Director take-home calculator 2026/27

If you own a limited company you can pay yourself a salary, dividends, or a mix. Enter your company's expected profit and we compare the two main ways of doing it, in plain English, with every line of the working shown.

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Your company's profit for the year before you take any salary, dividends or pension out of it. If you are not sure, use last year's profit from your accounts, or your best estimate.

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The salary you pay yourself through payroll before taking the rest as dividends. £12,570 is the usual best figure because it is exactly your tax-free allowance. If your company can claim the Employment Allowance (see below), try £50,270 and compare.

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Profit you choose to keep in the company rather than pay yourself. It has already had Corporation Tax taken off (19% on profits up to £50,000, up to 25% on larger profits) but no personal tax, so it is a cheap way to save inside the business for a lean year or future investment.

Tailor it to you: pension, other income, student loan, children, Scottish tax
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Money the company pays straight into your pension. It reduces the company's Corporation Tax, and nobody pays National Insurance or Income Tax on it. You can normally put in up to £60,000 a year this way. Leave at 0 if none.

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Any other income you already have, such as a part-time job, a pension or rent from a property. HMRC taxes it alongside your salary and before your dividends, so it uses up allowance and basic rate band that your company income would otherwise have. Leave at 0 if none.

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Student loan repayments are 9% (6% for a Postgraduate Loan) of income above your plan's threshold. On a salary they come through payroll. Dividends count too once your unearned income is over £2,000 in a year, and that part is collected through Self Assessment in January. This is one reason the all-salary route can look better for graduates with large loans: the repayment is spread through the year instead of arriving as one bill.

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Child Benefit is a payment for parents of children under 16 (or under 20 if still in education). If your income goes over £60,000, some of it is taken back through tax, and all of it once you reach £80,000. Only the higher earner in a couple is counted.

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Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands for salaries. Choose Scotland if your tax code starts with an S. Dividends are taxed at the same UK rates everywhere.

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This is a discount of up to £10,500 a year on the National Insurance a company pays as an employer. Companies with two or more directors, or with other staff, can usually claim it. A company where you are the only director and only employee cannot.

Assumptions
  • Tax year 2026/27 rates. National Insurance is the same UK-wide.
  • Corporation Tax uses the full-year limits of £50,000 and £250,000, for a company with a 12-month accounting period and no associated companies. Shorter periods and associated companies reduce both limits.
  • Everything not retained or pensioned is taken out of the company in the year.
  • Other income is treated as non-savings income taxed before your company income; we show only the extra tax your company income adds.
  • Student loan repayments, if a plan is chosen, apply to salary through payroll and to dividends through Self Assessment once unearned income passes £2,000. Ignores benefits in kind and other reliefs.
  • Figures are worked to the penny: each amount is rounded to the nearest penny as it is calculated, and every later figure is built from those amounts, so every line adds up exactly. HMRC's own systems may round some figures down to whole pounds, which can differ by a few pence. Illustrative, not advice.

Route A

£12,570.00 salary + dividends

£46,091.20

in your pocket

Salary
£12,570.00
Dividends
£37,498.54
Employer NI
£1,135.50
Corporation Tax
£8,795.96
Income Tax on salary
£0.00
Employee NI
£0.00
Dividend tax
£3,977.34
Total tax paid
£13,908.80

Route B · for comparison

Everything as salary

£41,196.53

in your pocket

Gross salary
£52,826.09
Employer NI
£7,173.91
Income Tax
£8,562.44
Employee NI
£3,067.12
Corporation Tax
£0
Total tax paid
£18,803.47
£4,894.67
more in your pocket each year with Route A (£12,570.00 salary + dividends)
£46,091.20 versus £41,196.53 on the same £60,000.00 of profit.
Show the workings

Route A: £12,570.00 salary, then dividends

Company profit before paying you£60,000.00
Less salary−£12,570.00
Less employer NI(£12,570.00 − £5,000) × 15%−£1,135.50
Taxable profit£46,294.50
Less Corporation Tax£46,294.50 × 19% = £8,795.96−£8,795.96
Available after tax£37,498.54
Dividends paid to you£37,498.54
Salary plus dividends receivedPersonal Allowance £12,570.00£50,068.54
Less UK Income Tax on salarycovered by the allowance−£0.00
Less employee NI8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above−£0.00
Less dividend taxfirst £500.00 tax-free; £36,998.54 of dividends at 10.75% = £3,977.34−£3,977.34
In your pocket£46,091.20
Total tax paid, company and personal£13,908.80

Route B: everything as salary

Available for pay£60,000.00
Gross salary the company can affordsolve S + 15% × (S − £5,000) = £60,000.00£52,826.09
Employer NI paid by the companysalary and NI are deductible, so Corporation Tax is £0. Nothing is retained in this route£7,173.91
Less UK Income Taxallowance £12,570.00; £37,700.00 of salary and other income at 20% = £7,540.00; £2,556.09 of salary and other income at 40% = £1,022.44−£8,562.44
Less employee NI8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above−£3,067.12
In your pocket£41,196.53
Total tax paid£18,803.47

Difference in your pocket: £46,091.20 − £41,196.53 = £4,894.67.

Employing staff, or want your own PAYE figures? Try the salary take-home calculator.

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