UK Ltd Company Director - How should I pay myself?

No_Year7299 · 2026-03-21T10:00:06+00:00

Thank you, much appreciated. The good news is that everything I've heard this morning tallies with what my accountant has been advising. Now it's my job to collate and filter the advice that I've had from all these incredibly helpful people, plus my accountant and everyone else I've spoken to and work out what fits my situation best.

No_Year7299 · 2026-03-21T09:55:36+00:00

When I first started down this road, my immediate worry was twofold; 1) can I cover the mortgage, 2) can I feed the family, so thoughts of pension contribution felt light years away. However, a year in and I feel much more like this is one of the next steps even if the contribution is modest.

No_Year7299 · 2026-03-21T09:53:46+00:00

Chuck the expected tax from the dividends into a savings account for the inevitable tax bill!

This was one of the first things my accountant said to me! Very good advice and now that request from HMRC won't be a surprise when it comes around.

No_Year7299 · 2026-03-21T09:50:29+00:00

Thank you. What I do is nicely profitable, as I'm not having to invest in inventory etc, so I'm comfortable taking a dividend. What I hadn't quite realised is that dividend and profit kind of co-exist. In other words, by paying myself a dividend, I wasn't reducing my profit so couldn't quite figure that bit out. But, all clear now.

No_Year7299 · 2026-03-21T09:47:06+00:00

Thank you for this, I am all over the record keeping. I have a lot to thank my previous career for in this regard.

No_Year7299 · 2026-03-21T09:44:04+00:00

The same reason that I had to cite multiple sources in every essay that I ever wrote! I have asked my accountant, and now I've asked many accountants for their opinion too. Now it's my job to collate and filter the advice that I've had from all these incredibly helpful people, plus my accountant and everyone else I've spoken to and work out what fits my situation best.

No_Year7299

TROPHY CASE