Free tax calculators for startups

Estimates using 2026/27 rates for a director's salary and dividends, R&D tax relief, VAT, the cost of a hire, and choosing between a sole trader and a limited company.

Director's salary and dividend calculator

Enter your company's profit before your salary to see the corporation tax, your personal tax and what you keep.

An estimate based on 2026/27 rates and the assumptions below. Open the full calculator for the explanation and common questions.

All the calculators

R&D tax relief estimator

Free UK R&D tax relief calculator: what the merged scheme pays, whether the intensive route is open to you and pays more, and whether the PAYE cap limits the credit you receive.

Director's salary & dividend calculator

Free take-home calculator for limited company directors. Enter your company profit and salary to see corporation tax, dividend tax and what you keep.

Sole trader vs limited company calculator

Compare your take-home pay as a sole trader versus a limited company for 2026/27. Enter your profit to see the tax difference between the two.

VAT calculator

Free UK VAT calculator: add VAT to a net figure or remove VAT from a gross figure at 20%, 5% or 0%, with the £90,000 registration threshold explained.

Employer cost of hiring calculator

Work out the full cost of a hire for UK employers in 2026/27: salary, employer National Insurance, the auto-enrolment pension and the Employment Allowance.

Rates and assumptions

England, Wales or Northern Ireland: Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands on earned income. If you live in Scotland, choose the Scottish option where a calculator has one, and ask us where it does not.
A full tax year: The figures assume a full tax year. If you start or stop part-way through a year, your allowances work differently and the estimate will usually be too high.
One source of income: The figures assume the business is your only income. A second job, a pension, rental income or savings interest can push you into a higher band, or into the £100,000 range where the personal allowance is withdrawn.
No other adjustments: Student loan repayments, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, salary sacrifice, a company car and the marriage allowance all change the figure, and the calculators do not include them.

Using the results

Set the money aside. Round the tax figure up and move that amount into a separate account.
Run it again when something changes, such as a pay rise, a new contract, a first employee or crossing the VAT threshold.
Compare two versions of a decision, such as two salary levels, or the months before and after a hire. The difference between two estimates is more reliable than a single figure.