Buying Property in a Company Name: Can a Company Get a Home Loan?
Self-Employed Home Loans
Company borrowers · Director guarantees · Tax and duty
A company can buy a house in Australia, and some lenders will lend to it. This guide follows the decision in the order a business owner meets it: whether the company should own the property, which lenders will consider it and on what deposit, what the directors sign up to, why the consumer credit laws drop away, what changes if someone will live there, how company money can fund a house in your own name, and the tax, duty and exit questions to settle with your accountant before you sign.
Quick Answer
A company can buy a house, and some lenders will lend to it, but the loan sits outside the National Credit Code, the directors usually guarantee it personally, the deposit is often larger than the same people would need in their own names, and a company that mainly holds property usually pays 30 per cent tax with no capital gains discount. If the house is for you to live in, using the company's money for a house in your own name is often simpler, so the structure is your accountant's call before it is a lender's.
Also called: buying property as a company, buying a house through a company or a Pty Ltd, a home loan in a company name, or a company borrower loan. A 'company home loan' or 'home loan company' usually means a business that provides home loans, and 'company title' means owning shares in a company that owns a building. Neither is what this guide covers.
| Your goal | Where to start | The trap to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Buy a home for yourself to live in | Compare buying personally with a company purchase before you sign; if company profits are funding it, ask how the money should leave the company. See living in a house your company owns. | Assuming a company-owned home is just a normal owner-occupied home loan |
| Use a company for your first home | Check first home owner grant and duty concession eligibility in your state before choosing the buyer. See first home benefits. | Assuming a company gets the same first home benefits as an individual |
| Buy a residential investment | Compare own name, company and trust, then map which lenders accept that borrower. See company, trust or own name. | Choosing the entity for lending convenience without modelling the tax and the eventual sale |
| Buy premises the business will occupy | Check whether the file sits under residential, business or commercial credit policy. See home loan or commercial loan. | Assuming residential policy applies because the building looks residential |
| Use retained company cash for a personal purchase | Ask your accountant whether the money comes out as salary, a dividend or a complying Division 7A loan. See using company money for a house in your own name. | Moving the deposit first and trying to document it later |
| Borrow through a new company with no accounts | Map lender appetite against the directors, the proposed rent, the deposit and the company's genuine role. See a new company borrowing to buy property. | Assuming a fresh ACN creates borrowing capacity by itself |
| Move a property out of the company later | Model the refinance, transfer duty and tax before the original purchase. See moving the property out later. | Treating a later ownership change as a free name change |
Can a company buy a house in Australia, and why would it?
Yes. A company can buy residential property in its own name, and Australian business owners do it to keep the asset in the business group, to have rent taxed in the company instead of at their own marginal rate, or because retained profits are already sitting in the company. Each of those reasons carries a catch.
It starts with a contract that has "Pty Ltd" after the buyer's name. A proprietary company is a separate legal person, so it can own land, borrow and give a mortgage, but the people behind it still carry most of the risk. Before choosing it, it helps to know how a company structure works and what each reason really buys you:
- Retained profits. The money is still the company's, not yours, so spending it on a property the company owns keeps it in the company, with the tax questions that follow. If the property is really for you, see using the company's money for a house in your own name.
- Separation from the directors. The company owns the property, but lenders usually ask each director to guarantee the loan, which undoes much of that separation (see the director's guarantee section below).
- Tax on the rent. Rent is taxed in the company, not at your marginal rate. A company whose income is mostly rent is usually not a base rate entity, because rent counts as base rate entity passive income and that income must be no more than 80 per cent of the total, so it generally pays 30 per cent, not 25. Companies also cannot use the capital gains tax discount when the property is sold (see the tax questions below).
- A property the business will use. Lenders read the purpose of the purchase, and a property the business occupies can be assessed differently from a house bought to rent out.
If any shareholders live overseas, the company itself can be a foreign person under Australia's foreign investment rules, where a person not ordinarily resident in Australia holds a substantial interest, meaning 20 per cent or more. That brings its own approval and state surcharge questions, which belong with your solicitor.
If you would rather buy in your own name using your business income, talk to us about a self-employed home loan first.
Can a company get a home loan, and which lenders will lend?
Yes, but from a smaller group of lenders. Those that will write a loan to a company over residential property usually want every director to guarantee it, and usually offer narrower terms than the same people would get borrowing in their own names.
