How to Report Dividend Income to HMRC (2026/27)

This guide is general information, not advice.

This guide is for anyone who received dividends from shares held outside an ISA or pension and needs to know whether, how and by when to tell HMRC. It is the procedure. How the dividend allowance works and how it has changed is in our dividend allowance explainer.

By the end you will know which of the three reporting routes applies to you, what to do on each, and the dates that matter.

Before you start

Have these ready:

• the dividend vouchers or statements for the tax year (6 April to 5 April) from every company, fund or platform that paid you;
• your total wages, pension or other income for the same year;
• your Government Gateway sign-in for your Personal Tax Account, or be ready to create one;
• your National Insurance number, and your UTR if you already file Self Assessment.

Leave out anything paid inside a wrapper. GOV.UK’s Tax on dividends says you do not pay tax on dividends from shares in an ISA, and HMRC’s November 2025 policy paper says dividends received within a SIPP or by registered pension schemes are also tax-free.

Step-by-step

1. Work out whether you have tax to pay. For 2026/27 GOV.UK says dividends within your unused Personal Allowance are not taxed, and you get a £500 dividend allowance on top. Above that, the rates from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 are 10.75% (basic rate), 35.75% (higher rate) and 39.35% (additional rate). To find your band, add your dividends to your other income. GOV.UK says you need to report dividends that are over both your unused Personal Allowance and the dividend allowance. HMRC’s dividends and savings checker gives an estimate, but only if you have tax code 1257L and do not file Self Assessment, have foreign income, or get Marriage Allowance or Blind Person’s Allowance.

2. Pick your route. GOV.UK’s how to report tax on dividends sets out three:

   • Within the allowance, no tax return: you do not need to tell HMRC.
   • Up to £10,000, no tax return: tell HMRC directly (step 3).
   • Over £10,000, or you already send a return: Self Assessment (step 4).

3. Up to £10,000 and no return: tell HMRC between 6 April and 5 October. GOV.UK says to let HMRC know after the end of the tax year (5 April) and before 5 October, in one of two ways:

   • Ask HMRC to update your tax code. Sign in to Check your Income Tax for the current year through the tax code update route, check your estimated income and add what is missing. The tax is then taken from your wages or pension. HMRC says it tells you and your employer the new code within 15 working days if it needs to change.
   • Contact the helpline. Use HMRC’s Income Tax enquiries contact page.

   Our guide to reading a PAYE coding notice shows where the adjustment appears once the code changes.

4. Over £10,000, or you already file: use Self Assessment. If you already send a return, report all your dividend income on it. If you do not, GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC you need to complete a return by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you received the income, by registering for Self Assessment. Every registration route is in how to register for Self Assessment.

5. If you take dividends from your own company, the reporting routes above are the same. How to split salary and dividends is in our director dividend strategy guide.

Deadlines and what happens next

• Dividends received in 2025/26 (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026): tell HMRC before, or register for Self Assessment by, 5 October 2026. GOV.UK’s register page says you could get a penalty if you tell HMRC after that date. The deadlines page gives 31 January 2027 for the online return and for payment (paper by 31 October 2026). Register late and HMRC sets a filing deadline 3 months from its letter or email, but payment is still due by 31 January 2027.
• Dividends received in 2026/27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027): the same rule puts the tell-HMRC and registration date at 5 October 2027.
• Tax code route: HMRC tells you and your employer the new code within 15 working days if it needs to change. If you have paid the wrong amount you can get a refund or pay what you owe.

In Scotland, GOV.UK says you pay the same tax as the rest of the UK on dividends.

Common mistakes

• Reporting ISA or pension dividends. They are tax-free and do not count.
• Thinking the allowance takes dividends out of your band. HMRC’s Dividend Allowance factsheet says dividends within your allowance still count towards your basic or higher rate band. That can push the rest into a higher rate.
• Missing 5 October. GOV.UK says to use the tax-code route before 5 October, and to register for Self Assessment by that date.
• Leaving dividends off a tax return because they were under £10,000. If you file, all dividend income goes on the return.

Worked example

Two investors in England in 2026/27, using the ruleset’s £12,570 Personal Allowance, £500 dividend allowance and the dividend rates on GOV.UK. The basic rate band ends at £50,270 of total income.

Investor A: £40,000 salary and £6,000 of dividends. Total income is £46,000, all within the basic rate band. The first £500 of dividends is covered by the allowance and the remaining £5,500 is taxed at 10.75%: £591.25. The dividends are under £10,000, so if A does not file a return, A asks HMRC to update the tax code or calls the helpline between 6 April and 5 October 2027.

Investor B: £48,270 salary and £12,000 of dividends. The salary leaves £2,000 of the basic rate band. The £500 allowance uses the first part of it, so:

Slice of dividends	Amount	Rate	Tax
Dividend allowance	£500	0%	£0
Rest of basic rate band	£1,500	10.75%	£161.25
Higher rate band	£10,000	35.75%	£3,575
Total dividend tax	£12,000		£3,736.25

B’s dividends are over £10,000, so B must file a Self Assessment return, registering by 5 October 2027 if B does not already send one.

Related reading

• Dividend allowance - the allowance and the 2026/27 rates, explained.
• Dividend tax calculator - work out the tax on your own dividends.
• How to register for Self Assessment - every registration route, step by step.