Directors aren’t subject to Minimum Wage rules and if they are the only paid employee then they don’t need an auto enrolment pension.
So assuming they don’t get a salary from another job, it generally makes sense for Directors to be paid above the NI Lower Earnings Limit and below the Employee’s primary class 1 contributions level.
The LEL for 2018/19 is £116 per week and the Primary Threshold is £162 per week.
So that’s £6,032 to £8,424 per year.
Earning above the LEL means directors will qualify for certain state benefits.
If the company has other employees and they earn sufficient to incur national insurance then you could pay more to the director and take advantage of the Employment Allowance of £3,000 which offsets employers national insurance.
The personal allowance will be £11,850 for 2018/19, that’s how much you can earn tax free.
Higher rate tax starts when total earning hit £46,350.
The Dividend Allowance drops from £5,000 to £2,000 in 2018/19