A lender reading a company file looks at two things at once: the company, through its Australian Company Number, accounts and constitution, and the directors standing behind it. The property still sets the loan-to-value ratio, but who the borrower is decides which lenders will look at the file at all. The questions that usually decide it are whether the property is an investment or a home for a director, the lender's maximum LVR for a company borrower, which company and director income it will accept, the guarantors' own liabilities, the age and trading history of the company, and whether the lender accepts the proposed use of the property. Since late 2025 the major banks have narrowed this lending, so more company files now go to non-bank and private lenders; see how non-bank lender policies compare.
| Lender type | Will it lend to a company? | Guarantees | Documentation | What usually limits the loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major banks | Tightening: Macquarie stopped this lending in October 2025, CBA limited it to existing customers of six months or more, and ANZ now asks for a director owning 25 per cent or more, a personal guarantee and a maximum 70 per cent LVR | Usually every director | Company financial statements and tax returns, the constitution, each director's identification and personal position | Credit policy for company borrowers, and the directors' own positions |
| Non-bank residential lenders | Some accept a company or trust applicant | Every director, at the lenders whose policy we read | The company's records plus each director's personal position | Narrower terms than an individual borrower, assessed case by case |
| Specialist and private lenders | Some list company and trust borrowers | Usually the directors | Varies by lender | Short loan terms, so a plan to refinance or sell matters |
Sources: major banks row, Mortgage Professional Australia, ANZ follows CBA and Macquarie, limits home lending to trusts and companies (12 January 2026); other rows, published borrower information of two lenders on our panel, read 2 October 2026, and Switchboard broking experience, October 2026. Non-bank and private lenders are not named. Policy changes often; this is not an offer from any lender.
How much deposit does a company need to buy a house?
Usually more than the same people would need in their own names, and there is no single rule. The deposit is the gap between the price and the most a particular lender will lend to that company, for that property and purpose, plus duty and costs. The one major bank figure on the public record is ANZ's 70 per cent maximum LVR for company and trust borrowers from 8 January 2026, which means a 30 per cent deposit plus costs where the same directors might borrow 80 or 90 per cent personally. Non-bank and private lenders set their own limits, and in our panel reads they decide case by case.
Before you sign, ask the broker to confirm the maximum LVR for a company borrower, whether lenders mortgage insurance is available at that LVR, how much cash must be left for duty and costs, and whether the deposit is company money or money a director puts in. That last point matters because the lender and your accountant may each need the source documented differently (see using company money for a house in your own name).
Source: ANZ figure from Mortgage Professional Australia, 12 January 2026, linked above; non-bank and private lender positions from Switchboard panel reads, October 2026.
How does a lender work out whether the company can afford the loan?
It depends on what earns the money. A trading company is assessed from its financial statements and tax returns; an investment property contributes its rent; and the directors who guarantee the loan are assessed on their own income, liabilities and personal position as well. Some lenders look through the company more heavily than others, especially where the company is new or exists mainly to hold the property.
The practical question is which income this lender accepts and whose debts it counts. A company with retained profits whose director takes a modest salary can get a very different answer from a lender that reads the company's accounts than from one that reads only the director's personal taxable income. See how retained company profits can support a home loan assessment.
Can a company get an owner-occupied home loan for a director to live in?
Sometimes, but it is not the same file as an owner-occupied loan to a person, and fewer lenders will consider it. The borrower is still the company, the directors usually guarantee it, the loan sits outside the National Credit Code, and the director living there raises Division 7A and possibly fringe benefits tax questions (see living in a house your company owns). If the real goal is a family home bought with business profits, compare that with buying personally and taking the money out of the company properly before the company signs.
Is it treated as a home loan or a commercial loan?
It depends on the lender. Some write it as a residential loan to a company, with the directors guaranteeing it; others run it through business or commercial credit policy, or offer it only as a short-term private loan. No regulator or industry body publishes how lenders classify a company buying a house, so the answer comes from each lender's own policy. Either way, the consumer credit position in the next section is the same.
What does the lender ask the company for?
Expect to provide the company's ACN and registration details, its constitution if it has one, its financial statements and tax returns where it trades, each director's identification and personal financial position, and the guarantee documents. Our guide to the documents a lender needs from a company goes through them in full. Where the directors' own income is part of the story, which income documents a low doc lender accepts is the other half of the file.
