New Director Tax Reporting Rules: What Business Owners and Company Directors Need to Know.

Quick answer

This is not a new tax charge, but it is a confirmed reporting requirement. Affected directors must identify every directorship held during the tax year, and close company directors must also report the company name, registration number, dividends and percentage shareholding.

For many SMEs and owner-managed businesses, being a company director already comes with a long list of administrative responsibilities.

From the 2025/26 tax year, there is another reporting requirement to be aware of. Company directors who already complete a Self Assessment tax return will need to provide more detailed information about their directorships and, where the company is a close company, its dividends and shareholdings.

This is not a new tax charge. However, it does mean directors need to make sure their company records, dividend paperwork and shareholding details are accurate before their personal tax return is prepared.

For directors of small, family-owned or dormant companies, this is a change worth dealing with early rather than leaving until the filing deadline.

What has changed?

From the 2025/26 tax year onwards, additional information is required on the SA102 employment pages of the Self Assessment tax return.

Previously, the SA102 employment pages included boxes asking whether the taxpayer was a company director and whether the company was a close company. In practice, these boxes were not always completed, particularly where the director had not received salary or benefits from the company.

That position has now changed. The director and close company boxes have become mandatory where relevant, and further boxes have been added for close company directors.

This information must be reported through the SA102 employment pages.

Important distinction

The rules do not make every director register for Self Assessment.

The additional information applies where the individual is already required to file a tax return. It does not create a standalone filing requirement for every company director.

What is a close company?

A close company is, broadly, a UK-resident company controlled by five or fewer participators, or by participators who are also directors.

In simpler terms, many small and medium-sized companies will be close companies. Common examples include a sole director-shareholder company, a family-run business, a property investment company and a property development SPV.

For SMEs and owner-managed businesses, many ordinary trading companies will be close companies where the directors also control or participate in the business.

For property investors, landlords and developers, property investment and development companies will commonly be close companies where they are controlled by a small number of participators or director-shareholders.

Further detail is available in HMRC’s Company Taxation Manual guidance on close companies.

Does every director now need to file a Self Assessment tax return?

No. The new rules do not create a standalone requirement for every company director to file a Self Assessment tax return.

Instead, the additional information applies where the individual is already required to file a tax return. For example, a director may already need to complete Self Assessment because they have:

• dividend income
• rental income
• self-employed income
• foreign income
• capital gains
• income above certain thresholds
• a tax liability not fully collected through PAYE
• other personal tax reporting obligations.

If a director is not otherwise required to file a tax return, the new director reporting requirements do not automatically mean they must register for Self Assessment.

However, directors should not assume they are outside Self Assessment without checking. Many directors and property investors have more than one source of income, and their position can change from year to year.

Why does this matter for property companies?

Property company structures often involve multiple directorships, shareholders and SPVs.

For example, a property investor might be a director of a main investment company, a development SPV, a joint venture or a dormant holding company.

Under HMRC’s current interpretation, the reporting obligation still applies even where no salary, benefits or dividends were received from a directorship. That means a dormant company must still be disclosed if the individual is already filing a Self Assessment tax return and was a director during the year.

A taxpayer may remember the active trading company but forget a dormant company set up years ago. A property investor may remember the company paying dividends but overlook an SPV that has not yet started trading. A director may assume that if no income was received, no SA102 page is needed.

Under HMRC’s current interpretation, that assumption is incorrect.

A separate SA102 must be completed for each directorship.

One of the more practical issues is that HMRC expects a separate SA102 employment page to be completed for each directorship.

That could be straightforward for a director with one company. It becomes more complicated for someone with multiple companies, such as:

• a business owner with two or more trading companies
• a property investor with several SPVs
• a director involved in both a trading company and a property company
• a director with dormant companies still registered at Companies House
• a director-shareholder involved in family or joint venture structures.

Each directorship must be reviewed separately. For close company directorships, the additional details must also be provided separately for each close company.

What about dormant companies?

This is one of the most important practical points. HMRC has indicated that dormant companies are within scope.

A director should not assume a company can be ignored simply because:

• it has no income or current activity
• it has not traded or paid dividends
• it has no PAYE scheme
• it is waiting to be struck off
• it exists only as a holding company or SPV.

If the company still exists and the individual was a director during the tax year, it must be included in the Self Assessment reporting review and disclosed where required.

Dormant companies are often forgotten, particularly where they were formed for a project that did not proceed.

Is there a penalty?

There is a fixed penalty risk for failing to provide the required additional information.

HMRC’s current view, according to recent professional commentary, is that the additional information requirement should be treated as one composite obligation. This would limit the penalty to one £60 penalty per tax return rather than multiplying it by every missing box or directorship.

Professional bodies have asked HMRC for a soft-landing approach while its guidance and filing process are clarified. There is also industry lobbying to reduce the burden where the disclosure adds administration but does not change the individual’s tax liability or produce additional tax revenue.

At the time of writing, HMRC has not confirmed that a soft landing will be adopted. Directors should prepare on the basis that the information is required.

How does this interact with Making Tax Digital?

This change should not be confused with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

MTD for Income Tax applies to certain sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above the relevant thresholds. The new director reporting rules are a separate Self Assessment disclosure requirement.

However, both changes point in the same broad direction: HMRC wants more structured information, submitted in a more consistent way.

A landlord who owns rental property personally may be affected by MTD for Income Tax if their qualifying property income exceeds the relevant threshold.

A landlord who owns property through a limited company may not be within MTD for that company’s rental income in the same way, but they may still need to deal with the new director reporting rules if they personally file a Self Assessment return and are a director of a close company.

Some taxpayers may be affected by both, depending on their wider income and structure.

What should directors do now?

Directors should not leave this until January. Before preparing the 2025/26 Self Assessment return, check:

Do your company records match your personal tax position?

Our team can help you review your directorships, dividend paperwork and shareholding information before your 2025/26 Self Assessment return is prepared.

Speak to RiverView Portfolio

Why this is more than an administrative issue.

On the face of it, this looks like a small reporting change. In practice, it could expose weak record-keeping.

Directors who do not have up-to-date company registers, dividend paperwork, shareholding records or Companies House information may find it harder to complete their returns accurately.

This is particularly true where companies have grown quickly, taken on additional shareholders, issued new share classes, or set up separate SPVs for different projects.

The change is also a reminder that personal tax and company records are increasingly connected. For affected directors, the Self Assessment return will also need to reflect their company positions, dividend sources and ownership percentages.

Final thoughts.

The new director reporting rules are not a new tax, but they should be taken seriously.

For straightforward one-company directors, the extra reporting should be manageable. For directors with multiple companies, dormant companies, family companies, property SPVs or complex share structures, the position will require more care.

The key message is simple: if you are a company director and you already file a Self Assessment tax return, make sure your accountant knows about every company you were a director of during the year, not just the company that paid you income.

That includes dormant companies and property SPVs.

HMRC guidance is still developing in some areas, so directors should avoid assumptions and check their position before filing.

Frequently asked questions.

Sources and further guidance

The Income Tax (Additional Information to be included in Returns) Regulations 2025

Association of Taxation Technicians: Tax return changes (2025/26) – what directors need to know

HMRC Company Taxation Manual: close companies