Owner-Director Salary & Dividend Optimiser
Find the salary, dividend and pension split that leaves the most in your pocket — after Corporation Tax, PAYE, National Insurance and dividend tax. Built for UK owner-directors, with rates through to 2025/26.
Free to use · No sign-up · Runs in your browser
Stop guessing your pay structure
As a company director you choose how to pay yourself — and the mix of salary, dividends and pension has a real effect on how much tax the company and you personally pay. The Owner-Director Optimiser searches the combinations for your chosen tax year and shows the one that maximises your combined take-home pay and retained company profit.
Enter your company profit and a few assumptions, and the optimiser does the rest: Corporation Tax, the Employment Allowance, PAYE, employee and employer National Insurance, and dividend tax are all handled for you.
Optimal salary/dividend split
Searches across the range and returns the split that maximises what you keep.
Pension modelling
Model employer and employee pension contributions as a percentage or a fixed amount.
Employment Allowance aware
Account for the Employment Allowance and single-director NIC rules.
Multiple tax years
Compare positions across UK tax years from 2021/22 through 2025/26.
How it works
- Enter your numbersCompany profit before director's pay, your tax year, and pension assumptions.
- Run the optimiserODOpt evaluates the salary and dividend combinations and applies every relevant tax.
- See your optimal splitGet the recommended salary, dividends and the resulting take-home and retained profit.
Frequently asked questions
How much salary should an owner-director take?
It depends on your company profit, other income and pension plans. The optimiser searches the salary/dividend combinations for your tax year and shows the split that leaves the most in your pocket after Corporation Tax, PAYE, National Insurance and dividend tax.
Does it include pension contributions?
Yes. You can model employer and employee pension contributions as a percentage or fixed amount, and see how they change your tax position and retained profit.
Is the Owner-Director Optimiser free?
Yes — every ODOpt tool is free to use with no sign-up. You can go ad-free with an optional subscription.
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