Dividend Tax Calculator

Dividends are taxed after your other income, so the rate you pay depends on how much of your tax bands your salary and other income have already used. The first £500.00 of dividends is covered by the Dividend Allowance and is taxed at 0%, but it still uses up space in your tax band.

This is an estimate of the tax on your dividends, not a full Self Assessment calculation. It does not include student loan repayments, savings income, pension contributions or other reliefs.

For 2026/27 we apply, in order:

1. Personal Allowance of £12,570.00, reduced by £1 for every £2 of total income above £100,000.00 and gone entirely at £125,140.
2. The allowance is set against your non-dividend income first, and any unused part against dividends.
3. The Dividend Allowance of £500.00 at 0%.
4. Remaining dividends across the dividend rates: 10.75% ordinary, 35.75% upper and 39.35% additional.

Dividend rates and thresholds are UK-wide. If you are a Scottish taxpayer, Scottish rates apply to your salary and other income, but your dividends still use the UK bands.

• One full UK tax year, 2026/27.
• No savings interest, capital gains, pension contributions or Gift Aid.
• No student loan or High Income Child Benefit Charge.
• Dividends are ordinary UK company dividends taken from post-tax profit.

Think of your income as a stack. Salary and other income go in first and fill the tax bands from the bottom. Dividends sit on top, so a modest salary can leave dividends in the ordinary rate, while a larger salary pushes the same dividends into the upper rate.

If you are deciding how to pay yourself rather than just checking the tax, use the salary vs dividend calculator instead, and check the company side with the Corporation Tax calculator.

£10,000 dividends, no other income

A director takes no salary and £10,000 of dividends. The full Personal Allowance of £12,570.00 is unused by salary, so it covers all £10,000 of dividends. No tax is due.

£10,000 dividends, £12,570 salary

A director takes a £12,570 salary — using the whole Personal Allowance — plus £10,000 of dividends. The first £500 is covered by the Dividend Allowance, leaving £9,500 taxable. All of it sits inside the basic-rate band, so the tax is £9,500 × 10.75% = £1,021.25.

£50,000 dividends, £12,570 salary

A director takes a £12,570 salary and £50,000 of dividends. The Dividend Allowance covers £500, leaving £49,500 taxable. £37,200 falls in the basic-rate band at 10.75% (£3,999) and the remaining £12,300 falls in the higher-rate band at 35.75% (£4,397.25). Total dividend tax is £8,396.25, an effective rate of 16.79% on the full £50,000.