Limited Company Take-Home Calculator 2025/26

Maintained by the FreelanceToolkit UK editorial team · 2025/26 UK rates ·

Models how much you actually keep as a single-director UK limited company: company revenue → corporation tax → director salary → dividends → personal tax → take-home. Compare against the equivalent sole-trader number from our self-employed tax calculator.

Your numbers

Company revenue (£)

Annual fees billed to clients, ex-VAT.

Business expenses (£)

Software, accountant, insurance, equipment.

Director salary (£)

Employer pension contribution (£)

Paid by the company. Reduces corp tax. Caps and rules apply.

Other personal income (£)

PAYE salary, rental, savings interest, etc.

Claim Employment Allowance (£10,500)

Single-director companies cannot claim this. Tick only if you employ at least one other person.

Dividend strategy

Your take-home

Company side

Item	Amount

Personal side

Item	Amount

Comparison

How the maths works

Running a UK limited company stacks two tax systems on top of each other: the company pays corporation tax on its profits, and you (as director-shareholder) pay personal income tax on whatever you draw from it. Done right, this often beats sole-trader tax at higher incomes. Done badly, it costs you more.

Step 1 — company profit

Start with revenue, subtract allowable business expenses, then subtract the director's salary and the employer NI on that salary. What remains is the profit subject to corporation tax.

Step 2 — corporation tax (2025/26 rates)

Small profits rate: 19% on the first £50,000 of profit.
Main rate: 25% on profit over £250,000.
Marginal relief band: between £50,000 and £250,000 the effective rate is 26.5% on the excess over £50,000.

Step 3 — director salary

For single-director companies in 2025/26, the typical sweet spot is £12,570 — the Personal Allowance. Below this you don't qualify for a state-pension year (unless you're at £6,500+). Above this you trigger Employee NI on the director. The £12,570 salary does cost the company £1,135.50 in employer NI (15% on the bit above the Secondary Threshold of £5,000), but the salary is corporation-tax-deductible, so the net cost is lower than it looks.

Employment Allowance. Companies can claim £10,500 to offset employer NI — but only if they employ at least one other person. Single-director companies are explicitly excluded.

Step 4 — dividends

After corporation tax, what's left is available for dividends. You don't have to take it all — leaving profit in the company defers personal tax to a future year and gives you a cash buffer.

Dividend tax (2025/26):

First £500 of dividends is tax-free (dividend allowance).
Basic-rate dividend band: 8.75% up to the basic-rate threshold (£37,700 above your salary's tax bands).
Higher-rate dividend band: 33.75% between basic and additional rate (£37,701 to £125,140 of total income).
Additional-rate dividend band: 39.35% above £125,140 of total income.

Why the Ltd advantage shrinks at low incomes

The minimum cost of running a limited company — Companies House filings, accountant (~£800–£1,500/year), payroll software, the time — eats much of the tax saving up to roughly £40,000–£50,000 of profit. Above that, the structure usually pays for itself. Below it, sole-trader is simpler and often cheaper end-to-end.

What this calculator deliberately ignores

Pension annual allowance interactions above £60,000.
The taper of personal allowance over £100,000 of total income.
Scottish income tax rates (relevant if you're tax-resident in Scotland).
VAT and Flat Rate Scheme calculations.
R&D tax credits, capital allowances on assets, and the full Annual Investment Allowance.
IR35 deemed-employment scenarios where the company is treated as an intermediary.

For complex situations, talk to an accountant. The figures here are a planning tool, not a tax return.