Salary & dividends

Take the most home, legally, every cycle.

Finn models salary against dividends across income tax, NI and corporation tax, so you know the after-tax answer before you decide.

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accounts-os.com/salary-dividend
Salary & DividendsLive
What's the most tax-efficient split this year?
F£12,570 salary, the rest as dividends: £1,840 more take-home than last year's split.
FFinn found £1,840 more take-home, legally.
Live

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 for 2026-27 (10.75% basic, 35.75% higher, 39.35% additional, from 6 April 2026), 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.

4-tax
Combined view
What-if
Modelling
Multi-director
Supported

Everything it does

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 2026-27 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

1

Set target take-home

E.g. £80k after tax across all directors.

2

Optimiser models scenarios

All-salary, all-dividend and balanced scenarios, modelled against all four taxes.

3

Pick the optimum

We highlight the lowest-total-tax option. You can override.

4

Apply

Schedule the payroll change and the dividend declaration with one click.

By the numbers

IT + NI + Div + CT
All four taxes
Real after-tax answer
£500
2026-27 allowance
Used optimally
Auto
Personal allowance
Tapered at £100k

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. For 2026-27, dividend tax is 10.75% (basic), 35.75% (higher) and 39.35% (additional) on dividends above the £500 allowance, from 6 April 2026. The personal allowance is £12,570 and the higher-rate threshold is £50,270.

Explore more of AccountsOS

Dividends

Declare, document, pay: compliantly.

Payroll

Run payroll, send payslips, and get an HMRC-ready RTI file every time. No payroll bureau needed.

Corporation Tax

See your tax bill in real time, so it's never a surprise. Filing-ready numbers when you need them.

Director's Loan Account

Borrowing from your company gets taxed if you get it wrong. Finn watches the balance so you never do.

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