Members' voluntary liquidation, 2026/27 rates

MVL calculator: your distribution after tax, against a dividend

From 6 April 2026 Business Asset Disposal Relief taxes a qualifying gain at 18%, while a dividend pays up to 39.35%. Enter what is left in the company to see what an MVL leaves you and what the same cash would leave as a dividend.

Source: MVL tax rules for 2026/27, from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk: every row, with its source

Your figures

Cash left in the company after its debts and Corporation Tax

What the liquidator would hand to the shareholders once every creditor, including HMRC, is paid.

Your share of the company (%)

Your percentage of the ordinary shares. Each shareholder works out their own figure.

Liquidator's fee and disbursements

Default: the median entry fee of the four UK insolvency practitioners on this site's fee index (£1,747.50, before VAT and disbursements). Use your own quote.

What you paid for your shares

Usually the nominal value you subscribed, for example £100 for 100 £1 shares.

Your other income in the tax year of the distribution

Salary, pension, rent and interest before your Personal Allowance. It decides which CGT and dividend rates apply.

Do you expect to qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief?

GOV.UK sets the conditions: at least 5% of the shares and voting rights, and being an officer or employee, for at least 2 years.

Gains you have already claimed BADR on

GOV.UK: you can claim a total of £1 million in Business Asset Disposal Relief over your lifetime.

Will you carry on a similar trade or activity within 2 years?

Condition C of ITTOIA 2005 section 396B, the rule that can tax a winding-up distribution as income.

The result

What the MVL leaves you after tax: £122,125
Your share of the distribution, after the liquidator's fee: £148,253
Your capital gain: £148,153
Capital Gains Tax on the distribution: £26,127
The same cash taken as a dividend (no liquidator's fee): £150,000
Dividend tax on that cash: £53,621
What a dividend leaves you after tax: £96,379
How much more the MVL leaves you than a dividend: £25,746

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The MVL tax rules for 2026/27, as GOV.UK and the statute word them

Last updated 2026-10-28

Each figure the calculator applies, with the page it was read from: the rates, the allowances and the two statutory gates an MVL has to pass.

Every figure is read from GOV.UK or legislation.gov.uk through this site's fetch service and dated; secondary sites are used for nothing. The fee index takes one published entry fee per firm from the firm's own page.

The MVL tax rules for 2026/27, as GOV.UK and the statute word them
Rule	Figure	Where it comes from	Source
Business Asset Disposal Relief rate from 6 April 2026	18%	GOV.UK, BADR eligibility	GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief, eligibility
BADR lifetime total	£1 million	GOV.UK, how to claim BADR	GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief, how to claim (the £1 million lifetime total)
CGT rates for individuals from 6 April 2026	18% and 24%	GOV.UK, CGT rates and allowances	GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances
CGT annual exempt amount, 2026 to 2027	£3,000	GOV.UK, CGT rates and allowances	GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances
Dividend allowance	£500	GOV.UK, how dividends are taxed	GOV.UK: how dividends are taxed
Dividend rates from 6 April 2026	10.75%, 35.75%, 39.35%	GOV.UK, how dividends are taxed	GOV.UK: how dividends are taxed
Personal Allowance and its £100,000 income limit	£12,570	GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and allowances	GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and allowances, current and past
Basic rate band	£37,700	GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and allowances	GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and allowances, current and past
Section 396B, condition C window	two years	ITTOIA 2005 s396B	ITTOIA 2005 section 396B: distributions in a winding up
Declaration of solvency, debts paid within	12 months	Insolvency Act 1986 s89	Insolvency Act 1986 section 89: declaration of solvency

Cite this page

“The MVL tax rules for 2026/27, as GOV.UK and the statute word them”, MVL Calculator, https://mvlcalculator.co.uk/ (updated 2026-10-28). Every figure is read from GOV.UK or legislation.gov.uk through this site's fetch service and dated; secondary sites are used for nothing. The fee index takes one published entry fee per firm from the firm's own page.

