How can I withdraw funds from my company?

If you operate a limited company then you will need to decide on how you take out your income. Unlike a sole trader or partnership, a limited company is a separate legal entity and, as such, certain processes must be undertaken in order to ensure the salary payments are legitimate.

There are three main ways to withdraw money from the company:  wages, business expenses and dividends.

Wages

Wages are regular PAYE earnings like you would receive if you were employed by an employer. Wages are treated in a similar fashion and must be declared to HMRC on a monthly basis, by way of an RTI (Real Time Information) submission, to HMRC. Clever Accounts can normally make this submission on your behalf. 

When to pay a wage:  if you have no other additional income using up your personal allowance you will be able to utilise your tax-free allowance through the company.

When not to pay a wage:  If you have additional paid employment or other sources of taxable income then it may not be wise to pay a salary from the company.

In some cases, the best wage structure is to pay a small monthly wage that mirrors the monthly tax-free allowance.  By doing so enables a NI record to be created each year (and hence contribute to a state pension) and ensures that you pay the minimum amount of tax and national insurance.  However, in some circumstances paying a minimum monthly wage is not appropriate or not allowed (inside IR35) and in these circumstances, further advice is recommended.

Expenses

Although not classed as earnings (to declare on your tax return) paying back expenses is a tax-free, efficient way of paying yourself from the company.  If you pay for an item privately on behalf of the company then you will be eligible to reclaim these via an expense claim.

It is recommended to claim back expenses each month and these can include business miles travelled, any item of expenditure paid personally or a "use of your home" allowance.

However, it is important to keep any receipt that you are claiming back from the company.

Dividends

A dividend is paid from distributable profits from the company.  Distributable profits are those profits earned cumulatively over one or many years and calculated after corporation tax has been taken into account or paid.

A dividend is not a company expense and thus does not reduce the profit of the company. Each year you can take tax-free dividends, up to the allowance (currently £1,000 in the year ended 5th April 2024, reducing to £500 for the year ended 5th April 2025). Additional dividends up to the higher tax threshold of £50,270 are taxed at 8.75%, then 33.75% to £125,140, and 39.35% thereafter.

A dividend is a great way to take money out of the company as the tax is paid from the company profits.  If taking all as wages there is not only tax, but also National Insurance paid by the employee and employer.

Certain conditions must be met in order to pay a dividend - such as profits in the business or being a shareholder.  There is also a requirement to officially declare a dividend and be able to provide dividend tax vouchers if required.

UK Resident

The above methods are recommended for UK resident directors and shareholders.  If you are a non-resident then certain payments may not be recommended and it is important to take further advice.