A trading company with retained profits buys an established house with a tenant already in place. A non-bank lender approves it as a residential investment loan to the company, both directors guarantee it, and it is set up principal and interest with an offset account. What made it clean: the company's own accounts, a lease already running, a conservative loan size and directors with clean personal positions.
Illustrative only. Not an offer or a prediction of approval.
Does the National Credit Code cover a loan to a company?
No. ASIC's guidance says loans to companies are not subject to the credit legislation, and only loans to natural persons and strata corporations are caught. By contrast, a loan to a natural person wholly or predominantly to purchase, renovate or improve residential property for investment is regulated.
That is the law that drops away when the company signs as borrower. The Code's protections, such as responsible lending checks and the right to ask for hardship relief, do not apply to the company's loan. That is a loss of protection, not a benefit, and it is one reason a guarantee from the directors deserves careful legal advice. ASIC notes its information sheet is a summary, so questions about trustees or particular structures go to your solicitor. For what a business loan does still carry, see what protections a business loan does carry.
What if the company is only there to get the loan outside the Code?
That is a risk, not a strategy. In ASIC media release 24-243MR, ASIC has alleged in court that a lender required companies to be named as borrowers where the company had no genuine interest in the loan and the loan was really for an individual's personal or household purpose, such as a home loan, to avoid the Code. In most cases, ASIC says, the individuals provided their own homes as security. The case had not been decided when this page was reviewed on 2 October 2026.
The point for a borrower is simple: a company needs a genuine reason to be the borrower. Whether yours has one is a question for your solicitor. Our guide on why a company needs a genuine role shows the same issue on purpose-built disability housing.
What does a director's guarantee put at risk?
The guarantee makes each director personally liable for the company's loan, so having the property in the company's name does not keep the debt away from the directors.
It is the signature under the company's name that matters. A director's guarantee usually means:
- the lender can pursue your personal assets, including your own home unless it is excluded, if the company cannot pay;
- where there are two directors, each is usually liable for the whole debt, jointly and severally, not just half;
- the guarantee usually survives you resigning as a director, until the loan is repaid or the lender releases you;
- ASIC's Moneysmart warns that guaranteeing a business loan can carry higher risk because business income can change fast, and that responsible lending obligations do not apply to business loans.
In Victoria, the risk can start at the contract, not the loan. Under the standard Victorian contract of sale, any signatory for a proprietary company purchaser is personally liable for the purchaser's obligations as if the signatory were the purchaser, if the company defaults. Other states use different contracts; your solicitor should read yours.
For the detail, see what signing a director's guarantee commits you to, and what happens when a personal guarantee is called.
What changes for the loan if you buy in a company instead of a trust or your own name?
It changes which law the loan sits under, who has to guarantee it, the tax rate on the rent and how a gain is taxed, while the lender's servicing test stays much the same.
Three names can sit on the same contract for the same house, and the table below sets out what each one changes.
| Question | Your own name | A company | A trust with a corporate trustee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who the borrower is | You | The company | The trustee company, for the trust |
| Is the loan under the National Credit Code? | Yes, for a home or a residential investment purchase | No, loans to companies are not subject to it | No, the trustee is a company, so the loan is not subject to it; an individual trustee is different, so ask your solicitor |
| Who guarantees | You are the borrower, so usually no guarantee | Usually every director, personally | Usually the directors of the trustee company |
| Tax rate on the rent | Your marginal rate | Usually 30 per cent, because rent is passive income | Taxed in the hands of the beneficiaries it is distributed to; ask your accountant |
| A rental loss | From 1 July 2027, a loss on an established home bought after 12 May 2026 can only offset residential property income; new builds can still be negatively geared | Stays in the company, under the same 2027 limits; a loss carry-back may be available from 2026-27 | Stays in the trust, under the same 2027 limits |
| How a capital gain is taxed | Discount on gains to 30 June 2027; indexation and a minimum tax from 1 July 2027 | No capital gains tax discount | The same change as for individuals; ask your accountant |
| Living in it | Your home, and the main residence exemption may apply | May be a Division 7A dividend; possibly a housing fringe benefit if you are its employee | Ask your accountant |
| First home owner grant | May be eligible if it is your first home | Not eligible | Not eligible |
| Who to ask | Your broker | Accountant on tax; solicitor on the guarantee and constitution | Accountant on distributions; solicitor on the deed |
Sources: ASIC, Information Sheet 101 (reissued October 2020); ATO, Changes to company tax rates (updated 4 September 2026); ATO, CGT discount (updated 29 June 2026); Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (registered 26 June 2026); Australian Government, Negative gearing and capital gains tax reform explainer (Budget 2026-27); ATO, Tax loss carry back law now passed (8 September 2026); ATO, Private use of assets (updated 31 January 2019); ATO, Housing fringe benefits (updated 6 March 2025); Queensland Revenue Office, First home grant eligibility. All read 2 October 2026.
