Buy-to-Let UK 2026: Is It Still Worth It?

Section 24 (introduced 2017-2020) replaced full mortgage interest deduction with a 20% tax credit, devastating after-tax yields for higher-rate landlords

A typical leveraged BTL today returns 4-6% per year after costs and tax, compared to ~7-9% historical real returns from a global equity tracker

Stamp duty surcharge of 5% applies on second homes from April 2025, on top of standard SDLT

BTL still works in specific niches (low-tax landlords, HMOs, full-cash purchases) but has lost the broad mass-market appeal it had pre-2017