Dividend Voucher Template UK: What to Include and Common Mistakes

Every time you pay yourself a dividend from your limited company, you must issue a dividend voucher. It's the record of what was paid, to whom, on which shares and when — the document the shareholder relies on for their tax return and the company relies on if anyone asks how the money left.

Most owner-directors of small companies use a Word template or a scribbled note. That works until the details on the voucher, the board minute and the bank statement stop agreeing. Below is a template you can copy, a worked example, the board decision that should sit behind it, and the mistakes that catch people out.

What Is a Dividend Voucher?

A dividend voucher (sometimes called a dividend certificate; the tax legislation calls it a "tax certificate") is a written record of a dividend paid by a company to a shareholder. It is not filed with Companies House or HMRC — the company keeps a copy with its records, and the shareholder keeps one for their own tax records.

No statute prescribes a layout, but the company must, within a reasonable period, send each shareholder (or their bank) a written statement of the amount paid and the payment date (Corporation Tax Act 2010, s.1104 and s.1106), and GOV.UK says the voucher must show the date, the company name, the shareholders' names and the amount. Beyond that, what matters is that it also identifies the shares and matches the decision that declared the dividend.

What a Dividend Voucher Should Include

Of the items below, only the company name, the shareholder's name, the amount paid and the payment date are required. The rest is good practice, and makes the voucher easy to match to the decision and the register:

• Company name and registered number
• Shareholder name and address
• Number and class of shares held (e.g. 60 ordinary shares)
• Date the dividend was declared or decided — the date of the directors' decision (interim) or the members' resolution (final), not the date the money left the bank
• Payment date
• Dividend per share and total amount paid to that shareholder
• Whether it's an interim or final dividend, and which financial year it relates to
• Signature of a director (or the company secretary, if there is one)

Since April 2016 dividends no longer carry a tax credit, so a modern voucher states the cash amount paid — there's no grossing-up to show.

Dividend Voucher Template (Copy and Fill In)

Issue one voucher per shareholder, per dividend.

[COMPANY NAME] LIMITED
Company number: [00000000]
Registered office: [address]

DIVIDEND VOUCHER

Shareholder:           [Full name]
Address:               [Address]

Dividend type:         [Interim / Final] dividend for the year ending [DD Month YYYY]
Date declared/decided: [DD Month YYYY]
Payment date:          [DD Month YYYY]

Shares held:           [Number] [class, e.g. ordinary] shares of £[nominal value] each
Dividend per share:    £[amount]
Total dividend paid:   £[amount]

This dividend was paid out of the company's profits available for
distribution.

Signed: __________________________
[Name], Director
Date: [DD Month YYYY]

Keep a copy with the company's records and give the original to the shareholder.

Worked Example

A company has 100 ordinary shares of £1 each: Sarah holds 60 and Tom holds 40. In November the directors decide to pay an interim dividend of £50 per share, after checking the latest accounts show enough profits available for distribution.

	Sarah	Tom
Shares held	60 ordinary	40 ordinary
Dividend per share	£50	£50
Total on the voucher	£3,000	£2,000

Two vouchers, both dated with the directors' decision date, both showing £50 per share. The rate per share is the same because dividends must be paid in accordance with shareholders' respective rights (article 30(3)) and, by default, by reference to each shareholder's holding on the date of the decision (article 30(4)) — if Sarah and Tom want different amounts on the same class of share, that needs different share classes or, as a one-off, a dividend waiver, not two different rates on two vouchers. If the aim is to change the holdings themselves, see moving shares to a spouse.

The Board Decision That Sits Behind Every Voucher

A voucher records a dividend; it doesn't create one. Under the model articles for private companies, article 30(1) reads: "The company may by ordinary resolution declare dividends, and the directors may decide to pay interim dividends."

So there are two routes, and the voucher's "type" line should match the one you used:

• Interim dividend — a decision of the directors. For a sole director, a written decision.
• Final dividend — an ordinary resolution of the members, and article 30(2) adds that "A dividend must not be declared unless the directors have made a recommendation as to its amount."

Check your own articles — if the company has amended or bespoke articles, the procedure may differ. A minimal directors' written decision for an interim dividend:

[COMPANY NAME] LIMITED
Company number: [00000000]

WRITTEN DECISION OF THE DIRECTORS

Date: [DD Month YYYY]

The directors, having considered the company's [latest annual /
interim] accounts and being satisfied that the company has
sufficient profits available for distribution, decided:

THAT an interim dividend of £[amount] per [class] share be paid on
[DD Month YYYY] to shareholders on the register of members at the
date of this decision.

Signed by each eligible director (model articles art.8; a sole
director signs alone under art.7(2)):

__________________________
[Name], Director

__________________________
[Name], Director

Our board resolution template guide covers members' resolutions for a final dividend, and the board minutes guide covers recording the decision.

