Free director pay check · 2026/27

Your director pay plan for 2026/27

Enter your company's profit and we'll test every salary from £0 upwards, with dividends for the rest, to find the split that leaves you the most. You'll see your take-home, the tax and the Corporation Tax to set aside.

Calculator checked against GOV.UK and HMRC rules on 3 November 2026 (how we check).

Company profit before paying yourself

Sales less business costs for the year, before director salaries, employer NI and Corporation Tax. Your bookkeeping software's profit and loss shows it

Directors taking pay 1 director 2 directors, equal shares

Your other taxable income

A job, pension, rent or interest, for 2026/27. Leave empty if none

Director 2's other taxable income

Only if there are 2 directors

Can the company claim Employment Allowance? No or not sure Yes

Usually 'No' for a one-director company with no other staff. With 2 directors both paid over £5,000, usually 'Yes'.

Employer pension contribution per director

Paid by the company for the year. Leave empty if none

Where do you live? England, Wales or NI Scotland

Company year end

The month your accounts are made up to (Companies House shows it)

Free. No sign-up. We don't keep your figures.

How the check works

Every salary tested. From £0 in £250 steps, plus £5,000, £6,708, £9,100, £12,570 and £50,270.
Company first. Salary and 15% employer National Insurance above £5,000 come off profit (less any Employment Allowance), then Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%.
Then you. Income Tax and National Insurance on the salary, and dividend tax at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% above the £500 allowance on the rest, paid out as dividends.

2026/27 rates. Assumes all profit is paid out and, with 2 directors, equal shareholdings. An estimate, not tax advice.

What the free check tells you

The salary to pay each director for 2026/27, found by testing every level rather than assuming £12,570.
Dividends for the rest, and your take-home once Income Tax, National Insurance and dividend tax are paid.
The Corporation Tax to set aside, which is due nine months and one day after your company's year end.
How close the alternatives are: the common salaries (£0, £5,000 and £12,570) shown against the best one.

Three examples on £80,000 of profit

Worked out by the same engine as the check, England, all profit paid out.

Situation	Best salary	Employer NI	Corporation Tax	Take-home
One director, no other income	£12,570	£1,136	£13,818	£55,765
Two directors, Employment Allowance claimed	£15,000 each	£0	£9,500	£64,893
One director with a £30,000 job	£12,570	£1,136	£13,818	£45,751

With two directors the company can usually claim the £10,500 Employment Allowance, so employer NI stops being a cost and a salary a little above £12,570 can come out ahead. A job elsewhere uses your Personal Allowance first, which is why the take-home from the company is lower in the third row. Your own answer depends on your figures, so run the check.

Which salary wins at your level of profit

One director, no other income, no Employment Allowance, England, all profit paid out. The last column is how much more the best salary leaves you than a £12,570 salary.

Company profit	Best salary	Take-home	More than £12,570
£20,000	£12,570	£17,174.21	same
£40,000	£12,570	£31,632.71	same
£60,000	£12,570	£46,091.21	same
£100,000	£12,570	£65,209.63	same
£130,000	£11,750	£78,995.41	£22.87
£150,000	£5,000	£85,320.93	£211.14

Small profits. When the company cannot cover a £12,570 salary and its employer NI, the best answer is usually a salary that uses up the profit: at £10,000 of profit that is £9,347.83, with no Corporation Tax and no personal tax.
From there to about £128,000 of profit, £12,570 wins. Each pound of salary above £5,000 costs the company £1.15 with employer NI, while a pound of dividend needs about £1.23 of profit at 19% Corporation Tax and more in the marginal relief band, and the salary is free of Income Tax up to the Personal Allowance.
From about £128,000, the best salary falls. The dividends now take your income past £100,000, where the Personal Allowance is withdrawn by £1 for every £2, so salary above £5,000 starts to attract Income Tax and its advantage disappears step by step.
By £150,000, £5,000 is best. With the Personal Allowance gone, the only salary worth paying is the part with no employer NI. The differences in this range are small, a few hundred pounds at most, so a simple £12,570 or £5,000 salary costs little, and how much to take out at all matters more.

What the check does not cover

Associated companies or an accounting period shorter than 12 months, which lower the Corporation Tax limits.
Unequal shareholdings or different share classes between two directors.
Benefits in kind, student loan repayments and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
Profit you choose to keep in the company: the check assumes it is all paid out, which is the most personal tax you could pay this year. To model retaining some, use the retained profit calculator.

Before you run the check

Which profit figure do I enter?

The company's profit for the year before your salary, employer NI and any pension contribution: sales less the normal running costs. If the year is not over, use your best estimate; the check is quick to re-run when the figure firms up.

Does it matter if I have a job as well?

Yes. Your job uses your Personal Allowance first, so a salary from the company is taxed from the first pound and the best answer is often a small salary or none. Enter the job's pay as other income.

Why does a second director change the answer?

A company whose only employee above £5,000 is one director cannot claim the Employment Allowance. With two directors paid above £5,000 it usually can, so employer NI stops being a cost and salaries at or a little above £12,570 come out ahead.

Is the answer different in Scotland?

Rarely by much. A salary within the £12,570 Personal Allowance pays no Income Tax anywhere in the UK, and dividends are taxed at UK rates. Scottish rates only bite on salary above the allowance or on other income.

Does it tell me how much to leave in the company?

No, it assumes everything is paid out. To keep some profit back for a lower-income year, see the retained profit calculator, and for the amount you can take with no personal tax at all, how much a director can take tax-free.