If you’re a company director who files a self-assessment tax return, there’s a change coming from 2025/26 that’s worth knowing about as it may affect you. HMRC is asking for a bit more detail about some directorships going forward, nothing too complicated, but it’s important to get it right.

What’s changing?

If you’re a director of a close company (more on that in a moment), your self-assessment return will need to include a few additional details from now on:

• Company name and registration number: straightforward enough!
• Dividend income: any dividends you receive from the close company need to be reported separately from your other dividend income, even if the amount is zero.
• Shareholding percentage: you’ll need to declare the percentage of share capital you held during the tax year. If this changed at any point, you’ll report the highest percentage held.

So, what’s a close company?

In simple terms, a close company is one controlled by five or fewer shareholders, or by its directors, which covers the vast majority of small, owner-managed businesses. If you’re not sure whether this applies to you, just ask us and we’ll check for you.

We know it can feel like yet more admin, but once you know what’s needed it really is quite manageable. As always, we’re here to make sure your return is accurate and complete, so if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to get in touch.