"Do I need to file a tax return because I am a company director?" is a question many people running their own limited company ask. Many websites still say that every director must file. That is not what HMRC's current guidance says, and the real answer depends on your income and on whether HMRC has written to you.
The online deadline for the 2025/26 return is 31 January 2027, and some of the fixes below only work if you start them in November or December. Here is how to check where you stand, and what to do in each case.
In a nutshell
- Being a director is not a trigger on its own. HMRC's list of who must file does not mention directors.
- A notice from HMRC means you must file. Or ask HMRC to withdraw it.
- Dividends over 10,000 pounds mean a return. Total dividends, not the amount above the allowance.
- Smaller dividends still need reporting. Through your tax code, or a return for other income.
- No longer need to file? Tell HMRC early. HMRC needs time before 31 January.
- Missed 5 October? Register now. The tax is still due on 31 January.
1. Being a director does not by itself mean you must file
HMRC's page on who must send a tax return lists people who, in the last tax year, were self-employed sole traders earning more than £1,000, partners in a partnership, people who owed Capital Gains Tax, people paying the High Income Child Benefit Charge outside PAYE, and off-payroll workers repaying a student loan. Company directors are not on that list.
The same page adds that you may need a return if you have untaxed income, such as rental income, savings interest, foreign income or dividends. For most owner-managers, it is the dividends, not the job title, that decide it.
If you do file, you complete an employment page (SA102) for each directorship, including dormant companies, and the new directorship boxes on it. Those pages are part of a return you already have to make. HMRC's own update to agents says they do not create a new duty to file.
2. You must file if HMRC has sent you a notice
If HMRC has written or emailed asking you to send a 2025/26 return, you must send it by the deadline in that notice, even if gov.uk's online checker says you do not need one. HMRC may keep sending notices to directors who have filed in earlier years.
Look for a letter or email from HMRC asking for a 2025/26 return, or check your Self Assessment in your HMRC online account. A notice cannot simply be ignored: you either file the return or ask HMRC to withdraw it (section 5).
3. Dividends over the 10,000 limit mean a tax return
gov.uk is clear: if your dividend income for the year is over £10,000, you need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return. The test uses your total dividends received in 2025/26, not just the part above the £500 dividend allowance.
For 2025/26, the first £500 of dividends is tax-free. Above that, dividends are taxed at 8.75% in the basic rate band, 33.75% in the higher rate band and 39.35% at the additional rate. (Different rates apply from 6 April 2026, but they affect the 2026/27 return, not this one.)
If you did not already file and your dividends were over £10,000, you were meant to tell HMRC by 5 October 2026. If you missed that, see section 6.
4. Smaller dividends and other untaxed income
If your dividends were above £500 but no more than £10,000 and you do not file a return, HMRC expected you to tell it between 6 April and 5 October 2026, either by asking for your tax code to be updated or by contacting the Income Tax helpline. If you did neither, contact HMRC now rather than waiting.
Dividends within the £500 allowance do not need reporting at all. But other untaxed income can still mean a return, for example rent from a property, significant savings interest, or foreign income. If any of those apply, check gov.uk before assuming you are in the clear.
5. If you have a notice but do not need to file
Some directors receive a notice even though all their pay was taxed through PAYE, their dividends stayed within £500 and they had no other untaxed income. In that case you can ask HMRC to withdraw the notice, online through your HMRC account, by phone or in writing.
Three points matter. You can only ask while no return has been filed for that year. HMRC decides; it is not automatic. And gov.uk says to tell HMRC as soon as possible, because it needs time to review the request before 31 January. If HMRC agrees, any late filing penalties for that return are cancelled. Filing a simple return is the other safe option.
6. If you need to file but missed 5 October
Register for Self Assessment now. With a Personal Tax Account, HMRC's improved online registration shows your Unique Taxpayer Reference within about 72 hours; by post it can take up to 15 days. Our guide to registering for Self Assessment covers the steps.
If you register after 5 October, HMRC sets your filing deadline at three months from the date of its letter or email. The tax is still due on 31 January 2027, and interest runs from then. You may also face a failure to notify penalty if tax is still unpaid at 31 January, so paying in full by that date is the practical protection.
A worked example: Marta's consultancy
Marta is the sole director and shareholder of an IT consultancy in Leeds. For 2025/26 she took a salary of £12,570, covered by her Personal Allowance, and £20,000 in dividends. She has no other income and has never filed a return.
- Does she need to file? Yes. Her dividends are over £10,000. Being a director is not the reason.
- Her tax: £500 is covered by the dividend allowance. The other £19,500 is taxed at 8.75%, which is £1,706.25.
- Payments on account: her bill is over £1,000 and none was collected at source, so HMRC will also ask for advance payments towards 2026/27, about £853 each.
- By 31 January 2027 she should expect to pay about £2,559, then about £853 by 31 July 2027.
She missed 5 October, so she registers online now and files as soon as her UTR arrives. Paying through her tax code is not an option: her salary normally has no tax on it, so the bill could not be collected that way.
Things to watch out for
- The job title does not decide it. Your income and any HMRC notice do.
- The 10,000 pounds test is total dividends. Not the amount above the allowance.
- A notice must be dealt with. File the return or ask HMRC to withdraw it.
- The £100 penalty applies even with no tax to pay. After three months, £10 a day is added, up to £900.
- Late registration does not delay payment. The tax is still due on 31 January 2027.
- Penalties can be appealed. A reasonable excuse can support an appeal.
How Ollen Services Can Help
Whether a director needs a return depends on the whole picture: salary, dividends, other income and what HMRC has already sent. It is quick to check, and much easier in November than in late January.
We prepare and file Self Assessment returns for company directors, including every SA102 page, and we can deal with HMRC for you if a notice should be withdrawn or a late registration is needed. We work in English and Polish.
Call us on 07513 491 259 or email hello@ollenservices.co.uk. Send us your dividend figures and any HMRC letters, and we will tell you where you stand.