How should a UK director choose salary and dividends in 2026/27?
Compare 2026/27 salary and dividend examples at £50,000, £100,000 and £250,000 of company profit, including the different Scottish result.
Read articleTax Shrink blog
Tax changes rarely arrive in isolation. This blog explains the rules, announcements and practical questions that affect UK limited company owner-directors, using worked examples and links to the underlying sources.
You'll find timely analysis alongside clear guides to salary, dividends, National Insurance, Corporation Tax and regional Income Tax. Use them to understand the choices before you run the numbers; they provide general education and planning context, not advice tailored to you.
UK director tax changes in 2026/27: the full owner-director roundup
The 2026/27 owner-director roundup: higher dividend rates, frozen National Insurance and Corporation Tax, and wider Scottish salary bands.
Read articleWhy the 2026/27 dividend tax rise can add £190 or £200 on £10,000
A £10,000 gross dividend can cost £190 more after the £500 allowance, while £10,000 already taxable can cost £200 more. See why the bases differ.
Read articleCompanies House identity verification: what sole directors must do
Companies House identity verification became mandatory on 18 November 2025. A sole director who is also a person with significant control must connect both roles.
Read articleUK director tax changes in 2025/26: the employer NI increase
Employer NI reached 15% above a £5,000 threshold in 2025/26. At a £12,570 salary, the company cost rose £656.64 without Employment Allowance.
Read articleSelling your company? Business Asset Disposal Relief rose from 10% to 18%
Business Asset Disposal Relief reached 18% in 2026. On a qualifying £1 million gain, that is £80,000 more tax than under the former 10% rate.
Read articleEmployer NI in 2025/26: why a £12,570 director salary costs £656.64 more
At a £12,570 salary, employer NI rose by £656.64 in 2025/26 for a company unable to claim Employment Allowance. Compare the whole-company result.
Read articleThe £500 Dividend Allowance: what it really means for company directors
The £500 Dividend Allowance is income taxed at 0%, not £500 off your bill. It still uses dividend tax-band capacity.
Read articleUK director tax changes in 2024/25: lower NI and a new Scottish band
Employee NI fell to 8% in 2024/25, saving £1,319.50 at a £50,270 salary, while Scotland introduced a 45% Advanced rate.
Read articleChild Benefit and dividends: the £60,000 adjusted-net-income trap
Salary and dividends both count towards adjusted net income. In 2024/25, Child Benefit was clawed back between £60,000 and £80,000.
Read articleDid the 2024 National Insurance cuts save directors £700 or £800?
At a £12,570 director salary, the 2024 employee NI cut saved £0. At £32,570, the year-to-year saving was £700, not the quoted £800.
Read articleScottish director tax in 2024/25: when salary became materially different
Scotland added a 45% Advanced rate and raised its Top rate to 48% in 2024/25. These rates affect director salary, not UK-wide dividend tax.
Read articleUK director tax changes in 2023/24: Corporation Tax, dividends and Scotland
Corporation Tax on £100,000 of taxable profit became £22,750 from April 2023, before director pay. Associated companies can lower the thresholds.
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