Dividend tax calculator, 2026/27
Enter your salary and the dividends you plan to take. The calculator stacks dividends on top of your other income and shows the personal tax due, plus what actually reaches your bank account.
The dividend tax calculator runs on the rates and thresholds HMRC has published for the 2026/27 tax year, so the figures you see reflect the position your company is actually filing on rather than a historic set of bands. Change any input and the result recalculates immediately, with no sign-up and nothing sent anywhere.
If you are a director of a UK limited company, use it as a first look before a decision rather than as the decision itself. 2026/27 rates: £500 dividend allowance, then 10.75% basic, 35.75% higher and 39.35% additional rate. Real company positions bring in other income, reliefs, group structures and prior year adjustments that a single page of inputs cannot see, which is why the workings are written out below under salary, dividends & director pay. Read those, then check the numbers against your own accounts, and speak to us if anything looks materially different from what you expected.
Last reviewed 12 September 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. Reviewed by Waqas Sagar, Member of ICAEW, Fellow of ACCA, Fellow of AAT.
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Result, 2026/27
Dividend tax due
Income tax on salary
Employee National Insurance
Total take-home
Salary plus dividends, after personal tax and NI.Payment deadline
Payments on account may also be due on 31 January and 31 July.Illustration only, figures are based on the rates you have selected and the information entered. Please check your own position with us before acting.
Estimates for the 2026/27 tax year using published GOV.UK rates. Switch between 2026/27 and 2025/26 above.
How dividends are taxed
Dividends are paid from post-tax company profit, so the company has already paid corporation tax on the money. You then pay personal tax on the dividend at lower rates than salary, and no National Insurance is due on it.
The dividend allowance is £500 for 2026/27, down from £2,000 three years earlier. It is an allowance, not an exemption: it uses up part of the band it falls in.
Dividends sit on top of your other income, so the rate you pay depends on your total taxable income for the year, including rental profit, interest and employment income from elsewhere.
Getting the paperwork right
A dividend is only legal if the company has sufficient distributable reserves, accumulated post-tax profit, at the date it is declared. Paying out of an overdrawn position creates an illegal dividend and usually a director's loan account problem.
Each dividend needs a board minute and a dividend voucher. HMRC does look for these when a company is enquired into, and a bank transfer with no paperwork is not a dividend.
Watch the director's loan account
Taking money ahead of profit leaves the account overdrawn. If it is still overdrawn nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays a section 455 charge of 35.75% (33.75% on loans made before 6 April 2026) until the loan is repaid, and a benefit in kind can arise on balances over £10,000.
What this means for your company
Treat the result as a planning figure for the 2026/27 tax year. If it changes what you were about to do, take a director's salary, a dividend, a large asset purchase or a filing decision, check it against your own accounts first. We can review the position with you and confirm the tax treatment before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I take in dividends tax free in 2026/27?
£500 of dividends are covered by the dividend allowance. If your salary is below the personal allowance, the unused allowance can also cover dividends before the allowance applies.
Do I pay National Insurance on dividends?
No. Dividends are free of National Insurance, which is a large part of why the salary-plus-dividend approach is common for owner-managed companies.
When is dividend tax due?
Through Self Assessment, by 31 January following the end of the tax year. If your bill is over £1,000 you may also owe payments on account.
What paperwork does a dividend need?
A board minute approving the distribution and a dividend voucher for each shareholder, both dated. The company must also have sufficient distributable reserves, otherwise the payment is unlawful and is usually recharacterised as a director's loan.
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