How do I pay myself as a Director?

This is a question we often face from new company directors, how to pay yourself from the company.

As part of our £375+VAT package for a new limited company we offer the following;

  • company formation (including the option to have the company phrased as a special purpose vehicle for a property rental company)
  • we will register a single director with HMRC for self-assessment
  • we set up the payroll scheme
  • we arrange your chart of accounts on online software and set up the bank feed so transactions are automatically recorded

So the two ways to get paid are in the form of a monthly salary run from a payroll set up by the limited company and the second way is through dividend allocations based on the company’s annual post-tax profit.

A salary is treated as an expense to the business, therefore decreasing profits, reducing corporation tax, and in turn, minimising the amount of dividends available to then be attributed to each shareholder.

We suggest (correct as of the 23/24 tax year) a salary of £9,096 per annum (£758 p/m) as this is the minimum amount to qualify for a state pension (also known as the secondary threshold).  If there are 2 or more directors (on the secondary threshold or above) or any additional staff on the payroll above the secondary threshold for the company, the Employment Allowance offered by the government becomes available, giving the company £5,000 ‘pot’ towards the employer’s NI contributions.

If the company posts a profit, the value of the post-tax profit can be allocated as dividends to the shareholder(s) of the company.  If there is more than one shareholder, then the dividends are allocated dependent on the percentage of shares held by each shareholder.

Unfortunately, the tax efficiency of dividends is being reduced.  For the 22/23 tax year there is a £2,000 tax-free allowance, for 2023/24 there will only be a £1,000 tax-free allowance and for 2024/25 it has been stated that it will be halved again to £500.

The amount of tax you pay on dividends will be dependent on your income tax band which includes your tax-free allowance, and any earnings from the limited company and any other earnings outside.

This will need to be declared on a self-assessment tax return to HMRC, which covers the period of the UK tax year from 6th April to 5th April every year.

As part of our £375+VAT package we can enrol one shareholder/director onto the self-assessment scheme with HMRC to obtain a Unique Tax Reference (UTR) to allow them to comply with their personal tax obligations in the future.  Contact us on 020 8761 8000 for more information.

The Early Bird Gang

HMRC expects people to do tax returns for various reasons;

  • Those that have an income outside of a PAYE scheme (i.e. self-employed)
  • High earners on PAYE schemes, earning above £100K
  • Company Directors & Shareholders
  • Landlords who have rental incomes

The tax returns calculated generally run between the dates 06/04/xx through to 05/04/xy, the calculation, submission, and payment deadline  of taxes owed to HMRC (or you), would need to be submitted at the latest 31/01/xz, before penalties & interest are imposed.

Each year, the Government announces a tax free allowance, which is the amount you can earn before your income starts to get taxed.  The tax free allowance for 2018/19 is £11,850.00.  However, this allowance decreases by £1 for every £2 earned above £100k, meaning by the time your reach £125K, the allowance is £0.

The amount of tax paid on income is also specified by the government & is subject to change with announcements made generally in the Budget statements.  For 2018-19 the rates are as follows;

Tax Rate (Band) Taxable Income Tax Rate
Personal allowance Up to £11,850 0%
Basic rate £11,851 to £46,350 20%
Higher rate £46,351 to £150,000 40%
Additional rate Over £150,000 45%

*For 2019-20 the new rates & tax free allowance can be found HERE.

Since 6th April 2019, you would have been able to calculate & submit your 2018/19 tax return to HMRC, so since then the Tax Agents at Taxfile have been busy filing away for the early birds.   We have been open on Saturdays too, to keep up with the influx of tax returns & CIS returns.

However, the last Saturday that we will be open will be 29th June.  If you would like to join our ‘gang’ of Early Bird & can only come in on Saturdays, you only have a few weekends left.

Please note, on Saturdays, all our agents see clients by appointment only, and can not generally deal with walk-in clients.  So please book in advance by either calling 020 8761 8000 or booking online HERE.

So get our professional help at Taxfile & we’ll make filling in and filing your tax return a breeze.

See our Newsletter HERE

RTI (Real Time Information) – last Full Payment Submission (FPS) due soon

Exactly eleven months ago at time of writing, HMRC launched ‘RTI’ (Real Time Information) in the UK. This is the mechanism through which employees now have to report PAYE information for employees on the day it actually happens, or alternatively before that day, for example to confirm to HMRC each time an employee is paid through PAYE, including any NI or Income Tax deductions. RTI is, almost without exception, for all employees including those whose earnings fall below the NIC’s Lower Earnings Limit (‘LEL’), e.g. students.

The RTI reporting has to be done electronically using payroll software, whether that’s the employer themselves reporting it, or their nominated accountant, payroll bureau or bookkeeper. The information reported to HMRC will also now need to include new information which includes the usual hours worked by each employee and any unusual break in the normal working pattern, for instance if an employee takes unpaid leave. RTI also includes other changes to how various things are reported e.g. starter and leaver dates and also employers no longer need to submit end of year forms P14 and P35 because this will be handled on the last Full Payment Submission (‘FPS’) for the tax year in question – this is due in less than a month  at time of writing as the new tax year begins Read more

Confused about your tax code?

A tax code is usually made up of one letter and several numbers, for instance 161L or K567 . A tax code is used by your employer or pension provider to calculate the amount of tax to deduct from your pay or pension. If you have the wrong tax code you could end up paying too much or too little tax.
The letters in your tax code have different meanings:
• L- for those tax payers that are eligible for the basic personal allowance or those that are on the emergency code.
• T-if there are any other items HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) needs to review in your tax code.
• P- for persons aged 65 to 74 and eligible for the full personal allowance.
• V-for persons aged 65 to 74, eligible for the full personal allowance and the full married couple’s allowance (for those born before 6 April 1935 and aged under 75) and estimated to be liable at the basic rate of tax.
• Y-for persons aged 75 or over and eligible for the full personal allowance.

If your tax code has two letters but no number, it normally indicates that you have two or more sources of income and that all of your allowances have been applied to the tax code and income from your main job:
•BR-Is used when all your income is taxed at the basic rate – currently 22 per cent (most commonly used for a second job)
•D0-Is used when all your income is taxed at the higher rate of tax – currently 40 per cent (most commonly used for a second job)
•NT-Is used when no tax is to be taken from your income or pension.

Your employer will use an emergency tax code when you start a new job and your pay is above the PAYE threshold or when you declare on your P46 that this is your only job. Also your employer will use the emergency tax code if you don’t give him/her a P45 when starting a new job.
Taxfile in South London can help you sort out your tax code and make sure you pay the right amount of tax.
If you have paid too much tax under the PAYE code , Taxfile‘s tax accountants in Tulse Hill you will get in touch with the Inland Revenue and request a refund on your behalf.