We’ve got some bad news. You probably already know this but this is a quick reminder…..

….a lot more people will have a tax payment to make on 31st January 2018.

Why? Well, previously dividends have had a tax credit associated with them which has meant that you could take dividends to the top of the basic rate band and not pay a single penny of tax on them.

However, the new dividend tax regime came in from 6th April 2016. This means that dividends are now taxed, even within the basic rate band for tax. The first £5000 of dividends is tax free, the rest taxed at 7.5%, 32.5% and 39.1% depending on which tax band is relevant to you. This means that tax will need to be paid in relation to dividends taken in the year to 5th April 2017. This tax is due to be paid by 31st January 2018.

So give yourself a chance to save a little of this tax in advance.  Get your self-assessment tax information to us as soon as possible and hopefully we can prevent a nasty surprise in January!