The capital gains comparison is changing. The ATO says companies can't use the CGT discount at any time, and the 2026 reforms keep the existing CGT settings for companies. For individuals and trusts, the 50 per cent discount applies to gains up to 30 June 2027; from 1 July 2027 it is replaced by indexation of the cost base, with a 30 per cent minimum tax on capital gains, and new residential dwellings have their own rules. So a comparison made today will not hold after that date. How it applies to you is a question for your accountant, and how the investment loan itself is assessed is covered in our investment property guide.
When does a trust fit better?
That is your accountant's call, but the lending side is close. A trust with a corporate trustee also borrows through a company, so the Credit Code point and the director guarantees look much the same. The differences are in how income and gains are distributed and what the trust deed allows. For the trust side of the same purchase, see our family trust guide.
Can you live in a house your company owns?
You can, but it is a tax question before it is a lending one, and it is better settled before the contract than after.
The usual case is a director's family moving into the house the company bought. Before that happens, these points need an answer from your accountant:
- The ATO says the use of a company asset by a shareholder or their associate may be treated as a Division 7A dividend, and if the use continues into another income year, it counts again as a separate payment at the start of that year.
- If the director is employed by the company, the ATO says accommodation provided rent-free or at reduced rent, as their usual place of residence, is generally a housing fringe benefit.
- The company does not get the main residence exemption from capital gains tax that a person living in their own home would.
- First home owner grants go to individuals, not companies: in Queensland, for example, a company or trust cannot apply, so a first home bought this way gives up the grant and usually the first home duty concession too.
- Lenders read a company buying a house for a director to live in as a different file from a company buying an investment property, and fewer lenders will consider it (see owner-occupied loans to a company).
(This is not the Corporations Act rule about a "resident director", which is about a director who lives in Australia, not in the company's house.)
If the real goal is a home for you, borrowing personally may be simpler. The next section covers how to use the company's money for a house in your own name.
A director plans to move into a house the company has bought, with no rent agreed. Before anything else, it is a Division 7A and fringe benefits question: the use of the house may be treated as a dividend, or as a housing benefit if the director is an employee. That is why the accountant needs to hear about it before contracts are signed, not after settlement.
Illustrative only. Not an offer or a prediction of approval.
Can you use your company's money to buy a house in your own name?
Yes, but the money has to come out of the company properly first: as a dividend, as salary or directors' fees, or as a Division 7A loan on the ATO's terms. Each has a different tax result, and the lender will want to see which one it was.
This is where many company owners land after weighing up the sections above: the home goes in their own name, and the company's profits pay the deposit or support the loan. What each route involves:
- A dividend or salary. It is taxed in your hands, with franking credits on a franked dividend, and once it is in your account the lender reads it as your income or your savings.
- A Division 7A loan. The ATO requires a written loan agreement, interest at least at the benchmark rate (8.77 per cent for 2026-27) and minimum yearly repayments, over a maximum of 7 years, or 25 years if the loan is secured by a registered mortgage over real property. A lender can count those repayments as a commitment when it works out what you can borrow.
- Money taken with no paperwork. A payment or loan from a private company to a shareholder that is not put on proper terms may be treated as a dividend under Division 7A. Ask your accountant before the money moves, not after.
- The lender's deposit check. Lenders look at where the deposit came from, so a clear trail from the company account to yours, with the dividend, wage or loan agreement behind it, keeps the file moving.
If the company's profits are what support the loan, a lender may be able to read them directly. See how a lender can assess the company's retained profits, or talk to us about a home loan in your own name assessed on your business income.
Sources: ATO, Loans by private companies (updated 2 July 2026, under ATO review); ATO, Division 7A benchmark interest rate (updated 1 July 2026). Both read 2 October 2026.
What tax and duty questions should you take to your accountant first?
Eight questions decide whether a company is the right owner, and all eight belong with your accountant before they reach a lender.
