Dividends in your accounts
Short version. Dividends paid to shareholders do not appear in your profit & loss account. They are an appropriation of post-tax profit and show up only on the closing balance sheet — through reduced cash at bank and reduced retained earnings. There isn’t a “dividends paid” box because there shouldn’t be one.
1. Why “dividends paid” isn’t in the P&L
Dividends are a distribution of profits already earned and taxed, not a business expense. UK accounting standards explicitly keep them off the income statement:
- FRS 105 (micro-entities) — the prescribed micro-entity income statement is the only profit-and-loss format permitted, and it has no line for dividends paid. Dividends instead reduce shareholders’ funds on the closing balance sheet.
- FRS 102 Section 1A (small companies) — dividends declared during the period are presented in the Statement of Changes in Equity (or in the notes if the company has elected the abridged reduced-disclosure regime). They never run through profit & loss.
- Companies Act 2006 — treats dividends as a transaction with shareholders, not a cost of doing business.
If we collected a “dividends paid” figure and let it flow into the P&L, the resulting accounts would breach the relevant FRS, and the corporation-tax computation would be wrong (because dividends aren’t deductible against trading profit anyway).
2. Where the money actually goes
When the company declares and pays a £X dividend during the year:
- Cash at bank decreases by £X (money left the business).
- Retained earnings (reserves) decreases by £X.
- Profit before tax and corporation tax are unchanged.
So the only thing you need to do in the wizard is enter the closing balances that are correct after the dividend was paid. The arithmetic on the P&L stays exactly the same.
3. Old drafts with a dividends-paid value
Some older drafts may carry a non-zero dividends_paid value left over from previous wizard versions. The current generators ignore that field entirely — it is not written to either Companies House accounts or the HMRC CT600 — so your filings remain compliant. The field is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.
4. The lawful-distribution check (CA 2006 s.830)
Before paying a dividend, the company must have distributable reserves at least equal to the dividend amount, measured against the most recent statutory accounts (or proper interim accounts). Distributable reserves are broadly:
Accumulated realised profits − accumulated realised losses
Practical translation: your retained earnings in the closing balance sheet must be ≥ 0 after the dividend is reflected. If the dividend would push retained earnings negative, the distribution is unlawful under CA 2006 s.830 — even though it’s technically possible to draw the cash. SimpleCompanyTax does not automatically check this for you; please make sure the board considered it before paying.
If you’re unsure, talk to an accountant before declaring or paying the dividend. This is one of the most common reasons HMRC re-categorises “dividends” as salary (and assesses PAYE/NIC) on director-shareholder companies.
5. Dividends received
The wizard does let you enter “dividends received” — but it’s hidden behind a disclosure because the vast majority of micro and small companies don’t hold shares in another company. Dividends received from a UK company are exempt from corporation tax under CTA 2009 Part 9A, but they’re still shown on the P&L for completeness when they arise.
6. References
- FRS 105 — The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime (FRC, current edition).
- FRS 102 — The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Section 1A Small Entities.
- Companies Act 2006, Part 23, Chapter 2 (ss.829– 853) — rules on distributions; s.830 in particular on the profits available for distribution.
- Corporation Tax Act 2009, Part 9A — exemption for distributions received.
This page is general guidance, not tax advice. Speak to a chartered accountant or tax adviser if your circumstances are unusual.