Dividend question

[IR35 Avoider]

I think I read somewhere about a case of a guy (not a contractor) who backdated dividends - he was sentenced to something like two years inside.

[XLMonkey]

Presumably from a personal tax point of view it's when the money was paid that counts, not when the dividend was declared.

I suppose if nobody ever looked at the bank accounts, you'd get away with it. And if not, well at least you get free accomodation and meals whilst serving your time.

Strictly, its when the dividend is declared and available to the shareholder that it becomes part of your personal income (and tax return). It doesn't matter whether or not you actually receive the money till later.

However, with that said, the time gap is pretty big between the dividend date on your "discovered" paperwork and the actual date of transfer of the money from yourco to you. You might find it difficult to explain to Hector why you left so much of your money sitting in the company account for the thick end of a year....

I think you need to chalk it up to experience and take more care next time.