- Company tax rate. A company pays 30 per cent unless it is a base rate entity, and no more than 80 per cent of a base rate entity's assessable income can be passive income such as rent. A company that mainly holds property usually pays 30 per cent. Ask your accountant how that compares with your own marginal rate.
- Capital gains tax. Companies can't use the CGT discount. For individuals and trusts the discount applies to gains up to 30 June 2027 and is replaced by indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax from 1 July 2027. Ask your accountant how that changes the comparison for you.
- Rental losses. If the rent does not cover the interest and costs, the loss stays in the company and can never reduce the tax on your own salary or business income. The 2026 reforms also limit negative gearing for individuals, companies and most trusts alike: from 1 July 2027, a loss on an established home bought after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can only be used against residential property income, while new builds can still be negatively geared. Separately, from the 2026-27 income year a company that paid tax in the previous two years may carry a tax loss back for a refundable offset, limited by its franking account balance. Ask your accountant how these apply to this purchase.
- Land tax. Each state taxes land held by companies under its own rules. In NSW, companies receive the land tax threshold but related companies are grouped, so only one gets it; in Queensland, companies and trusts have their own threshold. A company identified as a foreign corporation may also pay surcharge land tax (see the foreign investment point above). Ask your accountant what applies in your state.
- Transfer duty. Duty is paid when property is bought or acquired, so the company's purchase is dutiable, and so is moving the property into or out of the company later. Each state has its own rules. Ask your accountant before any transfer.
- First home benefits. First home owner grants are for individuals buying a home to live in. In Queensland, for example, the grant is not available to a company or a trust, and first home buyer duty concessions are also aimed at individuals. If this is your first home, ask whether buying in your own name keeps those benefits.
- Division 7A. If the plan is for the company to lend you the money instead, Division 7A treats advances of money, credit and other financial accommodation from a private company as loans, with their own tax rules. Ask your accountant first.
- The 2027 changes. If you hold several properties across entities, see how the 2027 tax changes affect a portfolio and ask your accountant whether to act before 1 July 2027.
Take to the meeting: the property's address and price, whether anyone in the family will live in it, how long you plan to hold it, the company's latest financial statements and tax return, and who the directors and shareholders are. With those, your accountant can answer all eight in one sitting.
Sources: ATO, Changes to company tax rates (updated 4 September 2026); ATO, CGT discount (updated 29 June 2026); Australian Government, Negative gearing and capital gains tax reform explainer (Budget 2026-27); ATO, Tax loss carry back law now passed (8 September 2026); Revenue NSW, Land tax for companies (updated 30 June 2025); Queensland Revenue Office, Land tax for companies and trusts (updated 29 November 2024); State Revenue Office Victoria, Land transfer (stamp) duty; Queensland Revenue Office, First home grant eligibility; ATO, Loans by private companies (updated 2 July 2026, under ATO review); Foreign investment key concepts (updated 12 December 2025). All read 2 October 2026.
Can a newly registered company with no trading history borrow to buy property?
Sometimes. With no trading history, lenders look through the company to the directors and to the property, and fewer lenders will do it.
An ACN issued last month tells a lender nothing about repayment, so the file rests on the people and the asset. In our experience the difference between a file that moves and one that stalls usually sits in this list:
Stronger file
- Directors with clear personal finances and their own evidenced income
- A purpose that makes sense for the company
- A tenancy in place on an investment purchase
- A sensible loan size
Weaker file
- A shell company with no reason to own the property
- A director unwilling to guarantee
- Personal credit issues
- A company formed only to borrow
If the company is new because the business has just moved into it, see when a business moves into a new company. For the more common route, see a business owner buying an investment property.
A newly registered company with no trading history wants to buy a specialist disability accommodation property. With no accounts to read, the lenders look through the company to the directors and the tenancy, and two lenders give different policy answers. The company also has to have a genuine role as the owner, as our SDA housing finance guide explains.
Illustrative only. Not an offer or a prediction of approval.
From our broking, indicative
Based on Switchboard deal files and lender panel policy reads, as of October 2026.
- Of the panel lenders whose public pages we read in October 2026, one states that a company may apply with every director as a guarantor, and another lists company and trust borrowers on short-term private loans. Others assess company borrowers case by case.
- The cleanest company file we have completed: a company buying a tenanted house, on residential investment terms, principal and interest with an offset, both directors guaranteeing.
- What most often stalls a company file: the company's accounts not ready; a constitution or shareholding nobody has read; one director unwilling to guarantee; a purchase that reads as a director's home with no rent agreed.
