Estimate your 2026/27 dividend tax with our UK dividend tax calculator. See income tax, National Insurance, take-home pay and a detailed breakdown, using HMRC's published rates and allowances.
Your allowance is set against your salary first, then savings interest, then dividends. The band limits below are limits on what is left after it.
Total income
£57,570
Personal allowance
£12,570
Taxable income (income after the allowance)
£45,000
Basic-rate band
£37,700
Dividend allowance used (a 0% band, not a deduction)
£500
Employer NI (company cost, before Employment Allowance)
£1,135.50
Dividends
The top slice: charged against whatever band space your other income leaves, at UK rates wherever you live.
Band
Income in band
Rate
Tax
Dividend allowance (Ordinary rate)
£500
0%
£0.00
Ordinary rate
£37,200
10.75%
£3,999.00
Upper rate
£7,300
35.75%
£2,609.75
Total
£6,608.75
Each band’s tax is the income in it multiplied by its rate. The totals are worked out before anything is rounded and then rounded once, which is what keeps them exact.
Table of contents7 sections
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Key takeaways
The 2026/27 dividend allowance is £500, down from £1,000 in 2023/24 and £2,000 in 2022/23. Directors who take dividends are paying more personal tax as a result.
Dividend tax rates are 10.75% (basic), 35.75% (higher) and 39.35% (additional). Your salary decides which band your dividends start in.
Your £12,570 personal allowance is used by your salary first. Whatever is left of it covers dividends at 0% before any rate applies.
The dividend allowance is a 0% band, not a deduction. It doesn't lower your band position: the £500 still counts when working out where the rest of your dividends fall.
Above £100,000 of income, your personal allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 you earn, and it's gone completely at £125,140.
What Is a Dividend Tax Calculator?
A dividend tax calculator estimates the personal tax you pay on dividends from your company or investments. Your salary and savings interest affect that calculation because they use tax band space before your dividends are taxed.
Our UK dividend tax calculator brings these figures together and shows your total income, dividend tax and take-home pay. You can also open the breakdown to see the allowances, income bands and rates behind the result.
For the 2026/27 tax year, dividend tax rates are 10.75% at the basic rate, 35.75% at the higher rate and 39.35% at the additional rate. The Dividend Allowance is £500, and the standard Personal Allowance is £12,570.
How This Dividend Tax Calculator Works
The calculator estimates your personal tax using annual dividends, gross salary and optional details. The breakdown shows how allowances apply and how your income is split across tax bands.
Applies Your Personal and Dividend Allowances
The calculator applies your Personal Allowance to salary first, then savings interest, then dividends. Any allowance left after covering your salary and savings interest covers part of your dividends.
The standard Personal Allowance for 2026/27 is £12,570. It reduces by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and reaches zero at £125,140.
The separate £500 Dividend Allowance applies to dividends that remain after the Personal Allowance has been used. This portion is taxed at 0%, but it still counts towards your income and occupies tax band space.
Places Salary, Savings Interest and Dividends in Order
Salary enters the tax bands first, followed by savings interest and then dividends. The calculator uses this order to establish how much of the basic-rate band remains for your dividends.
For example, a salary of £36,300 leaves £23,730 of taxable salary after the full Personal Allowance. That salary occupies £23,730 of the £37,700 basic-rate band, leaving £13,970 for savings interest and dividends.
Savings interest also occupies band space when it is taxed at 0% under a savings allowance. Receiving tax-free interest therefore still affects where your dividends fall.
Calculates Dividend Tax Across the Bands
Your dividends are split between the bands they reach, rather than all being charged at one rate. For 2026/27, the rates are:
Tax treatment
Dividend income covered
Rate
Dividend Allowance
Up to £500 remaining after the Personal Allowance
0%
Ordinary rate
Dividends within the remaining basic-rate band
10.75%
Upper rate
Dividends within the higher-rate band
35.75%
Additional rate
Dividends within the additional-rate band
39.35%
The standard basic-rate band covers the first £37,700 of taxable income after the Personal Allowance. Salary and savings interest use this band before dividends.
Qualifying pension contributions paid through relief at source and Gift Aid donations extend the tax band limits. Their gross values also reduce adjusted net income, which determines the Personal Allowance reduction above £100,000.
Includes Income Tax and Employee National Insurance
The calculator shows income tax separately from dividend tax and includes employee National Insurance on your salary.
For 2026/27, standard employee National Insurance is charged at 8% on annual salary above £12,570 up to £50,270, then 2% above £50,270. Dividends do not attract National Insurance.
Employer National Insurance appears separately in the expanded breakdown. It is a company cost and is excluded from your personal tax liability.
Shows Your Income After Personal Tax
Your total income brings together your salary, dividends and savings interest. The calculator subtracts income tax, dividend tax and employee National Insurance to show your take-home pay.
The income-and-tax chart also shows how your total income is divided between the amount you keep and each personal tax charge.
Want an accountant to handle your salary, dividends and company accounts? Answer a few questions and see your price straight away.
Here is a step by step guide for how to use our dividend tax calculator.
