Dividend Planner

Model how your monthly dividend affects the personal tax you'll owe and what's left for you to spend, for a UK owner-director taking a small salary plus dividends.

Your plan

PAYE salary from tax year rules · editable below

{{ money2(cfg.salaryAnnual / 12) }} / mo

{{ money0(cfg.salaryAnnual) }} for the year — covered by your personal allowance

Monthly dividend from here on gross, before tax

£ / month

× {{ months }} month{{ months === 1 ? '' : 's' }} = {{ money0(mDiv * months) }}

{{ money0(mDiv) }} is above the slider's {{ money0(sliderMax) }} range — type in the box to adjust, or drag to come back down.

Dividends already paid this year since {{ year.startsOn }}

Amount paid

As of date

Already set aside for tax toward {{ year.label }}'s bill

Months remaining from the date above

Student loan optional

Projected total income for {{ year.label }} {{ money0(tax.totalIncome) }} — {{ money0(projectedAnnualDividend) }} dividends plus {{ money0(cfg.salaryAnnual) }} salary.

Personal tax owed — full year

{{ pct(effectiveDivRate) }} of dividends · next £1 taxed at {{ pct(marginalRate) }}

Yours to spend / month

{{ money0(mDiv) }} dividend − {{ money0(monthlySetAside) }} set aside for tax + loan

plus {{ money2(cfg.salaryAnnual / 12) }} salary → {{ money0(totalSpendMonthly) }} in total

Setting aside for tax

Year's bill{{ money0(personalTaxTotal) }}

Already set aside{{ money0(setAside) }}

Still to set aside{{ money0(taxStillToReserve) }}

Per month from here {{ months > 0 ? money0(monthlySetAside) : '—' }}

{{ money0(monthlySetAside) }} of each {{ money0(mDiv) }} dividend to the tax pot ({{ Math.round(taxSharePct) }}%) {{ money0(mDiv - monthlySetAside) }} yours to spend

That's more than the dividend itself — tax on what's already been paid hasn't been put aside, so {{ money0(monthlySetAside - mDiv) }}/mo has to come from elsewhere.

Rounded up to the nearest £5, so setting aside exactly that won't leave you short.

What can I draw for the rest of the year?

Spread over your {{ months }} remaining month{{ months === 1 ? '' : 's' }}, this is the most you can pay yourself each month and still stay inside each threshold.

No months left in the tax year — set months remaining above to plan the next payment.

Stay inside	Left to draw	Per month	Year's tax
{{ r.label }} {{ r.sub }} · up to {{ money0(r.totalIncome) }} income			{{ money0(r.tax) }}

Per-month figures are rounded down to the nearest £5, so paying exactly that keeps you inside the threshold.

Where you sit in the bands

{{ money0(nextBand.annualGap) }}/yr more in dividends ({{ money0(nextBand.monthlyGap) }}/mo)
before you reach {{ nextBand.label }}

You're in the top band — dividends taxed at {{ pct(cfg.divAddl) }}.

How the personal tax is built

Slice of dividends	Amount	Rate	Tax
{{ b.label }}	{{ money0(b.amount) }}	{{ b.rate === 0 ? '0%' : pct(b.rate) }}	{{ money0(b.tax) }}
Salary above tapered allowance	{{ money0(tax.taxableSalary) }}	{{ pct(cfg.nonDivBasic) }}+	{{ money0(tax.salaryTax) }}
Student loan repayment	{{ money0(Math.max(0, tax.totalIncome - cfg.studentLoan[studentLoanPlan].threshold)) }}	{{ pct(cfg.studentLoan[studentLoanPlan].rate) }}	{{ money0(studentLoanAnnual) }}
Total to set aside for the year			{{ money0(personalTaxTotal) }}

Common rule of thumb: set aside {{ money0(ruleOfThumb) }}/yr — ~10% on dividends up to the {{ money0(higherRateThreshold) }} level, ~35% above it. This tool's precise figure is {{ money0(personalTaxExclLoan) }}/yr ({{ pct(effectiveDivRate) }} of {{ money0(projectedAnnualDividend) }} dividends).

{{ w.level === 'info' ? 'i' : '!' }} {{ w.title }}{{ w.body }}

Assumptions & tax figures

The {{ year.label }} figures this calculator uses, loaded from tax-years.js. Edit any value to match your own circumstances or a corrected figure — changes recalculate live, are kept per tax year, and persist in this browser only.

Notes for {{ year.label }}

{{ n }}

Salary / year (£) Personal allowance (£) Basic-rate band width (£) Additional-rate threshold (£) PA taper starts (£) Dividend allowance (£) Dividend basic rate Dividend higher rate Dividend additional rate Child Benefit charge from (£) Child Benefit full clawback (£) {{ cfg.studentLoan[studentLoanPlan].label }} threshold (£)

Assumes no other taxable income (interest, rent, second job) and no pension contributions or Gift Aid.
Assumes no benefits in kind / non-standard tax code. A company car etc. changes this.
Dividend tax rates are UK-wide; Scottish rates only affect the salary, which here is covered by the personal allowance.
Assumes dividends are legally declared from post-corporation-tax profits.
Employer's NI on the salary is a company cost and is not shown here — for a sole director it is broadly offset by corporation tax relief.
Tax is paid via Self Assessment; payments on account can bring some of it forward.
The Child Benefit charge is only flagged, not calculated — it depends on what's claimed.
Student-loan thresholds change every April — check the current figure.
A planning aid, not tax advice. Confirm anything material with a qualified accountant.