Indicative only. Lender appetite for company borrowers changes without notice, and each lender's position is re-dated at review. Not a quote, an offer or a likelihood of approval; actual terms depend on lender policy and your circumstances at the time of application.
Want a read on your own file first? Check whether a lender would look at your company file.
How do you buy a property in a company name, step by step?
The order matters more than any single step: accountant, company, broker, contract, guarantees, settlement.
- Accountant first. Ask whether a company is the right owner for this property, given the tax, land tax and duty that follow.
- Set up or check the company. ASIC says a company must be governed by a constitution or the replaceable rules, and the replaceable rules are the default for proprietary companies. Check that your company constitution or the rules let it buy, borrow and give a mortgage; that is a question for your solicitor.
- Talk to a broker before signing anything. Find out which lenders will lend to the company and what they need, before you are bound to settle.
- Sign the contract in the company's name. Know who signs for the company and what that means; in Victoria the signatory for a proprietary company purchaser can be personally liable if the company defaults.
- Directors sign the guarantees. Each director should take independent legal advice before signing.
- Duty and settlement in the company's name. The company pays duty on the purchase and settles as the registered owner.
Can you sign the contract before the company loan is approved?
You can, but it can leave the company bound to settle with no lender. Company borrower policy is narrower and more lender-specific than a standard home loan, so have the broker map the likely lenders first, and ask your solicitor what finance condition, due diligence period or nomination rules apply to the contract in your state.
If the contract is already unconditional, the finance question becomes a settlement risk. Tell the broker the finance date and the settlement date straight away, and do not change the buyer from you to the company, or the company to you, without legal advice on the duty and nomination consequences below.
What if you have already signed the contract in your own name?
Then changing the buyer to the company is not a simple name change. Depending on your state and the contract, it may need a nomination or a second transfer, and a second transfer can mean paying duty twice. Speak to your solicitor before settlement, not after.
Can your company buy a house you already own?
It can, but it is a sale. The company pays duty on the transfer, you may have a capital gain on the sale, the company's lender assesses it as a new purchase, and if you keep living there the Division 7A and fringe benefits points above apply. Ask your accountant before you agree a price.
When you are ready to map the lenders, start a conversation with us.
Sources: ASIC, Company rules and constitutions (updated 21 August 2026); Consumer Affairs Victoria, sample contract of sale of real estate; ASIC Moneysmart, Going guarantor on a loan (updated 9 September 2026). All read 2 October 2026.
Can you refinance, or move the property out of the company later?
Yes, but moving it out is a transfer, so duty and tax apply much as if it were sold. Refinancing and keeping the property in the company is usually the simpler route.
The day the property has to leave the company usually comes with a lender's consent attached: a transfer normally means the existing loan is repaid, or the lender agrees to it. Victoria's corporate reconstruction concession can reduce duty on transactions within a corporate group, but transactions involving discretionary trusts and natural persons are not eligible. Other states have different rules.
| Route | The lending side | Duty and tax (ask your accountant) |
|---|---|---|
| Refinance and keep it in the company | A new lender assesses the company and the directors again, and new guarantees are signed | No change of owner; ask your accountant whether anything else applies |
| Sell or transfer to a director | The company's loan is repaid or the lender consents; the director borrows in their own name | The director's acquisition is dutiable; a capital gain for the company, with no discount |
| Transfer to a family trust | The trustee borrows under the trust lender's policy | Dutiable; in Victoria the corporate reconstruction concession does not cover discretionary trusts |
| Transfer to another company in the same group | Lender consent, or a refinance by the receiving company | In Victoria the corporate reconstruction concession may reduce duty within a corporate group; other states differ |
| Sell to a third party | The loan is repaid from the sale proceeds | The capital gain is taxed in the company, with no discount |
Sources: State Revenue Office Victoria, Corporate reconstruction concession (updated 12 June 2026); ATO, CGT discount (updated 29 June 2026). Both read 2 October 2026.
For the mechanics, see moving a property between entities. If you need equity rather than a transfer, consider using the company's property as security instead, or releasing equity across a group of companies and trusts.
A company can own a house and some lenders will lend to it, but it is a narrower market, the deposit is often larger, the directors usually guarantee the loan personally, and the loan sits outside the National Credit Code. The tax is different too: usually 30 per cent on the rent, no capital gains discount, rental losses that stay in the company, no first home grant, duty on every move in or out, and possible Division 7A or fringe benefits tax if a director lives there. If the house is for you, using the company's money for a house in your own name is often the simpler route.