Step 1: Enter Your Dividend Income
Enter the total dividends you receive or expect from your limited company and other UK investments outside an ISA. Do not include company turnover, profits or proceeds from selling shares.
Step 2: Enter Your Gross Salary
Enter your salary before income tax and National Insurance. Include pay from your own company and any other employment.
Step 3: Add Savings, Pension Contributions and Gift Aid (Optional)
Click Savings, pension and Gift Aid, below the Gross salary field, to display the three optional fields. Complete those that apply to you and leave the others at zero.
Savings interest: Enter interest earned from taxable savings, including bank and building society accounts. Exclude ISA interest.
Personal pension contributions: Enter qualifying contributions you pay personally. Do not include employer contributions or salary sacrifice.
Gift Aid donations: Enter charitable donations made under Gift Aid.
Step 4: Review Your Results
Your results update automatically as you change the figures. Review the three summary cards, Your income and tax, and the expandable See your breakdown section.
Total Income
This card shows your combined annual income before personal tax deductions. It brings together the salary, dividends and savings interest you entered.
The same total appears at the top of Your income and tax, where it provides the starting point for the chart and percentages.
Dividend Tax
This card shows the total tax calculated on your dividends after applying the available allowances and dividend tax rates.
The detailed Dividends table underneath See your breakdown shows how that amount is calculated across the relevant bands.
Your Take Home Pay
This card shows the income remaining after income tax, dividend tax and employee National Insurance have been deducted.
Employer National Insurance is excluded because your company pays it separately. The figure gives you your income after the personal taxes covered by the calculator.
Your Income and Tax
This section contains a coloured bar and a list showing how your total income is divided:
Result
What it shows
Take-home pay
The income remaining after the calculated personal taxes and employee National Insurance
Dividend tax
The tax charged on your dividend income
Income tax
The income tax charge on your non-dividend income
Employee NI
Your employee National Insurance contribution on salary
Total personal tax liability
Dividend tax, income tax and employee National Insurance added together
The percentage beside each of the first four figures shows its share of total income. For example, £3,961.25 of dividend tax against £57,300 of total income is displayed as 6.91%.
The Total personal tax liability figure appears at the bottom of this section. It excludes employer National Insurance.
See Your Breakdown
Open See your breakdown to follow the calculation behind the results.
Before the bands show the starting figures: total income, Personal Allowance, taxable income after the allowance, basic-rate band and Dividend Allowance used. It also shows Employer NI, labelled as a company cost before Employment Allowance.
The Salary and other income table shows taxable income entering the salary tax bands. The Dividends table shows dividend income allocated to the 0% allowance band and the relevant dividend tax bands.
Each table uses the columns Band, Income in band, Rate and Tax, followed by a total. Income covered by the Personal Allowance has already been removed before reaching these tables. Income covered by the Dividend Allowance remains visible as a 0% row.
How to Calculate Tax on Dividends
Suppose you are a company director receiving a £36,300 gross salary and £21,000 in dividends during 2026/27. This example uses the salary tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and assumes standard National Insurance rates, no other income, no pension contributions and no Gift Aid donations.
Add Up Your Total Income
Start by adding your salary and dividends before tax:
Gross salary: £36,300
Dividends: £21,000
Total income: £57,300
Your adjusted net income is below £100,000, so the full £12,570 Personal Allowance is available.
Deduct Your Personal Allowance
Apply the £12,570 Personal Allowance to your salary:
£36,300 − £12,570 = £23,730 taxable salary
Your salary uses the entire allowance, leaving none available for dividends. Your total taxable income is therefore:
£23,730 salary + £21,000 dividends = £44,730
This figure includes the dividends that will be taxed at 0% under the Dividend Allowance.
Find the Basic-Rate Band Remaining for Dividends
The basic-rate band covers the first £37,700 of taxable income. Your £23,730 taxable salary occupies part of that band:
£37,700 − £23,730 = £13,970 remaining for dividends
The rest of your dividend income falls into the higher-rate band.
Apply the £500 Dividend Allowance
The Dividend Allowance covers £500 at 0%. That £500 still occupies part of the basic-rate band:
£13,970 − £500 = £13,470 taxed at the ordinary dividend rate
The dividends falling into the higher-rate band are:
£21,000 − £13,970 = £7,030 taxed at the upper dividend rate
Calculate the Tax on Each Dividend Portion
Apply the 2026/27 dividend rates to the amounts in each band:
Keep the full precision during the calculation and round the combined tax to the nearest penny.
Calculate Salary Tax and Employee National Insurance
Your £23,730 taxable salary falls entirely within the basic-rate salary band:
£23,730 × 20% = £4,746 income tax
Standard employee National Insurance applies at 8% to salary above £12,570 up to £50,270. Your salary is within that range:
(£36,300 − £12,570) × 8% = £1,898.40 employee NI
Add these charges to your dividend tax to find your total personal tax liability:
£3,961.25 + £4,746 + £1,898.40 = £10,605.65
Calculate Your Take-Home Pay
Subtract the total personal tax liability from your total income:
£57,300 − £10,605.65 = £46,694.35
This leaves you with £46,694.35 after salary income tax, dividend tax and employee National Insurance.
