From 6 April 2026, the dividend tax rates that apply to owner-managed business directors changed. The basic rate of dividend tax increased from 8.75% to 10.75%, and the higher rate from 33.75% to 35.75%. For directors who draw a combination of salary and dividends from their company, most UK owner-managed business directors, this is not a minor administrative update.
This change applies automatically. It applies to all dividend income received in the 2026/27 tax year, regardless of when the dividend was declared. If your existing remuneration structure has not been reviewed since before April 2026, you are already paying more tax than you were in March, and the question is whether the additional cost can be reduced through planning, or whether your structure simply needs to be updated for the new rates.
This guide sets out what changed, what it means in real numbers, and what directors should review now to ensure their remuneration structure remains as efficient as possible under the 2026/27 rules.
The New Dividend Tax Rates in Full
The changes apply to dividend income received outside a tax-efficient wrapper such as an ISA. For directors of owner-managed businesses drawing dividends as part of their remuneration package, the rates now look as follows. For the full picture of how dividend income interacts with salary, personal allowances, and tax bands, our guide to income tax rates covers the complete tax band structure:
| Taxpayer band | 2025/26 rate | 2026/27 rate | Change |
| Basic rate taxpayer | 8.75% | 10.75% | +2.00pp |
| Higher rate taxpayer | 33.75% | 35.75% | +2.00pp |
| Additional rate taxpayer | 39.35% | 39.35% | No change |
Source: HMRC, April 2026. Rates apply to dividend income received in the 2026/27 tax year onwards.
The dividend allowance, the amount of dividend income that can be received tax-free each year, remains at £500 for 2026/27. This provides minimal shelter for directors drawing substantial dividends, having been reduced from £5,000 in 2017.
Key point for higher rate directors
If your total income, salary plus dividends, pushes you into the higher rate band (above £50,270 taxable income), your dividend tax rate has increased from 33.75% to 35.75%. On £60,000 of dividend income, that is an additional £1,200 per year. On £80,000, it is an additional £1,600. These are the actual additional tax costs on your current structure if nothing has changed.
What the Rate Change Means in Practice: Three Director Scenarios
The table below shows the direct impact across common director remuneration scenarios. These are illustrative figures based on standard rates and do not account for individual circumstances.
Director scenario | Tax 2025/26 | Tax 2026/27 | Additional cost |
Basic rate director , £30,000 dividend | £2,625 | £3,225 | Extra £600/yr |
Higher rate director , £60,000 dividend | £19,350 | £20,550 | Extra £1,200/yr |
Higher rate director , £80,000 dividend | £26,100 | £27,700 | Extra £1,600/yr |
Additional rate , £100,000 dividend | £38,100 | £38,100 | No change |
Illustrative figures based on 2026/27 tax rates. Individual tax outcomes depend on personal circumstances. This is illustrative only and does not constitute tax advice.
The additional cost is automatic and applies without any action from the director. For higher rate directors, the question is not whether to restructure entirely; the salary-plus-dividend model still offers substantial advantages over salary alone, but whether the current split is still optimal under the new rates.
Why the Salary–Dividend Structure Still Makes Sense
Despite the rate increase, the salary-plus-dividend model remains significantly more tax-efficient than a pure salary arrangement for most director-shareholders. The reason is National Insurance: dividends do not attract NI contributions, either employee or employer, whereas a salary above £12,570 does. The table below illustrates the total tax burden of taking £80,000 out of a company via salary only versus via a salary-plus-dividend combination in 2026/27:
Factor | Salary only | Salary + dividend (2026/27) |
Take-home target | £80,000 | £80,000 |
Salary component | £80,000 | £12,570 |
Dividend component | Nil | £67,430 |
Income tax on salary | £19,432 | Nil |
Dividend tax (2026/27) | Nil | £7,259 |
Employee NI | £4,284 | Nil |
Employer NI | £10,245 | Nil |
Estimated total tax burden | £33,961 | £7,259 |
Illustrative figures for 2026/27. Corporation Tax on company profits, personal allowances, and individual circumstances will all affect actual outcomes.
Even after the April 2026 rate increase, the salary-plus-dividend model carries a substantially lower total tax burden than salary alone in most scenarios. The NI saving on the dividend portion typically outweighs the additional dividend tax cost. The question is whether the current level of dividend is still the right level, and whether the mix between salary, dividends, and pension contributions is optimised for the new rates.
Four Planning Areas Directors Should Review Now
1. The Optimal Salary Level For 2026/27
The most common director salary strategy is to set the salary at or near the NI Secondary Threshold, now £5,000 per year from April 2026, having dropped from £9,100. Some directors set their salary at the personal allowance level (£12,570) to preserve state pension entitlement. The right level depends on your total income position, pension planning, and the company’s Corporation Tax situation, and it should be recalculated annually, not set once and maintained by default.
2. Pension Contributions As A Pre-Dividend Alternative
For directors who do not need all distributable profit as immediate income, employer pension contributions offer a compelling alternative to dividends. Contributions made directly from the company to a director’s pension are not subject to dividend tax, income tax, or NI contributions, and they reduce the company’s Corporation Tax liability. For higher-rate directors now paying 35.75% on dividend income, replacing part of the dividend draw with an employer pension contribution can deliver a significantly better after-tax outcome. Our guide on how to reduce corporate income tax covers pension contributions and other legitimate planning strategies that apply at the company level.
