The salary and dividend mix that leaves you the most
For the director of a UK limited company: what you keep after corporation tax, National Insurance and dividend tax, and the salary that keeps the most. Excel and Google Sheets.
What you get
- Excel workbook, 9 tabs and 5 chartsStart here, Settings, Dashboard, Optimum salary, Dividend planner, Corporation tax, Directors loan, Company diary, Tax rates
- Google Sheets versionA make-a-copy link puts it in your own Drive in one click
- 10 page PDF guideFrom profit to take-home, the optimum salary, dividends, marginal relief, the loan account and every rate with its source
- Open me first pageThe Google Sheets button and the three things to do first
Why this one
- The 2026/27 ratesDividend tax at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% with the £500 allowance, employer NI at 15% from £5,000, and corporation tax with marginal relief.
- The best salary, found for youIt tries every £500 of salary up to the higher rate, plus the usual thresholds, and says how much more the best one keeps.
- The sole director ruleIf you are the only employee paid over £5,000, the Employment Allowance is left out, as HMRC requires.
- Dividends you can defendEach dividend is checked against the profit available, and a dividend beyond it is flagged.
- Checked by handTwenty-one cells in the example match a separate calculation, plus 48 more after unusual inputs, including Scotland, other income and the allowance taper.
How it works
- Type the company's numbersOn Settings, the profit before your salary, any pension and the profit kept from earlier years
- Pick your salary and dividendsType the salary you plan and how dividends are paid. Optimum salary compares it with the others
- Follow the yearLog each dividend and any money you take on Directors loan, and follow Company diary
Who it is for
Directors of a UK limited company who are also its shareholders: contractors, consultants and one-person companies, and anyone thinking about setting one up who wants to see the numbers first. Dividends are paid to shareholders out of the company's profit after corporation tax. The director's loan account tracks money you take from the company that is not salary or dividends, and s455 is the extra tax the company pays when that loan is not repaid in time.
Questions
Do I need Microsoft Excel?
No. It comes with a Google Sheets version, which is free with a Google account. The Excel file also opens in the free web version of Excel.
How do I get it?
Straight after payment it is in your library on this site: the Excel file, the PDF guide and the Open me first page with the Google Sheets button.
I live in Scotland. Does it work?
Yes. Settings asks where you pay income tax, and Scotland is one of the cases checked by hand.
What does it not cover?
Student loans, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, savings interest, losses brought forward, IR35 and benefits in kind other than the loan check.
Is this tax advice?
No. These are estimates to help you plan. Check with an accountant before you act.
Made by Izhar Shah. I built a brand in the evenings alongside a full-time engineering job, and in its first twelve months it passed £500,000 in sales. I make the sheets I wish I had when I started.
Works in
Instant access in your library after payment. Estimates, not tax advice: check with an accountant before you act.