Outside IR35 Limited Company Calculator (2026/27)
The full PSC flow modelled end-to-end: company income received → director's salary → employer's NI → corporation tax with marginal relief → dividends → your personal PAYE + dividend tax.
Limited company calculator
Outside IR35For contractors operating a personal service company where the engagement is outside IR35 and the director draws a small salary plus dividends. We model the full flow: assignment income → director's salary → employer's NI → employer's pension → corporation tax (with marginal relief between £50k and £250k) → dividends → your personal PAYE, NIC, dividend tax and any student loans.
Contract rate
Enter a day, hourly or monthly rate. If you provide more than one, we prioritise monthly, then day rate, then hourly.
Default: 5
Default: 7.5
Account for holidays, bench time and gaps between contracts. At 5 days per week that's 230 billable days per year. Ignored for monthly retainers.
Company strategy
How much you pay yourself as salary vs. take as dividends. The NI-optimal strategy is the most tax-efficient for most one-person PSCs; the secondary-threshold strategy avoids employer NI entirely.
Pension paid by the company. Fully corporation-tax deductible. Annual allowance is £60k (subject to tapering).
Personal pension paid from dividends. Attracts basic-rate relief at source; higher-rate relief comes through self-assessment.
Accountancy fees, insurance, software, mobile phone, etc. Anything wholly and exclusively for business use is corporation-tax deductible.
Personal tax settings
Standard code (L): personal allowance £12,570.
You can have both an undergraduate plan and a postgraduate loan at the same time. Both will be deducted from your take-home pay.
Limited company take-home pay (Outside IR35)
Outside IR35 — salary + dividends flow through your personal service company.
Net take-home (monthly)
£6,105.24
Based on 5 days per week × 46 weeks worked (≈ 230 billable days per year). Effective total tax rate: 36.3%.
- Assignment income (annual)
- £115,000.00
- Director's salary paid out(flows to you as employment income below)
- −£12,570.00
- Employer's NI on salary(15% on salary above £5,000)
- −£1,135.50
- Company overheads
- −£1,200.00
- Corporation tax on profit(marginal relief (profit £50k–£250k))
- −£22,775.04
- Salary + dividends (annual)
- £89,889.46
- Director's salary
- £12,570.00
- Dividend income(after £22,775.04 corp tax)
- £77,319.46
- PAYE income tax on salary
- £0.00
- National Insurance
- £0.00
- Dividend tax(8.75% / 33.75% / 39.35%)
- £16,626.57
- Workplace pension (employee)
- £0.00
- Net take-home (annual)
- £73,262.89
Outside-IR35 estimator: salary + dividends model with UK 2026/27 rates, corporation-tax marginal relief between £50k and £250k, and standard dividend allowance/bands. Assumes a single director-shareholder and no associated companies. Estimates for guidance only, not an official HMRC calculation.
Compare with other engagement types
Your assignment rate under all four engagement types.
Based on your current inputs above (5 days per week × 46 weeks, £1,200.00 annual overheads), UK 2026/27 tax year. The Limited (Outside IR35) figure matches your take-home above.
- Highest net
Standard PAYE employment
PAYEAnnual take-home
£74,257.40
£6,188.12 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 35.4%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- Baseline
As if you were on payroll with the same annualised salary.
- Lowest net
Umbrella company
Inside IR35Annual take-home
£68,105.45
£5,675.45 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 40.8%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- −£6,151.95 vs PAYE
Includes £25/week margin, employer NI, apprenticeship levy — modelled like a real payslip.
Limited (Inside IR35)
Inside IR35Annual take-home
£74,257.40
£6,188.12 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 35.4%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- Baseline
PAYE-style deemed employment via the fee-payer.
Limited (Outside IR35)
Outside IR35Annual take-home
£73,262.89
£6,105.24 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 36.3%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- −£994.51 vs PAYE
NI-optimal salary + dividends, with corporation-tax marginal relief.
Gap between the best and worst option: £6,151.95 / year on the same working assumptions.
How this calculator models Outside IR35 income
Outside-IR35 contractors typically pay themselves a small NI-optimal salary (£12,570 in 2026/27) and take the rest as dividends after corporation tax. This calculator models corporation tax accurately for the 2026/27 regime: 19% small-profits rate up to £50,000, 25% main rate above £250,000, and HMRC marginal relief in between using the 3/200 fraction. Dividends stack on top of your salary and are taxed with the £500 dividend allowance plus the 8.75% / 33.75% / 39.35% band structure, respecting whatever the salary has already consumed of your personal allowance and basic-rate band.
Frequently asked questions
How does the 2026/27 corporation tax marginal relief work?
For company profits above £50,000, HMRC starts moving your effective rate towards the 25% main rate. Below £50k you pay the 19% small-profits rate. Above £250k you pay 25% flat. In between, marginal relief tapers your effective rate up. The formula: tax = profit × 25% − (£250,000 − profit) × 3/200. At £100k profit that gives a 22.75% effective rate, at £150k it's ~23.3%, at £200k ~23.9%.
What's the best director's salary strategy outside IR35?
There are three common choices. (1) NI-optimal: pay yourself £12,570 (full personal allowance) — you pay some employer NI but the salary is corporation-tax deductible, which usually wins overall. (2) Secondary threshold: pay £5,000 and avoid employer NI entirely — simpler, slightly worse mathematically. (3) A custom amount if you have other income or specific pension goals. This calculator lets you compare all three.
Are student loans really due on dividends?
Yes, if you file self-assessment (which UK company directors typically do). Undergraduate and postgraduate loan repayments are calculated on your total assessable income, which includes both your director's salary and the dividends you draw. This calculator applies student loans to the combined salary + dividends figure.
Does the calculator model employer pension contributions?
Yes. Employer pension contributions paid by your limited company are fully corporation-tax deductible up to the £60,000 annual allowance (with tapering for very high earners). Enter your annual employer pension contribution and the calculator will deduct it from company profit before computing corporation tax, effectively giving you tax relief at the full corporation-tax rate.
Compare other engagement types
Free UK PAYE calculator for the 2026/27 tax year. See your salary after income tax, National Insurance, pension, SIPP and student loan repayments. Supports multiple jobs and every UK student loan plan.
Umbrella company take-home calculator for the UK 2026/27 tax year. Models the full payslip reconciliation: apprenticeship levy, employer's NI, employer's pension, company margin — then PAYE, NIC and student loans on your wages.
Take-home calculator for UK contractors caught by IR35 through a personal service company. The fee-payer applies PAYE-style treatment. Updated for the 2026/27 tax year.