Software & Property

I’m Clive — a qualified Chartered Accountant and hands-on property investor with over 30 years’ experience helping people make smarter financial decisions and build long-term wealth.

My day-to-day work is split between:

Investing in high-yield HMO properties across the North West and Yorkshire

Advising landlords, builders, and small businesses on tax, accounting and compliance

And I love both.

Because I believe smart property investing and smart tax planning go hand-in-hand — and most people don’t get either right.

Hello... I'm Clive Cass

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Accounting Software

There are 4 ways to maintain your accounting records:

Manual (paper and pen);

Excel which is a spreadsheet that replicates manual records;

Integrated Accounting software such as Quickbooks, Xero, FreeAgent & SAGE.

Integrated Systems

Integrated accounting systems are the way to go when your accountancy and tax requirements reach a certain level of complexity. This will often be the case if you act as a limited company and need a Balance sheet or where you are VAT registered. I am happy to advise what software you will need now and when it is time for you to move on to something else.

Microsoft Excel

Excel is MTD compliant however will not easily cope with more complex issues such as VAT, large portfolios and limited companies where a balance sheet is required. If this is all you can manage it is however a reasonable way (and better than manual records) to provide the information to your book keeper to transfer, if necessary, to accountaing software. I can of course set you up on a suitable Excel accounting system, such as my free one designed for small businesses.

These systems are ideal for landlords of Buy to Lets who want to either manage them rather than get an estate agent to do so or who want to at least be actively involved in some aspects of the management.

The accounting systems are excellent but are limited in that they generally cannot handle VAT or produce a balance sheet which is a requirement for limited companies.

The real beauty of these systems is that they are really simple to use and provide a lot of management information from simple reminders about deadlines for insurance or safety checks to details of tenancies and even great financial information such as rental yields, equity and remortages.

Property Management & Accountancy Systems

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Elite Broker Blogs

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Flat management companies & tax

Property Investing| Accounting

June 26, 2026•2 min read

Flat management companies & tax

If you own or manage a flat management company, it's important to be aware of the various tax implications. This fact sheet will highlight some of the key taxes that you need to be aware of, as well as some helpful tips on how to minimize your tax liability. By understanding the basics of taxation for flat management companies, you can ensure that you are in compliance with the law and avoid any penalties.

Corporation Tax

Most flat management companies are subject to Corporation Tax at a rate of 19%.

Many of these companies are set up under The Right to Manage (RTM), which is a process that lets qualifying leasehold tenants take over the management of their building, even without the agreement of the landlord. The tenant(s) must have been a property resident for at least 12 months, and the property must be their only or main home. To set up a flat management company, you must follow the normal process for setting up a private limited company.

If the following conditions apply, you may not need to complete Corporation Tax Returns or pay Corporation Tax:

The only income received by the company is the service charges paid by the property owners.
The income is spent on the day-to-day maintenance and management of the complex.
Surplus income is transferred to deferred income for future maintenance expenses.
No deposit interest is earned in the year.

Company Tax Return

Flat management companies must send a Company Tax Return to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) no later than 12 months after the end of their first financial year. This is because HMRC might decide that the company is dormant, which means that you wouldn’t need to submit returns from this company in future years.

HMRC may consider your company as dormant if the company does not:

●Allow directors who aren’t residents or leaseholders to be appointed in its articles of association.

●Do more than manage the property in the interests of shareholders.

●Make a profit.

●Need to pay more than £100 in Corporation Tax in a year.

●Get any income from land.

●Pay dividends or other payments from profits to shareholders.

●Own any assets it is likely to dispose of which would give rise to a chargeable gain.

●Make payments that need to be taxed.

HMRC will send you a letter if they consider your company dormant.

If any of the above criteria apply to your business or if HMRC does not confirm that they think the company is dormant, then you will need to complete yearly Company Tax Returns.

If HMRC has previously confirmed that the company is dormant and then the company starts doing any of the things listed above, they will need to submit a new Company Tax Return.

property investingaccounting

Clive Cass

Clive Cass is a Chartered Accountant & Property Investor who shares his insights into the world of Property Investing. Read along with him as he breaks-down all the facts, information and legislation into easy to follow blog posts.

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