Clear, practical advice to help you structure your income, reduce tax, and get the most value from your business.
Butt Miller can help you maximise your income now and for the future
As a company director, how you take money out of your business matters. The right remuneration strategy can help you reduce company and personal tax while staying fully compliant with HMRC.
At Butt Miller, we take a holistic view when it comes to remuneration planning. We will consider your overall financial position, business objectives, and personal financial goals to ensure everything works together.
The aim is simple: to keep more of what you earn, and secure your financial future in the most tax-efficient way possible.
Contact us today to get started
What are remuneration planning services?
Remuneration planning is about structuring how you take income from your business, including salary, dividends, pensions, and benefits. In practice, it gives you a clear plan for how and when you pay yourself, rather than taking income ad hoc.
For many, it involves setting a baseline salary, topping up with dividends at the right points in the tax year, and using pensions or benefits to round out a balanced, tax-efficient remuneration package.
Not only can careful planning reduce your immediate tax burden, but it can also help you build sustainable wealth and feed into your pension and estate planning strategies.
| Remuneration Planning Strategy – How It Works | |||
| Balance salary and dividends carefully | Make full use of allowances and tax reliefs | Align with business cash flow and profits | Review regularly and adapt |
| Choose the most tax-efficient mix based on profits, taxable income, and your marginal rate to minimise overall tax liabilities. | Plan around personal allowance, dividend allowance, and pension contributions to ensure you are not paying more tax than necessary. | Ensure your remuneration is sustainable, leaving enough cash in the business to support operations, growth, and future plans. | Revisit your strategy each tax year to reflect changes in tax rules, income levels, and your personal and business goals. |
Key areas to consider in your remuneration strategy
Your remuneration strategy should be reviewed regularly, as tax rates, allowances and thresholds can change from one tax year to the next. The right approach will depend on your income needs, company profits, cash flow, pension plans and wider personal financial goals.
Pension contributions
Company pension contributions can be one of the most tax-efficient ways to extract value from a profitable business. They are not treated as salary, so they can help reduce exposure to Income Tax and National Insurance. They are also usually deductible for Corporation Tax.
Personal allowance
Your Personal Allowance is how much income you can take tax-free before paying Income Tax. In the 2026/27 tax year, the Personal Allowance remains £12,570, and the higher rate threshold at £50,270, and are currently due to remain frozen until April 2031.
Dividend allowance and tax
Dividends remain an important part of remuneration planning for many company directors. However, as of 6 April 2026, dividend tax rates increased by 2 points for basic and higher rate taxpayers. This means the margin of saving may be smaller than before. This is a good example of why it’s essential to review your strategy regularly and consider other solutions.
National Insurance contributions
If you wish to protect your entitlement to the State Pension and certain benefits, it is important to ensure your salary reaches the Lower Earnings Limit. For maximum tax efficiency, your salary should be positioned at the Primary Threshold of £12,570, so it remains exempt from Employee National Insurance and minimises the company’s exposure to the 15% Employer National Insurance rate.
Butt Miller’s remuneration services
Our remuneration planning services are entirely bespoke and practical. Where appropriate, we will link your remuneration planning with our wider business advisory services to ensure your decisions support both your personal and business growth.
Tax-efficient remuneration for business owners
Our experts can help you:
- Balance salary, dividends, and pension contributions to help minimise your tax liabilities
- Plan your income around profits and cash flow
- Consider the tax implications of different extraction methods
- Align your remuneration with your business goals and future plans
For example, taking too much income in one tax year can push you into a higher rate band unnecessarily. Equally, taking too little can leave your allowances unused. We help you find the right balance and also consider wider factors, such as Capital Gains Tax planning, if you are thinking about selling your business in the future.
Remuneration planning for employees
Remuneration is not just about business owners. Structuring a remuneration package for employees can also create value for your business.
Butt Miller can advise on tax-efficient staff benefits, including:
- Pension schemes
- Bonuses and incentive schemes
- Trivial benefits
- Company cars and other benefits in kind
This can help improve employee retention and motivation while managing the overall tax burden for both the company and its employees.
Speak to us for expert remuneration guidance
You have built value in your business, and your remuneration strategy should help you draw that value out in the right way.
At Butt Miller, we help directors and business owners make confident decisions to maximise income, support business stability and achieve long-term reward.
Contact us to arrange a consultation and explore our wider business advisory services
Frequently asked questions about our remuneration planning services
What are the two types of remuneration?
Broadly, remuneration falls into two categories:
Direct remuneration – such as salary, bonuses, and cash payments
Indirect remuneration – such as pensions, benefits, and non-cash rewards
A well-planned remuneration strategy will often combine both.
How does pension planning fit into my remuneration strategy?
From age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028), you can usually start accessing your pension, which introduces new planning opportunities.
You may be able to take up to 25% of your pension tax-free, with the remainder subject to income tax at your marginal rate. This means your overall remuneration strategy may need to shift to balance pension withdrawals with salary and dividends, ensuring you remain as tax-efficient as possible.
