Dividend Tax Allowance Reduction in 22/23 Tax Year
5th April, 2018
By Tim Haggard
In 2016, then Chancellor George Osborne effectively increased the tax on dividends from UK companies by removing the dividend tax credit, the net effect of which was a new basic rate of 7.5% and a higher rate of 32.5%, albeit with a new tax-free allowance. At the time of introduction, the tax-free allowance was set at £5,000, and this continued until the end of March 2018. In the Finance Bill of 2017 current Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that the allowance would be reduced to £2,000 from 5th April 2018. And now, as of 2024, from April 6, 2024, the dividend allowance has been reduced to £500 for the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
While the dividend tax was probably envisaged as a means of ensuring a balanced and fair system of taxation, the outcome is far from this, and business owners will see it as an attack on risk-taking entrepreneurs, not as a balancing exercise. When combined with the raft of recent changes, it means that business owners taking a blend of salary and dividends will pay a higher overall percentage of tax than an employee on the same income. This seems inequitable given the employee is exposed to substantially lower levels of risk than the business owner, who may have staked their livelihood on the business and is helping UK PLC by employing people, renting premises, paying rates, and supporting other businesses through the supply chain.
While limited company owners will lament the reduction in the dividend tax allowance, we do not believe it will trigger widespread changes to the blend of salary and dividends used by owner-managers to extract hard-earned cash from their companies, or to the use of Limited Companies, which remain popular trading vehicles for a number of good commercial reasons.
Moving to a pure salary income incurs the added overhead of employers national insurance, immediately adding further tax costs of 13.8%. Partnerships and sole-trader setups have other implications, not least of all leaving you personally exposed to volatile tax situations, which can result in the profits of a good year coming back to bite you if the following year is more challenging.
So, while the latest reduction in the dividend allowance will be a bitter pill to swallow and will mean tax bills increasing for the vast majority of business owners, it is unlikely to result in wholesale change.
Tim Haggard is Senior Partner at Haggards Crowther
Andrew founded Haggards Crowther with his brother in 2004 and took over as Managing Partner in May 2023. He has always been closely involved in client work, in particular providing high level strategic tax and structuring advice, business advice and supporting the technical and compliance teams.
As Managing Partner, he has focussed on growing the business and ensuring the firm upholds its core values of Quality of Service, Innovation, Collaboration and Integrity. These remain central to all that we do both internally and in serving our clients.
A Fulham resident for over 30 years Andrew is closely connected with the local business community and supporting many of them on their journeys. He is especially linked with fellow start-up entrepreneurs advising them on their growth strategies and optimal structures.
A passionate Fulham FC supporter, along with his two sons, Andrew rarely misses a game. He plays and coaches volleyball, something he has done since university in Edinburgh, and which offsets another of his passions: exploring the vast and diverse range of food that London’s restaurants have to offer.
He has a keen interest in many conservation projects especially in protecting endangered species of birds and actively supports the Mabula Project in South Africa. This charity supports the Southern Ground Hornbill, a charismatic species of cultural and ecological importance threatened by loss of habitat through the encroaching development of the savannah.
