Declaring dividends

[Craig at Nixon Williams]

I'm new to contracting - have a question as my accountant is still on bloody holiday.

Can my dividends be declared / paperwork sorted once a year or does it have to be done at point of taking them?

Also - if I did this (directors loan I know) can I just offset this at year end as a dividend? I.e the money that would have been paid to me as a div in the first place but is no longer in my account.

Thanks for your help.

Dividends should be declared and paperwork prepared when they are taken – if you simply take money from the account without the appropriate paperwork then it is seen to be a loan and will be classed as a BIK on which you will be taxed. The extra tax can easily be avoided by sorting the paperwork at the time that the dividend is declared and it’s probably less work than having to go back over a year’s worth of stuff at the year end to work out the dividends.

Keep it simple and declare the dividends when you take them.

Get yourself a proper contracting accountant that doesn't go on holiday.

I hope you're not suggesting that a 'proper contracting accountant' doesn't go on holiday...