Outside an ISA, dividends above the £500 allowance are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% in 2026/27 — the basic and higher rates rose two points this April. Enter your dividend income and other income below: the calculator applies the personal allowance, the £500 dividend allowance and the band maths for you. Inside an ISA or SIPP, the same dividends are tax-free. Everything runs in your browser.
Your 2026/27 income
Uses 2026/27 figures: £12,570 personal allowance (tapered above £100,000 of income), £500 dividend allowance, dividend rates 10.75% / 35.75% / 39.35% (basic and higher rates rose 2 points from April 2026), higher-rate threshold £50,270. Assumes no Gift Aid/pension adjustments, no Scottish-rate nuances (dividend rates are UK-wide), and that dividends are your top slice of income (standard HMRC ordering). Estimates for general information — not tax advice. Verify with HMRC or an adviser.
The 2026/27 rates — and why other calculators get them wrong
The Autumn Budget 2025 raised the basic and higher dividend rates by two percentage points from April 2026: 8.75% became 10.75%, and 33.75% became 35.75% (the additional rate stays at 39.35%). Many calculators and articles still show the old figures. With the dividend allowance at just £500, the maths bites earlier than people expect: a basic-rate taxpayer with £4,000 of dividends outside wrappers now owes £376 — money an ISA would have kept at zero.
| 2026/27 band | Taxable income (England, Wales, NI) | Dividend tax rate | Change from 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend allowance | First £500 of dividends | 0% | Unchanged |
| Basic rate | £12,571 – £50,270 | 10.75% | +2pp (was 8.75%) |
| Higher rate | £50,271 – £125,140 | 35.75% | +2pp (was 33.75%) |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 39.35% | Unchanged |
Rates and bands per GOV.UK: Tax on dividends. Dividends inside an ISA or SIPP are not taxed. Last verified: 31 October 2026.
How dividend tax actually works
Dividends sit on top of your other income, and only the slice above your allowances is taxed. The order: your personal allowance (£12,570, tapered above £100,000 of income) covers income first; then the £500 dividend allowance takes the first slice of taxable dividends at 0% — but still occupies band space; whatever remains is taxed at the rate of the band it lands in. That “occupies band space” detail is why naive calculations come out wrong — and why this calculator does the band positioning properly.
What to do with the number
The result is a planning signal, not just a bill. If dividends outside wrappers are costing you real money each year, the structural fixes are worth more than the tactics: using the ISA allowance while it exists, and knowing your position before the Self Assessment deadline (dividends over £10,000 mean filing). For the record-keeping half of the job — logging every dividend with the gross/withholding/net split — pair this with our free dividend income tracker template. The tax context lives in our guides to Trading 212 tax and eToro tax.
About this tool
- All computation happens locally in your browser — no data is uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.
- Uses 2026/27 figures (personal allowance £12,570 with taper, dividend allowance £500, rates 10.75%/35.75%/39.35%, bands £37,700/£125,140), standard HMRC income ordering, no Gift Aid/pension adjustments. Estimates for general information — not tax advice. Figures refreshed each April.
Above the £500 dividend allowance: 10.75% at the basic rate, 35.75% at the higher rate and 39.35% at the additional rate. The basic and higher rates rose by two percentage points from April 2026 — older articles and calculators may still show 8.75% and 33.75%.
No — dividends received inside an ISA or SIPP are tax-free and don’t count toward the £500 allowance. The calculator is for dividends held outside wrappers (a general investment account).
If your dividends exceed £10,000 you must file a Self Assessment return; below that, HMRC can usually collect through your tax code if you ask, or through Self Assessment if you already file. Keeping a running log makes either path painless.
Yes — the calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded, stored, or sent to any server.