UK Savings and Dividend Tax Waterfall
See how salary, the starting rate for savings, Personal Savings Allowance and Dividend Allowance interact.
Allowance waterfall
Enter gross income for one tax year. Keep ISA interest and dividends outside these inputs.
Indicative band: basic
Starting-rate savings slice: £2,570
Personal Savings Allowance: £1,000
Taxable savings / dividends: £1,430 / £1,500
Indicative tax on those amounts: £417
Illustrative waterfall, not a full Self Assessment. Band allocation, allowance taper, Scottish non-savings rates and mixed-band slices can change the result.Decision guides
Starting rate for savingsSee how non-savings income reduces the potential £5,000 starting-rate band.Personal Savings AllowanceMap the £1,000, £500 or nil allowance to the indicative income band.Dividend AllowanceSeparate allowance from the rate applied to taxable dividends.Salary, interest and dividendsStack three income types in the order used by the waterfall.Low-income saverCheck unused Personal Allowance before the starting rate and PSA.Higher-rate saverModel the smaller PSA and avoid treating it as a deduction from income.Income over £100,000Replace the default Personal Allowance with the tapered amount for your facts.Tax-year input checklistReconcile bank interest, dividends, ISAs and tax-year allowances.
Methodology and limits
The engine exposes allowance order instead of hiding it in one number. It deliberately accepts the applicable Personal and Dividend Allowances as inputs and is not a full tax return.