Director pay and dividends
Paying yourself, distributing dividends or retaining profits each affects your contributions, taxes, social protection and company cash differently.
Target monthly net income (from the diagnostic): 0 €.
Main monthly pay
Cost to the company
0 €
Social contributions
0 €
Corporate income tax
0 €
Personal income tax
0 €
Gross dividends
0 €
Dividend tax
0 €
Disposable income
0 €
Remaining cash
0 €
Social protection: General scheme: AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension and employee income protection. No unemployment insurance for corporate officers.
Dividends only (where legally permitted)
No distributable profit: paying dividends would not be legally permitted.
Social protection: General scheme: AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension and employee income protection. No unemployment insurance for corporate officers.
- Profit after pay and corporate tax is zero or negative.
Combined pay and dividends
No distributable profit: paying dividends would not be legally permitted.
Social protection: General scheme: AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension and employee income protection. No unemployment insurance for corporate officers.
- Profit after pay and corporate tax is zero or negative.
Reduced pay and retained profits
Cost to the company
0 €
Social contributions
0 €
Corporate income tax
0 €
Personal income tax
0 €
Gross dividends
0 €
Dividend tax
0 €
Disposable income
0 €
Remaining cash
0 €
Social protection: General scheme: AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension and employee income protection. No unemployment insurance for corporate officers.
No pay to fund startup
Cost to the company
0 €
Social contributions
0 €
Corporate income tax
0 €
Personal income tax
0 €
Gross dividends
0 €
Dividend tax
0 €
Disposable income
0 €
Remaining cash
0 €
Social protection: General scheme: AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension and employee income protection. No unemployment insurance for corporate officers.
- Without pay, social and pension entitlements are very limited and minimum contributions may still be due. These minimum contributions are not covered by the rules registry.
- Corporate office remuneration
- Amount paid to a director for their management duties. It is not a salary under an employment contract.
- Sole trader income
- The share of profit withdrawn by the sole trader. Profits are taxed even if not withdrawn.
- Employment contract
- Requires a genuine subordinate employment relationship separate from the corporate office; rare for a majority manager.
- Dividends
- Distribution of profits after corporate tax, decided by shareholders. Not possible without distributable profits.
- Retained profit
- After-tax profit left in the business to fund growth.
- Expense reimbursement
- Reimbursement of documented business expenses. It is not remuneration and is not taxable.
These scenarios use average rates from the rules registry for 2026. They do not account for minimum contributions, startup exemptions or your full household circumstances.
Paying dividends requires genuinely distributable profits and a formal shareholder decision. Have a chartered accountant review your choices.