How to use it
- 1Before each dividend, check the company has enough available profits from this and previous years, and hold a directors' meeting to declare it.
- 2Add one row per shareholder for each dividend, with the date declared and the date paid.
- 3Enter the shares held and the dividend per share. The total is worked out.
- 4Note the voucher number and the board minute, so every line can be traced to its paperwork.
- 5At the tax year end, filter by shareholder to give each one their total.
What each field means
- Date declared
- The date of the directors' meeting.
- Date paid
- The date the money was paid or credited.
- Interim or final
- Which kind of dividend it is.
- Shareholder
- The person being paid.
- Share class
- For example Ordinary or A Ordinary.
- Shares held and dividend per share
- How the total is worked out.
- Voucher number
- The voucher given to the shareholder.
- Board minute
- The date or reference of the minute declaring it.
The paperwork behind each dividend
GOV.UK says a company must not pay out more in dividends than its available profits from current and previous financial years. Directors declare each dividend at a meeting and keep minutes, even if there's only one director, and dividends usually have to be paid to all shareholders.
For every dividend payment, the company writes a voucher showing the date, the company name, the shareholders paid and the amount, gives a copy to each recipient and keeps one. The register is the index to those vouchers and minutes.
Shareholders' tax
The company doesn't deduct tax from dividends. Shareholders pay Income Tax on dividends above the £500 dividend allowance, usually through Self Assessment, so each shareholder needs their total for the tax year.
Licence and disclaimer
Free to use, copy and adapt for your own business or personal records. Please don't resell it or republish it as your own template.
A template is a starting point, not advice for your circumstances. Check the result against the GOV.UK guidance linked below, or ask an accountant.
Related
What else will you need?
- TemplateDividend voucherA dividend voucher is the record a limited company issues each time it pays a dividend.PDFWord
- TemplateBoard minutes: dividendBoard minutes for a dividend record the directors' meeting that decides to pay it: who attended, the profits available to cover it, the amount per share, the payment date and who is paid.PDFWord
- TemplateDirector's loan account registerA director's loan account records money a director takes from or puts into their company that isn't salary, dividends or expense repayments.Excel
- ChecklistLimited company year-end checklistAt a limited company's year end, reconcile every bank and loan account, list unpaid invoices and bills, count stock, record asset purchases, review the director's loan account and check dividends were minuted.
Rather we did it?
Countify can handle this for you, for a fixed fee agreed upfront.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Is a dividend register a legal requirement?
GOV.UK requires the vouchers, the board minutes and the available-profits check, not a register as such. The register keeps those in one place and makes the year-end totals easy.
What's the difference between an interim and a final dividend?
In most companies, directors declare interim dividends during the year, and a final dividend is proposed after the year end once the accounts show the profit. Check the company's articles for how each is approved.
Can a dividend be credited to a director's loan account instead of paid?
Yes, if it's properly declared. Record it here and as Dividend credited in the director's loan account register, where it reduces what the director owes.
Checked against GOV.UK on · Reviewed by Kamran Ishaq FCCA, Founder & CEO, on .
Sources: Taking money out of a limited company (opens in a new tab) (GOV.UK); Tax on dividends (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs).