Free calculator · 2026/27 rates
Salary & Dividend Optimiser
Pay yourself too much salary and you waste personal allowance against National Insurance. Take too much dividend and you push yourself into higher-rate dividend tax. The calculator tests every salary from £0 to £60,000 in £10 steps and returns the split that leaves the most cash in your pocket after all taxes.
Ask an accountant about your figureSalary & Dividend Optimiser
Pay yourself too much salary and you waste personal allowance against National Insurance. Take too much dividend and you push yourself into higher-rate dividend tax. The calculator tests every salary from £0 to £60,000 in £10 steps and returns the split that leaves the most cash in your pocket after all taxes.
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Free Limited company tax tool
Optimise your salary and dividend split
Our interactive tool is designed for a larger screen. Leave your details and a specialist will send your figure and the next sensible step, with no obligation.
How the optimiser works
For a UK limited company director, the most tax-efficient extraction typically combines a small salary with dividends drawn from post-tax profit. The model applies corporation tax, employer NI, employee NI, income tax, and dividend tax together so you see the true net position rather than each tax in isolation.
The 2026/27 secondary threshold is £5,000, so any salary above £5,000 attracts 15% employer NI (unless the Employment Allowance of £10,500 is available to offset it). The calculator models both scenarios.
Worked example: on company profits of £60,000, the optimiser selects a salary of £12,570 (equal to the personal allowance). Employer NI on £7,570 above the £5,000 secondary threshold is £1,135. After deducting salary and employer NI the company profit falls to £46,295, which sits entirely within the 19% small profits rate, producing corporation tax of £8,796. The remaining £37,499 is paid as dividends. Income tax and employee NI on the salary are both nil because it does not exceed the personal allowance or primary threshold. Dividend tax on £37,499 (£500 allowance used first, remainder taxed at 10.75% basic rate) is £3,977. Total tax across all heads is £13,908 and the director keeps £46,091 in cash, an effective take rate of around 77% of pre-tax company profit.
Free consultation
Numbers are one thing. Getting the timing right is another.
Every figure here is modelled on standard 2026/27 thresholds. Your actual position depends on prior-year usage, pension carry-forward, other income, and how your decisions interact. A free call gets that read properly.
- 24-hour response, usually same dayYou hear back from a person, not an autoresponder
- Fixed fees, agreed before any workIn writing, before anything starts
- One named accountant, not a team inboxThe same person every time you call
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