Salary & Dividend Optimiser
Take the most home, legally. We do the maths every payroll cycle.
Optimal director remuneration calculator that combines income tax, NI, dividend tax and corporation tax for a real after-tax answer. Multi-director scenarios, what-if modelling, and personal allowance + dividend allowance handling.
In short
The Salary & Dividend Optimiser calculates the most tax-efficient mix of salary and dividends for one or more directors, factoring in income tax, NI (Class 1 + employer's), dividend tax (8.75% / 33.75% / 39.35%), the £500 dividend allowance, the personal allowance, and corporation tax saved by salary as an expense. Outputs net take-home and total tax paid for each scenario.
Free during Early Access — no credit card required
Everything Salary & Dividend Optimiser can do
Scenario modelling
- Set total target take-home
- Vary salary and dividend split
- See income tax, NI, dividend tax, CT impact for each
- Compare side by side
- Shows the optimal mix
Multi-director
- Per-director optimisation
- Different shareholdings
- Different personal allowances (joint income)
- Different tax bands
Tax facts current
- Personal allowance (£12,570)
- Dividend allowance (£500)
- Higher rate threshold (£50,270)
- Additional rate threshold (£125,140)
- All UK 2025/26 numbers in sync
Capabilities at a glance
Combined income tax + NI + dividend tax + CT view
What-if modelling (vary salary / dividend split)
Multi-director support
Personal allowance taper handling
Dividend allowance optimal use
Side-by-side scenario comparison
Shows optimal mix automatically
Tax-year-aware (current rates always live)
How It Works
Set target take-home
E.g. £80k after tax across all directors.
Optimiser models scenarios
All-salary vs all-dividend vs balanced — with all four taxes.
Pick the optimum
We highlight the lowest-total-tax option. You can override.
Apply
Schedule the payroll change and the dividend declaration with one click.
By the numbers
Real-world Use Cases
New tax year planning
On 6 April set the year's optimal salary at £12,570 (personal allowance) and plan dividends quarterly.
Two-director couple
Maximise both personal allowances + both dividend allowances for joint take-home.
Mid-year bonus question
'I want £10k extra this month — bonus or dividend?' Optimiser answers in seconds with the maths.
Why founders pick this over the spreadsheet
Stop guessing at salary vs dividend
Combined view — most calculators only show one or two taxes
Multi-director scenarios handled
Always current with HMRC rates
Frequently Asked Questions
Why not just pay all-dividend?
Salary uses your personal allowance and reduces corporation tax (it's an expense). Below the secondary NI threshold it's basically free money. The optimal mix usually has some salary.
Does it handle the £100k personal allowance taper?
Yes — for income over £100k personal allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 over, fully removed at £125,140. We model this.
Multi-director?
Yes — model two or more directors with different shareholdings, allowances and existing income (e.g. one with a part-time job elsewhere).
What about pension contributions?
Employer pension contributions are factored as a tax-efficient route — modelled as part of the scenarios.
Are the rates current?
Yes — UK 2025/26 thresholds are baked in and refresh as HMRC publishes new rates.
Explore more of AccountsOS
Dividends
Declare, document, pay — compliantly.
Payroll & RTI
Run payroll, send payslips, file RTI. No payroll bureau needed.
Corporation Tax
See your CT bill in real time. Generate the workpaper for filing.
Director's Loan Account & S455
Stay out of the S455 trap. The DLA stays in the green or you hear about it.
Ready to try Salary & Dividend Optimiser?
Get started with AI-powered accounting for your UK limited company.
Get Started FreeFree during Early Access — no credit card — cancel anytime