondence | We deal with enquiries, nudge letters and Let Property Campaign disclosures. |
| A named contact | You speak to the same person. We are a team of qualified accountants, not a call centre. |
Landlord tax returns
Most landlords come to us because a return is due and the numbers are not straightforward. The areas that cause the most trouble are the finance cost restriction, the line between a repair and an improvement, and joint ownership.
Since the Section 24 (mortgage interest relief cap) rules came in, individual landlords cannot deduct residential mortgage interest as an expense. Instead you get a basic-rate reduction of 20% against your tax bill (rising to 22% from 6 April 2027 for landlords in England, Wales and Northern Ireland), which is why a geared higher-rate landlord can end up paying tax on more than they actually made. Getting this right is arithmetic, not opinion, and it is where DIY returns most often go wrong.
The property income allowance is £1,000 of gross rental income per person. Below that, most landlords have nothing to report. If your rental income is between £1,000 and £2,500, contact HMRC. If it is more than £2,500 after allowable expenses, or £10,000 before, you must file a Self Assessment return.
Making Tax Digital for landlords
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax means keeping digital records and sending quarterly updates to HMRC through compatible software. You still file a final tax return by 31 January after the end of the tax year. It is being phased in:
| Mandated from | Qualifying income above | Based on the tax year |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April 2026 | £50,000 | 2024/25 |
| 6 April 2027 | £30,000 | 2025/26 |
| 6 April 2028 | £20,000 | 2026/27 |
The word doing the work is “qualifying”. It means gross income from property and self-employment combined, before a single expense. A landlord with £52,000 of rent and £40,000 of costs makes £12,000 and is still in scope from April 2026. Joint owners count only their own share. Property held in a company is outside it, because that is Corporation Tax.
If you are already a client we will tell you which year you come into scope and set the software up before you need it.
Joint owners and income splitting
Married couples and civil partners who own jointly are taxed 50/50 by default, whatever the paperwork says. Changing that needs three things at once: the beneficial ownership must genuinely be unequal, the property must be held as tenants in common rather than joint tenants, and Form 17 must reach HMRC within 60 days of the last signature. HMRC has no power to extend that deadline.
Unmarried joint owners are in a different position entirely. We will tell you which applies to you before anything is signed.
Landlords with a property company
If you hold property through a limited company, we handle the accounts, the Corporation Tax return and the Companies House filings, and we keep an eye on the things that catch company landlords out, the marginal rate between £50,000 and £250,000 of profit, the tax cost of taking money out, and ATED where a dwelling is worth more than £500,000. An ATED return is required even where relief reduces the charge to nil, and the penalty applies to the missing return, not the tax.
What we do not do
We are accountants and tax advisers. We do not give legal, conveyancing, mortgage or investment advice, and we will tell you when you need a solicitor or a broker rather than us. We also do not promise a tax saving before we have seen your figures. Sometimes the answer is that your current arrangement is already the right one.
Thinking about a decision rather than a return?
This page is about ongoing accountancy. If you are weighing up whether to incorporate, how to split income, or what a sale will cost you, that is a one-off advisory engagement and it works differently. See our UK property tax advice page.
How to become a client
Your team
Your work is led by Simon Misiewicz FCCA, ATT, MBA, who heads a team of five ACCA-qualified accountants. You’ll always work with a named, qualified account manager – never a junior or part-qualified accountant – and you can book calls straight into their calendar within 5 working days.
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Examples of our work
Anonymised examples based on the facts and tax rules at the time. Your position will depend on your own circumstances.
Repairs wrongly treated as improvements. A previous accountant had treated £45,000 of refurbishment costs as capital improvements. The work was repairs and like-for-like replacement, which is allowable against rental income. Correcting it saved at least £9,000 in tax. The client had chosen that accountant because they were cheap.
Moving property income to the lower-earning spouse. A husband owned rental properties in his sole name and paid higher-rate tax, so under Section 24 he received only 20% relief on his mortgage interest. His wife was a basic-rate taxpayer. Using a declaration of trust, 99% of the beneficial interest – and so the rental income – was moved to her. Most of the rental profit is now taxed at 20% instead of 40%.
Fees
Self Assessment support from £29.95 a month and limited company support from £49.95 a month (including VAT), each including your tax return and tax calls with your qualified account manager. We are registered agents with HMRC and Companies House.
A short call first, so we can understand what you hold and how your records are kept. We then confirm your fixed monthly fee before any work starts. If you are moving from another accountant, we handle the handover, including the professional clearance letter.
Common questions
How much does a landlord accountant cost?
Self Assessment support starts from £29.95 a month and limited company support from £49.95 a month, including VAT. We confirm your fixed monthly fee after the first call, once we know how many properties you have, whether they are held personally or in a company, and how your records are kept.
Do I need an accountant for one rental property?
Not necessarily. With one property, simple financing, and tidy records, many landlords file their own return perfectly well. It becomes worth paying for when there is gearing, joint ownership, a sale, a company, or when Making Tax Digital brings you into quarterly reporting.
Can you file my tax return if I am behind?
Yes. Late returns and undeclared rental income are common and fixable. The Let Property Campaign is HMRC’s disclosure route for landlords and usually produces a better outcome than waiting to be contacted. Tell us how far back it goes, and we will set out the options.
Do you act for landlords outside England?
Yes. Income tax on rental profit works the same across the UK, though Scottish taxpayers have their own income tax rates, and purchase taxes differ — Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, Land Transaction Tax in Wales, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland.
I live abroad and let a UK property. Can you help?
Yes. Non-resident landlords fall within the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, where the letting agent or tenant may have to withhold tax from the rent unless HMRC approves payment gross. You also have UK return obligations, and non-residents must report all UK land disposals even when no tax is due.
What changes for landlords from April 2027?
Property income will be taxed at separate rates of 22%, 42% and 47%, two percentage points above the equivalent general rates. This has been legislated and applies from 6 April 2027 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The non-resident landlord withholding rate rises from 20% to 22% at the same time. Companies are not affected.
About this page
Written and reviewed by Simon Misiewicz FCCA, ATT, MBA of Optimise Accountants, a UK property tax practice established in 2003. Last reviewed 25 September 2026.
This page describes our services and gives general information about UK property taxation. It is not advice for your circumstances. Tax depends on individual facts and the rules change.