If the payment goes out without any decision behind it, it isn't a properly declared dividend under the articles — and money that leaves a company without a valid basis tends to end up being treated as something else, most often as a director's loan, with different tax consequences. If that's already happened, speak to your accountant before the year end.

The Distributable Profits Check

This is the rule most owner-directors don't know until it causes a problem.

Section 830(1) of the Companies Act 2006: "A company may only make a distribution out of profits available for the purpose." Those profits are, under s.830(2), the company's "accumulated, realised profits, so far as not previously utilised by distribution or capitalisation, less its accumulated, realised losses".

Two practical points follow:

• The test is made against accounts. Section 836 says whether a distribution is lawful is decided by reference to the "relevant accounts" — normally the company's last annual accounts, or interim accounts if the last annual accounts don't support the dividend. For a private company, interim accounts must be "accounts that enable a reasonable judgment to be made" of the profits, losses, assets and liabilities. Up-to-date management accounts are the usual way to meet that.
• Cash is not profit. A healthy bank balance doesn't mean there are distributable profits behind it.

If a dividend is paid in breach of these rules, s.847 makes a shareholder who "knows or has reasonable grounds for believing that it is so made" liable to repay it. For an owner-director who is also the shareholder, "didn't know" is a hard position to hold.

Interim dividends paid part-way through the year are where this test is most often skipped, because the last annual accounts may be months old by the time the dividend is decided.

Dividend Tax Rates (2026/27)

Dividend tax is the shareholder's personal liability, not the company's — but it's the question every voucher prompts. For 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, per GOV.UK:

	Rate on dividends over the £500 allowance
Basic rate taxpayer	10.75%
Higher rate taxpayer	35.75%
Additional rate taxpayer	39.35%

The basic and higher rates each rose by two percentage points from 6 April 2026 — for 2025/26 they were 8.75% and 33.75% (HMRC rates and allowances). The additional rate is unchanged, and the dividend allowance is £500 in both years. Use the dividend tax calculator to work out a shareholder's liability.

Common Mistakes

No decision behind the payment. A bank transfer labelled "dividend" with no directors' decision or members' resolution behind it.

Paying more than the distributable profits. A dividend has to be justified by the relevant accounts. Cash in the bank is not the test.

Different rates per share on the same class. If shareholders on one class get different amounts per share, the vouchers are recording something the articles don't allow.

Backdating vouchers to match bank transfers. If the dates on your vouchers don't line up with the decision that declared the dividend, the paper trail falls apart.

Shareholder details that don't match the register. The name and number of shares on the voucher should be exactly what your register of members shows on the date of the decision.

Paying a dividend when the company can't pay its bills. Passing the profits test doesn't make a dividend safe if the company can't meet its debts as they fall due. If cash is tight, take advice before declaring.

After You've Issued the Voucher

A voucher is the end of one dividend and the start of the record for the next. Before you file it away, check that:

1. The decision and the voucher carry the same date and rate.
2. The register of members is current — if shares changed hands during the year, the dividend follows the holding on the decision date. See the register of members.
3. The bank transfer matches the voucher total for each shareholder.
4. The accounts you relied on are kept with the decision — they're the evidence that the distributable-profits test was met.

Kept together, those four things answer any question an accountant, HMRC or a future buyer is likely to ask.

How CompanyMinder Helps

CompanyMinder generates dividend vouchers from your register of members — you can pick the shareholder from the register, so the name and holding aren't retyped — and can add an indicative tax figure at the current year's rates. Before it generates a voucher, it asks you to confirm the company has sufficient distributable profits, the same legal test described above. It also generates board minutes, so you can record the directors' decision to pay the dividend; the minute is a separate document — you write the dividend wording yourself, and it isn't linked to the vouchers.

A Note on Scope

This is general guidance based on the Companies Act 2006, the Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008, the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and HMRC's published rates. Companies with amended or bespoke articles, more than one share class, or thin reserves should check their own position. It is not tax or legal advice — consult a qualified accountant for advice on your circumstances.

Sources

• Companies Act 2006, s.830 — Distributions to be made only out of profits available for the purpose
• Companies Act 2006, s.836 — Justification of distribution by reference to relevant accounts
• Companies Act 2006, s.838 — Requirements where interim accounts used
• Companies Act 2006, s.847 — Consequences of unlawful distribution
• The Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008, Schedule 1 — Model articles for private companies limited by shares (articles 7, 8, 30-31)
• Corporation Tax Act 2010, s.1104 — Company distributing dividend or interest: duty to provide tax certificates
• Corporation Tax Act 2010, s.1106 — Meaning of "tax certificate" etc
• Running a limited company: your responsibilities (Taking money out of a limited company) — GOV.UK
• Tax on dividends — GOV.UK
• Dividend Allowance factsheet (HMRC, 2015) — GOV.UK — historical: records the April 2016 abolition of the dividend tax credit; its allowance and rates are superseded
• Income Tax rates and allowances: current and past — GOV.UK