Home / Guides / Limited Company Tax in Scotland 2026/27
Running a limited company in Scotland does not change corporation tax — the company pays the same 19% or 25% rate regardless of where it is registered or where the director lives. What does change is the personal income tax the director pays on salary and dividends extracted from the company. Scottish income tax rates differ from the rest of the UK, and this affects both the optimal extraction strategy and the overall personal take-home.
Last updated May 2026. Written by the LimitedCompanyTaxCalculator.co.uk editorial team and reviewed against current GOV.UK and HMRC guidance. Results are estimates for planning only and are not tax, accounting or financial advice.
Corporation tax is set and administered by the UK Government, not the devolved administrations. The small profits rate of 19% (on profits up to £50,000) and the main rate of 25% (on profits above £250,000) apply to every UK limited company regardless of whether it is registered in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and regardless of where the director personally resides.
A Scottish-based company trading wholly within Scotland pays exactly the same corporation tax as an identical company based in London. The marginal relief calculation for profits between £50,000 and £250,000 uses the same formula everywhere. Directors deciding between Scottish and rUK locations on the basis of corporation tax are making a decision about a tax that does not vary by location.
What is devolved in Scotland is personal income tax — specifically the rates and bands that apply to the director's personal income from salary and dividends once profit is extracted from the company. This is where the Scottish difference enters the limited company calculation.
Scottish directors are subject to Scottish income tax rates on their personal income. For 2026/27, Scotland has six income tax bands: starter rate 19% (£12,571–£14,876), basic rate 20% (£14,877–£26,561), intermediate rate 21% (£26,562–£43,662), higher rate 42% (£43,663–£75,000), advanced rate 45% (£75,001–£125,140), and top rate 48% above £125,140.
For comparison, rUK directors pay 20% on income from £12,571 to £50,270, 40% from £50,271 to £125,140, and 45% above that. The most material divergence for most directors occurs between £43,663 and £50,270, where Scottish directors pay 42% while rUK directors still pay 20%. A director extracting income in that range pays approximately 22 percentage points more income tax per pound in Scotland than in rUK.
Dividend tax rates in Scotland are currently set by Westminster, not the Senedd or Scottish Parliament, and are the same across the UK: 10.75% (basic), 35.75% (higher), and 39.35% (additional). The rate that applies to dividends depends on which income tax band the dividends fall into after salary and other income — and in Scotland, the banding thresholds are lower, meaning dividends may enter higher-rate territory sooner.
The standard rUK planning approach — salary at the NI secondary threshold (£9,100) or personal allowance (£12,570), with remaining extraction as dividends — remains broadly applicable in Scotland, but the band entry points differ. For a Scottish director, taking salary at £12,570 uses the personal allowance, and dividends then stack on top at the applicable dividend rate.
Because Scottish directors enter the intermediate rate (21%) at £26,562 of total income and the higher rate (42%) at £43,663, the cost of extracting income in the £26,000–£43,000 range is marginally higher than in rUK. However, dividend tax rates (10.75% basic, 35.75% higher) are the same UK-wide — the difference only arises on salary income in those bands, not on dividends taken within the basic rate band.
For most director-shareholders extracting a modest salary plus basic-rate dividends, the Scottish tax difference is limited. The divergence becomes more significant for directors extracting significant salary income in the intermediate or higher rate bands, or for those with substantial other personal income that pushes dividends into higher-rate territory.
The £500 dividend allowance is UK-wide and applies equally to Scottish directors. The first £500 of dividend income above the personal allowance is received free of dividend tax regardless of region. Above that, the basic rate dividend charge of 10.75% applies on dividends within the basic rate band — which in Scotland runs from £14,877 to £26,561 for 2026/27.
The NI secondary threshold for employer NI is £9,100 for 2026/27 — the point above which the company pays 15% employer NI on the director's salary. This threshold is UK-wide and is the same in Scotland as elsewhere. A Scottish director who takes salary at £9,100 avoids triggering employer NI entirely, leaving more post-tax profit available for dividends. Taking salary at £12,570 triggers approximately £525 in employer NI (15% of £3,470) but allows full use of the personal allowance.
To use the calculator as a Scottish director, select Scotland in the region dropdown. The calculator applies Scottish income tax rates to your total personal income (salary plus dividends plus other income) and shows the correct dividend tax and take-home. The corporation tax calculation remains the same as for any other UK company.
No. Corporation tax is a UK-wide tax and is the same rate regardless of where the company is based or where the director lives. The rates are 19% (small profits) and 25% (main rate) for all UK companies in 2026/27.
It depends on profit level and extraction strategy. Scottish directors pay higher income tax rates on salary in certain bands — particularly between £26,562 and £50,270 where the intermediate and early higher rates apply. The dividend tax rates are the same UK-wide. At moderate extraction levels the difference is modest; at higher income levels the gap widens.
Yes. Select Scotland in the region dropdown. The calculator applies Scottish income tax rates to personal income from salary and dividends, while keeping the corporation tax calculation at UK-wide rates.
No. The £500 dividend allowance is set by UK Government and applies equally across all four nations. Dividend tax rates are also UK-wide: 10.75% (basic), 35.75% (higher), 39.35% (additional).
The limited company tax calculator turns this guidance into a concrete estimate for corporation tax, dividends and personal take-home, based on 2026/27 HMRC rates.