Do you know you can borrow in a company name?

Property investment through a company structure changes how lenders assess your application.

Nurses who hold investment property in a company name face different lending criteria, documentation requirements and product access compared to borrowing in your own name. The structure affects everything from deposit requirements to how rental income is treated. Understanding what lenders assess and which products suit company borrowers helps you move forward with the right structure from the outset.

Why nurses invest through a company structure

A company structure separates personal and investment assets. This matters if you're building a property portfolio with asset protection in mind, or if you're investing alongside other nurses or family members who want defined ownership shares and limited liability.

Consider a nurse practitioner who already owns two properties in her personal name and wants to add a third without increasing personal exposure. Holding the new property through a company she controls means creditors of the company generally cannot pursue her personal assets. The company is its own legal entity. She remains liable as a director, but the separation adds a layer of protection that matters when portfolio values grow.

Companies also suit joint investment arrangements where multiple people contribute capital but want clarity around shares, profit distribution and exit terms. A discretionary trust offers flexibility for distributing income within a family. A company offers structure when you're investing with colleagues or when your accountant recommends it for tax planning that extends beyond property.

How lenders assess company borrowers differently

Lenders treat a company as the borrower, not the individual behind it. That means the company itself must demonstrate capacity to service the loan, usually from the rental income the property generates.

Most lenders will ask for company financials if the company has been operating for more than 12 months. A newly established company with no trading history borrows based on the income of its guarantors, which brings us to the second difference: personal guarantees are mandatory. Every director of the company typically provides a personal guarantee and often a mortgage over their own home as security. You're not eliminating personal risk entirely. You're structuring it differently.

Lenders also assess the company's creditworthiness separately. If the company has existing debts, those affect borrowing capacity. If it has existing rental income from other properties, that income supports the new application. In practice, we regularly see newly incorporated companies borrow for their first investment property based entirely on the director's PAYG income as a nurse, with the director providing a full guarantee. Once that property is tenanted and the company files its first return, the next purchase can be assessed partly on the company's own rental income.

Deposit and LVR limits for company borrowers

Companies typically need a larger deposit than individual borrowers. Most lenders cap investment loan LVRs at 80 per cent for company borrowers, and some cap at 70 per cent, regardless of the director's occupation.

LMI waivers that nurses access for owner-occupied or personal investment loans rarely extend to company borrowing. Even if you're a registered nurse eligible for a 90 per cent LVR on a loan in your own name, the same lender will usually ask for 20 per cent deposit minimum when the borrower is a company. That 20 per cent can come from the directors' own savings or from equity released from properties they own personally.

Some lenders will accept rental income from the new property in the servicing calculation, which can help if the company doesn't have other income streams. Others disregard rental income entirely until the property has been tenanted for three to six months. The approach varies, and it affects which lender suits your structure.

Interest rates and product access

Company investment loan interest rates sit within the same range as individual investor rates, but product choice narrows. Not every lender offers loans to non-individual borrowers, and those that do often exclude certain features.

Interest only terms are available, typically for five years, which many investors prefer to maximise cash flow and keep repayments as a deductible expense. Fixed rate options exist but are less common across lenders who accept company borrowers. Variable rate products dominate, and offset accounts are rarely available. Most lenders offer a standard variable rate with a redraw facility instead.

Rate discounts depend on the loan amount and the overall lending relationship. A company borrowing $600,000 with a director who also holds a $700,000 owner-occupied loan with the same lender may access better pricing than a new company borrowing $400,000 with no other relationship. In our experience, packaging matters more for company loans than it does for straightforward owner-occupied lending.

What tax changes mean for company structures

The negative gearing quarantine that applies from 1 July 2027 does not apply to widely held unit trusts or companies participating in certain government housing programs. For private companies holding a single rental property, the quarantine applies in the same way it applies to individual investors: losses from properties acquired after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can only offset rental income or capital gains from residential property, not company income from other sources.

That said, companies are taxed differently. A company pays a flat 25 per cent tax rate on its income if it's a base rate entity, or 30 per cent otherwise. It doesn't have a marginal tax rate that rises with income, so the value of negative gearing was always lower than it is for a nurse on a marginal rate of 37 per cent or more. If your accountant recommended the company structure primarily to access negative gearing, revisit that advice. If the structure was chosen for asset protection, defined ownership or succession planning, the tax changes may not alter the fundamentals.

CGT indexation and the 30 per cent minimum tax on gains apply to companies in the same way they apply to individuals, with one exception: companies were never eligible for the 50 per cent CGT discount. They always paid tax on the full gain. The new indexation method may actually improve the position for long-held properties, depending on inflation over the holding period.

Documentation lenders require for company applications

You'll need to provide company registration documents, including the certificate of incorporation, current ASIC extract, company constitution and details of all directors and shareholders. If the company has traded, lenders ask for financial statements and tax returns, usually the two most recent years.

If the company is newly incorporated and borrowing is based on director income, the application looks similar to a personal loan application with the addition of company paperwork. You provide your payslips, tax returns, and employment confirmation as a nurse. The lender assesses your ability to service the loan through the guarantee structure. The rental income from the new property is either included at 80 per cent of market rent or disregarded entirely, depending on the lender's policy.

If the company already owns property, rental income is verified through leases and bank statements showing rent receipts. Some lenders also ask for a director's declaration confirming the company has no undisclosed liabilities. The process takes longer than a personal application because every document must be current and lodged with ASIC details must match exactly.

When to consider a different structure

Borrowing in a company name makes sense when asset protection, joint investment or business succession planning justify the setup and ongoing costs. It doesn't make sense if the only reason is a vague sense that companies sound more professional.

If you're a nurse buying your first or second investment property, holding it in your personal name usually offers lower setup costs, wider lender choice and simpler tax reporting. The asset protection benefit of a company matters more when you already have significant equity at risk or when your personal circumstances involve higher liability exposure. If your accountant recommends a company structure, ask specifically why it suits your situation and what the alternative would cost in tax or risk terms. The answer should be detailed, not generic.

Discretionary trusts also separate assets and offer flexibility in distributing income to family members in lower tax brackets. They require a corporate trustee, which adds a company entity, but the trust itself is usually the borrower. SMSF loans are another option if the investment is part of your retirement strategy, though those loans come with their own restrictions. The right structure depends on what you're optimising for: tax efficiency, asset protection, estate planning or simplicity.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you. We'll walk through your structure, confirm what lenders will assess, and connect you with the right product and the right advice before you commit.

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