3. The Timing of Dividend Payments Within The Tax Year
Dividend payments are taxable in the year they are received, not when they are declared. Directors with flexibility over when they draw dividends may find it worthwhile to consider the timing relative to their total income each year, particularly if they are close to the boundary between the basic and higher rate bands. Taking a smaller dividend in one year and a larger one in the next can, in some cases, reduce the overall rate that applies.
4. Spousal or Family Shareholding Structures
Where a spouse or civil partner holds shares and has an unused basic rate band, dividends can be distributed to them and taxed at 10.75% rather than the higher 35.75% rate that may apply to the main director. This is a legitimate planning strategy, but requires genuine shareholding arrangements; it cannot be achieved through informal income splitting, and should be structured correctly to withstand HMRC scrutiny.
What to Do Before the End of the 2026/27 Tax Year
For directors who have not yet reviewed their remuneration structure since April 2026, these steps are a practical starting point:
- Establish your total income position for 2026/27: Calculate your expected salary and dividend income for the year and identify which tax band your dividend income falls into. If you are in the higher rate band, the rate has already changed; the question is whether your dividend level is still the right level.
- Model the impact of the rate change on your existing structure: Calculate the additional tax you are paying under the new rates compared to 2025/26. For most higher-rate directors, this figure will be between £600 and £2,000 per year, enough to justify a planning review but not so large that it cannot be addressed through modest structural adjustments.
- Review your salary level against the new NI threshold: With the Secondary Threshold now at £5,000, the calculation of the optimal director salary level has changed. If your salary is set based on an older threshold figure, it may no longer be optimal. Recalculate based on 2026/27 thresholds.
- Review your Self Assessment payment on account obligations: The self assessment deadline for 2026/27 payments on account falls on 31 January 2027. Directors who expect a significant increase in their tax liability due to the dividend rate change should review whether their current payment on account figures reflect the new rates; underpaying attracts HMRC interest.
- Arrange a formal remuneration review before the year progresses further: The planning decisions that affect your 2026/27 tax bill need to be made during the tax year, not after it. A structured review through tax outsourcing or a specialist adviser in April or May gives you the full year to implement changes and measure their effect.
How Befree Supports Company Directors With Tax Planning
The Rate Has Changed - Has Your Strategy?
The April 2026 dividend tax increase is not large enough to make the salary-plus-dividend structure unviable for most directors. It remains the most efficient way to extract value from a profitable company when structured correctly. But it is large enough that a remuneration structure designed under the old rates is no longer automatically optimal under the new ones.
The directors who manage this transition most effectively are those who treat April 2026 as a prompt to review their approach, not simply accept the additional cost. Modest adjustments to salary levels, dividend timing, pension contributions, or shareholding arrangements can often recover the additional tax cost, and in some cases reduce it further.
At Befree, we work with UK company directors to ensure that personal and corporate tax compliance is managed accurately, and that remuneration structures are reviewed as the rules change, not maintained by default when the environment has moved on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the new dividend tax rates from April 2026?
From 6 April 2026, the basic rate of dividend tax increased from 8.75% to 10.75%, and the higher rate from 33.75% to 35.75%. The additional rate remains unchanged at 39.35%. The dividend allowance, the amount of dividend income that can be received tax-free, remains at £500 for 2026/27. These rates apply to dividend income received outside of ISAs and other tax-exempt wrappers.
Does the April 2026 dividend tax increase affect all company directors?
The increase affects directors who receive dividend income that falls within the basic or higher rate tax bands. Directors whose total income falls within the additional rate band were already paying 39.35% on dividends, so the change does not increase their rate. Directors who draw only a salary and no dividends are not directly affected by the dividend rate change, though a review of whether introducing a dividend element would still be beneficial under the new rates may be worthwhile.
Is the salary-plus-dividend structure still more tax-efficient than salary alone after April 2026?
Yes, for most director-shareholders, the salary-plus-dividend structure remains significantly more efficient than a pure salary arrangement. The primary reason is that dividends do not attract National Insurance contributions, either employee or employer, whereas a salary does. The NI saving on the dividend portion of a remuneration package typically outweighs the additional dividend tax cost at both the basic and higher rate levels. However, the optimal split should be recalculated under the new rates rather than assumed to remain the same as in 2025/26.
Can employer pension contributions reduce the dividend tax impact?
Yes. Employer contributions paid directly from the company to a director’s pension are not subject to income tax, dividend tax, or National Insurance, and they reduce the company’s Corporation Tax liability. For a higher-rate director now paying 35.75% on dividends, replacing part of the dividend draw with an employer pension contribution can deliver a substantially better after-tax outcome, particularly where retirement planning is underfunded relative to what the company can reasonably contribute.
What is the dividend allowance in 2026/27, and how does it work?
The dividend allowance for 2026/27 remains at £500. This means the first £500 of dividend income received outside of an ISA or other tax-exempt wrapper is free of dividend tax. Any dividend income above this threshold is taxed at the applicable rate for the taxpayer’s band. The allowance has been reduced significantly from its original £5,000 level in 2017 and now provides only modest shelter for directors drawing substantial dividends.
When is the Self Assessment deadline for 2026/27, and how do the new rates affect payment on account?
The Self Assessment tax return for 2026/27 must be filed by 31 January 2028 for online returns. Payments on account, covering half of the estimated 2026/27 tax liability, are due on 31 January 2027 and 31 July 2027. Directors who expect a material increase in their 2026/27 tax liability as a result of the dividend rate change should check whether their existing payment on account figures adequately reflect that increase. Underpaying payments on account attracts HMRC interest from the due date.