Key takeaway: Settle the structure with your accountant and the guarantee with your solicitor before you sign, then choose the lender.Frequently asked questions
Yes. A company can buy residential property in its own name, with a director signing the contract for it, but lenders usually ask every director to guarantee the loan and the company is taxed differently from you. See why a company buys a house and what each reason costs.
It depends on what you want the company to do. A company changes which law the loan sits under, who guarantees it and how a gain is taxed, so whether it is worth it is your accountant's call, not a lender's. See how a company compares with a trust or your own name.
Speak to your accountant first, check the company's constitution or rules let it borrow and give a mortgage, and talk to a broker before you sign. Then sign the contract in the company's name, have the directors sign the guarantees after legal advice, and settle in the company's name. See the steps in order.
You can, but it can leave the company bound to settle with no lender, because fewer lenders accept a company borrower. Have the broker map the likely lenders first, and ask your solicitor about the finance condition and the nomination rules in your state. See signing before finance is approved.
Yes, from a smaller group of lenders, usually with every director guaranteeing the loan and on narrower terms than the same people would get in their own names. See which lenders lend to a company, or ask us about a home loan assessed on your business income.
Usually more than the same people would need in their own names, and there is no single rule. The one major bank figure on the public record is ANZ's 70 per cent maximum LVR for company and trust borrowers from January 2026, which means a 30 per cent deposit plus duty and costs; non-bank and private lenders set their own limits. See how much deposit a company needs.
Yes, but it has to come out of the company properly first, as a dividend, as salary or directors' fees, or as a Division 7A loan with a written agreement, interest at the ATO benchmark rate (8.77 per cent for 2026-27) and minimum yearly repayments. Money taken out with no paperwork can be treated as a dividend, and a lender will check where the deposit came from. See using company money for a house in your own name.
A residential loan is secured by a home or a residential investment property, while a commercial loan is usually secured by business premises or assessed under business credit policy. A company buying a house can land on either side, because some lenders write it as a residential loan to a company and others run it through business credit policy. See home loan or commercial loan.
No. The ATO says companies can't use the CGT discount. For individuals and trusts, the discount itself applies only to gains up to 30 June 2027 and is replaced by indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax from 1 July 2027, so ask your accountant how that changes the comparison. See the tax questions to take to your accountant.
Usually 30 per cent. A company gets the lower 25 per cent base rate entity rate only if no more than 80 per cent of its assessable income is passive income, which includes rent, so a company that mainly holds property usually pays 30 per cent. See the tax questions to take to your accountant.
No. If the rent does not cover the interest and costs, the loss stays in the company and cannot be used against your own salary or business income. Since the 2026 reforms, from 1 July 2027 a loss on an established home bought after 12 May 2026 can only offset residential property income, whether it is owned by you, a company or most trusts; new builds can still be negatively geared. See the tax questions to take to your accountant.
No. First home owner grants are for individuals buying a home to live in. In Queensland, for example, the grant is not available to a company or a trust, and first home buyer duty concessions are also aimed at individuals. If the property is your first home, buying in your own name is usually the route. See the tax questions to take to your accountant.
Yes, but it is a tax question first. The ATO says the use of a company asset by a shareholder or associate may be treated as a Division 7A dividend, and if you are employed by the company, rent-free housing is generally a housing fringe benefit. See living in a house your company owns.
It depends on your income, your plans for the property and how long you will hold it, so it is a question for your accountant, not a lender. The fixed points are that companies can't use the CGT discount and a company that mainly holds property usually pays 30 per cent tax. See what to ask your accountant first.
No. ASIC says loans to companies are not subject to the credit legislation, and only loans to natural persons and strata corporations are caught. That means the Code's protections do not apply to a company's loan. See what that means for a company borrower.
Yes, but it is a transfer, not a name change. The company's loan is repaid or the lender consents, the new owner pays duty, and the company has a capital gain with no discount. Refinancing and keeping the property in the company is usually simpler. See moving the property out of the company later.
A company owns the property itself and cannot use the CGT discount, and it is run under its constitution or the replaceable rules. A trust is run under its deed and passes income and gains to beneficiaries. Both usually borrow through a company, the borrower itself or a corporate trustee, with director guarantees. See how a family trust home loan works.
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