Calculate Employer National Insurance Separately
Your company also pays standard employer National Insurance at 15% on salary above the £5,000 annual secondary threshold.
For a £36,300 salary, the amount before Employment Allowance is:
(£36,300 − £5,000) × 15% = £4,695
Your company pays this £4,695 separately. It is excluded from your personal tax liability and does not reduce the take-home figure above.
Who This Dividend Tax Calculator Is For
Our calculator helps people receiving UK dividends plan their personal tax and understand how much income remains after the deductions covered by the tool.
Company Directors Taking Salary and Dividends
If you receive salary and dividends from your company, the calculator brings the personal tax charges together. This helps you budget for dividend tax alongside the income tax and employee National Insurance charged on your salary.
Limited Company Contractors
Contractors receiving dividends through a limited company can use the tax estimate to plan how much to set aside from company distributions. The calculation covers personal salary and dividend income; it does not determine IR35 status or calculate liabilities under the off-payroll working rules.
Shareholders and Investors With Dividend Income
If you hold UK shares outside an ISA, the calculator helps you estimate the tax on your dividend payments. Your employment income and savings interest must also be included because they affect the tax bands available for those dividends.
Anyone Comparing Salary and Dividend Amounts
Change the salary and dividend figures to compare the personal tax and take-home pay for different income amounts. This shows how an alternative mix affects salary tax, dividend tax and employee National Insurance.
Limitations of This Dividend Tax Calculator
The result covers the income types and standard tax treatment included in the tool. The following points need a separate review before you rely on it for a complete tax calculation.
Personal Allowance Allocation
The calculator applies the Personal Allowance to salary first, then savings interest, then dividends. It uses this fixed order rather than checking alternative allocations.
A complete tax calculation must use the permitted allocation that gives the greatest reduction in tax. This needs particular attention when savings interest and dividends interact with different allowances and rates.
Scottish Salary Tax
This dividend tax calculator uses the tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish taxpayers need a separate calculation for salary and other non-savings, non-dividend income.
Dividend tax rates and bands remain the same throughout the UK.
Payroll Deductions and Pension Arrangements
The calculator does not include student loan repayments or provide a payroll calculation tailored to your tax code and National Insurance category.
Salary sacrifice, employer pension contributions and workplace pension deductions require separate treatment. Pension contribution eligibility and allowance charges also need their own checks.
Other Income and Tax Reliefs
Rental profits, self-employment profits and pension income have no dedicated input fields. Do not add them to gross salary, because that field is treated as employment income and is used to calculate employee National Insurance.
Foreign tax credits, Marriage Allowance and Blind Person's Allowance are also outside the calculation.
Tax Already Paid and Self Assessment Payments
The result shows the full calculated annual personal liability before accounting for tax already collected through PAYE or payments already made to HMRC.
Self Assessment payments on account are not calculated. Check your completed tax return and HMRC account to establish the outstanding amount and its payment deadlines.
Corporation Tax and Company Costs
The calculator does not calculate Corporation Tax or determine the profits available to pay dividends. Your company must have sufficient distributable profits after accounting for Corporation Tax.
Employer National Insurance is shown before Employment Allowance. Eligible companies apply that allowance separately when establishing the employer NI bill.
The personal tax result alone does not provide a complete comparison between operating as a sole trader and running a limited company.
Disclaimer
This dividend tax calculator provides an estimate based on the information entered and the tax rules covered by the tool. It does not replace individual financial, accounting or tax advice.
Consult a qualified accountant for a complete calculation that includes all relevant income, reliefs, payroll treatment and tax already paid before making financial decisions or submitting a Self Assessment return.
Consult a qualified accountant for a complete calculation.
Your dividend tax depends on your total income and available allowances. For 2026/27, dividends above your unused Personal Allowance and £500 Dividend Allowance are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35%, depending on the bands they fall into.
How Much Tax Do I Pay on £50,000 in Dividends?
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For 2026/27, a £12,570 salary and £50,000 in dividends produce £8,396.25 in dividend tax, assuming no other income or reliefs. The £500 Dividend Allowance is taxed at 0%, £37,200 at 10.75%, and £12,300 at 35.75%.
What Are the UK Dividend Tax Rates for 2026/27?
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The dividend tax rates are 10.75% at the basic rate, 35.75% at the higher rate and 39.35% at the additional rate. They apply from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
How Much Can I Receive in Dividends Tax-Free?
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For 2026/27, the Dividend Allowance covers £500. If you qualify for the full £12,570 Personal Allowance and have no other income, you can receive £13,070 in dividends without paying dividend tax.
Rita wrote the guidance on this page, explaining how dividends are taxed alongside salary and savings, drawing on her experience supporting business owners with accounts, tax and financial management.
Bilal reviewed this calculator's guidance and worked examples to check they are clear, accurate and in line with HMRC's published rates and thresholds.
