Salary and dividend calculator for directors 2026/27
Enter your company's profit and your salary: the calculator works out employer NI, corporation tax, dividend tax and what you keep, and compares a £12,570 salary, a £5,000 salary and dividends only. Free, no account needed, in your browser.
Law as of 12 November 2026: rates and allowances for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027).
Your figures for 2026/27
Profit for a 12-month accounting period, after all other costs and before your salary and the employer NI on it.
£12,570 is £1,047.50 a month. Try £5,000 or 0 to compare.
Leave at 0 if the company is your only income.
Not if you are the only director and the only employee paid above £5,000.
Other companies under the same control. Each one lowers the £50,000 and £250,000 limits.
Result
You keep
£46,091.20 a year
- £12,570 salary£12,570.00
- Employer NI£1,135.50
- Taxable profit£46,294.50
- Corporation tax£8,795.96
- Dividends£37,498.54
- Income tax on salary£0.00
- Employee NI£0.00
- Dividend tax£3,977.34
- You keep£46,091.20
Compared with other salaries
- £12,570 salary (best)£46,091.20
- £5,000 salary£45,293.71
- No salary, dividends only£44,111.15
How we calculate
1. Employer National Insurance
15% of the salary above £5,000 a year. If the company can claim the Employment Allowance, up to £10,500 of it is covered. A company whose only director is its only employee paid above £5,000 cannot claim it (National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Act 2025).
2. Corporation tax
The company deducts the salary and employer NI from its profit. The rest is taxed at 19% up to £50,000, at 25% above £250,000 and with marginal relief in between: 25% minus 3/200 of the gap to £250,000. Both limits are divided by the number of associated companies plus one (Finance Act 2026 ss. 11 and 12, Corporation Tax Act 2010 s. 18B).
3. Dividends
Everything left after corporation tax is paid out as dividends. Dividends are not a cost for corporation tax and may only come from profits available for distribution (Companies Act 2006 s. 830).
4. Your income tax and National Insurance
Salary uses your Personal Allowance of £12,570 first, then 20%, 40% and 45% apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or the Scottish rates from 19% to 48%. Employee NI is 8% from £12,570 to £50,270 and 2% above, on annual earnings. Dividends sit on top: £500 at 0%, then 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% across the UK (Finance Act 2026 s. 4, Income Tax Act 2007 s. 16).
5. What you keep
Salary plus dividends, minus income tax, employee NI and dividend tax. With other income, we count only the extra tax that your salary and dividends add on top of it.
What the calculator assumes
- Profit means the company's profit for a 12-month accounting period before your salary and the employer NI on it.
- The company has one director and shareholder, you, and pays all profit after corporation tax to you as dividends in the same tax year.
- Other income means taxable income from a job or a pension. Savings, rent, pension contributions and student loans are not included.
- Corporation tax rates and limits are the same for the financial years starting on 1 April 2026 and 1 April 2027.
- Scotland changes only the tax on salary above £12,570. Dividends are taxed at the same rates and bands everywhere in the UK.
Norman in the UK
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best salary for a director in 2026/27?
For most directors with no other income, £12,570: it is free of income tax and employee NI, and the corporation tax it saves is more than the £1,135.50 employer NI it costs. With a job that already uses your Personal Allowance, £5,000 is usually better.
How much do I keep from £60,000 of company profit?
With a £12,570 salary and the rest as dividends, £46,091.20 in 2026/27, if you live in England and have no other income. A £5,000 salary leaves £45,293.71, dividends only £44,111.15.
How much dividend tax will I pay in 2026/27?
The first £500 is tax-free. Above that, 10.75% in the basic rate band, 35.75% once salary plus dividends pass £50,270 and 39.35% above £125,140. These rates apply in Scotland too.
Does the calculator work if I live in Scotland?
Yes. Choose Scotland and your salary above £12,570 is taxed at the Scottish rates: 19%, 20%, 21%, 42%, 45% and 48%. Your dividends stay on the UK rates.
Can my company claim the Employment Allowance?
Not if you are the only director and the only employee paid above £5,000. With another employee above that level, it can claim up to £10,500 a year against employer NI.
Information, not tax advice. The calculator does not replace advice from a qualified adviser. It neither stores nor sends your input.