Dividend tax explained

Treasury guidance released

The Summer Budget produced a number of nasty surprises for contractors and none more so than the announcement that a new dividend tax will be introduced as from 6th April 2016. This will see the 10% notional tax credit on dividends abolished and replaced by a £5,000 dividend tax allowance. Except this is not an allowance but rather a zero rate of income tax applicable to dividend income only.

Other than the Chancellor’s announcement there has been no information about how the dividend tax allowance will operate in practice, until now. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Tax Faculty has been working with the Treasury to produce some guidance which was published on Monday. Click here to view the guidance.

What will not change is that dividends will continue to be treated as an individual’s top slice of income. The first £5,000 of that income will, however, be taxed at 0% and then:

  • 7.5% on £27,000 (remainder of basic rate band)

  • 32.5% on £32,000 – 150,000 (higher rate band)

  • 38.1% on £150,000 plus (additional rate band)

Illustration

In 2016/17, Kate extracts profits from her PSC in the following manner:

  • Salary;  £11,000

  • Dividends;  £70,000

Her tax liability will be:

Salary £11,000

Dividends £70,000

=  £81,000

Less:  Personal allowance (£11,000)

Taxable income £70,000

Tax due:

Dividend allowance;   £5,000 @ 0%  = £0

Basic rate band remainder; £27,000 (£32,000 – £5,000) @ 7.5% = £2,025

Higher rate band;  £38,000 @ 32.5% =£12,350

Total £14,375

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