Everything You Need to Know About Investment Loans in a Company Name

Buying an investment property through a company name can protect your personal assets and create tax planning opportunities that don't exist for individual borrowers.

That same structure can also limit your borrowing capacity, push your interest rate higher, and make refinancing harder down the line. Lenders treat company borrowers differently to individual investors, and those differences start the moment you lodge an application. Understanding what changes and what stays the same helps you decide whether a company structure suits the property you're looking to buy and the income you're building.

Why Investors on the Coast Choose Company Structures

Company structures separate the property from your personal name, which limits your liability if something goes wrong with the tenancy or the asset.

Consider a buyer who owns a plumbing business in Gosford and wants to hold rental property in a company to ring-fence risk. If the investment runs into trouble, the company structure can shield personal assets including the family home. Company structures also allow multiple shareholders to hold an interest in the property without the complications of joint tenancy or tenants in common. Tax can be managed at the company rate rather than your marginal rate, although the new negative gearing quarantine from July 2027 applies to companies just as it does to individuals. Company structures can also simplify estate planning, particularly when you're holding multiple properties across a portfolio.

How Lenders Assess Investment Loan Applications for Companies

Lenders require both company and director guarantees when you apply for an investment loan through a company name.

The company borrows, but each director guarantees the debt personally. That means your income, liabilities, expenses and credit file are all assessed just as they would be for a personal application. Serviceability is calculated using your declared income plus the rental income from the property, less a vacancy rate buffer that most lenders set at 5 per cent. The lender applies the APRA serviceability buffer of 3 percentage points above the actual rate, and from February this year the debt-to-income cap can restrict how much you're approved for even if you pass the standard serviceability test. Because the company itself often has little or no income, the loan relies entirely on the directors' capacity to service.

Interest Rates and Product Access When Borrowing as a Company

Company borrowers typically pay between 0.30 and 0.60 percentage points more than individual investors for the same product.

Not every lender offers investment property finance to companies, and those that do often cap the loan-to-value ratio at 80 per cent. That means you need at least a 20 per cent deposit, plus settlement costs. Some lenders will go to 90 per cent LVR for individuals but won't offer Lenders Mortgage Insurance for company borrowers, so higher-LVR lending is rare. Variable rate and fixed rate products are available, though the choice is narrower. Interest-only terms are still offered by most lenders for company structures, which can help with cashflow when rental income is tight.

The New Negative Gearing Rules and Company Borrowers

From 1 July 2027, rental losses from residential properties bought on or after 7:30pm on 12 May 2026 can only be offset against other residential rental income, not against salary or business income.

Companies are not exempt from this quarantine. If you buy an established dwelling in Gosford or anywhere else on the Coast after that date, the loss stays in the residential rental bucket. The company can carry the loss forward and use it against future rental profits or capital gains on residential property, but it won't reduce your business income or director's fees. Properties bought before the cutoff date continue under the old rules, and eligible new builds retain full negative gearing regardless of purchase date. If you're weighing a company structure for a new purchase, the tax benefits now depend heavily on whether the property is positively geared or qualifies as an eligible new build.

Refinancing and Portfolio Growth in a Company Structure

Once you've borrowed in a company name, moving to a different lender can be more involved than refinancing a personal home loan.

The new lender will reassess the company, require fresh director guarantees, and often apply stricter servicing than the original lender did when rates were lower. If your circumstances have changed or your income has dropped, you may not qualify for the same loan amount. That can become a problem when you want to release equity for your next purchase. In our experience, investors who build a portfolio across multiple properties often start with individual ownership and move to a company structure later, once the first property or two are established and cashflow is stable. That approach keeps your options open while you're still proving rental income and building genuine savings for the next deposit.

CGT Indexation and the Minimum Tax Rate for Company-Held Property

From 1 July 2027, capital gains on residential property bought by companies after that date will be indexed to CPI rather than receiving the 50 per cent discount, and a minimum 30 per cent tax rate applies to the real gain.

For company buyers, this indexation method can reduce the taxable gain compared to the previous discount, but the 30 per cent minimum floor means you won't pay less than that rate even if the company tax rate is lower. The change applies only to gains accruing after 1 July 2027, so any appreciation before that date is still taxed under the current company CGT rules. Eligible new builds allow an election between the discount and the indexed method, which gives some flexibility depending on how long you hold the property. If you're buying in a company name and planning to sell within a few years, the indexed method may deliver a better outcome than the old discount rules, but you need to model it with your accountant before settlement.

Should You Borrow in a Company Name for a Gosford Investment?

A company structure makes sense when asset protection, tax planning or multi-party ownership matters more than securing the lowest rate or maximum borrowing capacity.

If you're a business owner with multiple revenue streams, already use a company for trading, or plan to hold several properties over time, the structure can fit well. If you're buying your first rental and want the simplest path to approval and the widest choice of lenders, individual ownership through a standard investment loan will usually get you there faster and cheaper. The gap between the two has widened since the tax changes came through, and it's widened again with the debt-to-income cap now applying to both individuals and companies. Talk through your situation with someone who knows how lenders assess company applications and how the new tax rules apply to your specific holding structure.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you. We're based here on the Coast and we'll walk you through the numbers that matter for the property you're looking at.

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