How this is worked out

The BADR rate. GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief means you pay 18% on all gains on qualifying assets disposed of from 6 April 2026 (14% between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026). You can claim a total of £1 million over your lifetime; the calculator taxes any gain above what is left of that £1 million at the main rates. GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief, how to claim (the £1 million lifetime total)
The main CGT rates. GOV.UK lists 18% and 24% for individuals from 6 April 2026, and an annual exempt amount of £3,000 for 2026 to 2027. Following GOV.UK's order, BADR gains use the basic rate band first and the exempt amount is set against the gains that would pay the highest rate. GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief, work out your tax
The bands. GOV.UK's Income Tax table for 2026 to 2027: a Personal Allowance of £12,570 that goes down by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000, a basic rate band of £37,700 and the additional rate above £125,140. Scottish and Welsh Income Tax bands are not applied; CGT and dividend tax use the UK bands everywhere. GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and allowances, current and past
The dividend comparison. GOV.UK: a dividend allowance of £500, then 10.75% basic rate, 35.75% higher rate and 39.35% additional rate. The comparison counts the tax on the dividend only. When a dividend takes your income past £100,000 the extra Income Tax on your other income from the lost Personal Allowance is not added, so above that level the dividend route costs more than shown. GOV.UK: how dividends are taxed
Section 396B. A distribution in a winding up is taxed as income if conditions A to D are all met: a 5% interest, a close company, carrying on a similar activity within two years, and a main purpose of reducing Income Tax. The calculator flags condition C from your answer and tests none of the others. ITTOIA 2005 section 396B: distributions in a winding up
Solvency. An MVL needs the directors' statutory declaration that the company will pay its debts in full, with interest, within a period of no more than 12 months. The calculator assumes the company is solvent and its debts are already paid out of the cash you enter. Insolvency Act 1986 section 89: declaration of solvency
What is not worked out. One distribution in one tax year, cash only: no distribution in specie, no staged distributions across tax years, no losses, no other gains in the year, no Investors' Relief and no tax for a non-resident shareholder. It is a figure to frame a conversation, not tax advice.

This calculator applies published tax rates to the figures you enter; it is not tax, legal or insolvency advice. An enquiry sent through the form is read and answered by Joe, who runs this site; no firm receives it. Rates are as read from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk on the date shown.

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The questions we get

How is an MVL taxed in 2026/27?

A distribution in an MVL is normally a capital gain. If you qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief, GOV.UK charges 18% on qualifying gains disposed of from 6 April 2026; otherwise 18% inside the basic rate band and 24% above it, after the £3,000 annual exempt amount.(MVL tax rules for 2026/27, from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk: every row, with its source)

Is an MVL better than taking a dividend?

Usually for a larger sum: dividends above the £500 allowance pay 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35%, against 18% under BADR. The calculator shows both routes on your figures, with the liquidator's fee taken off the MVL side.(MVL tax rules for 2026/27, from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk: every row, with its source)

What does an MVL cost?

Four UK insolvency practitioners publish an entry fee on their own pages: £1,245, £1,500, £1,995 and £4,000, a median of £1,747.50, each plus VAT and in most cases disbursements.(MVL fees UK insolvency practitioners publish: every firm, with its own page)

When is an MVL distribution taxed as income?

Under ITTOIA 2005 section 396B, when four conditions are all met: you held at least 5%, the company was close, you carry on a similar activity within two years, and a main purpose was to reduce Income Tax.(ITTOIA 2005 section 396B: distributions in a winding up)

Does the calculator give tax advice?

No. It applies the published 2026/27 rates to the figures you enter for one cash distribution in one tax year. Your own position, including other gains and how the company's assets are distributed, needs an adviser.(MVL tax rules for 2026/27, from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk: every row, with its source)

The detail

Sourced, dated, kept current.

Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

The MVL Tax Rules carries 7 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages, from 5 to 39.35 percent, read 28 October 2026.
The median published figure in the UK MVL Fee Index is 1,747.50 GBP across 4 sources' own pages (range 1,245 to 4,000 GBP), read 28 October 2026.

The question this page is here to answer

What tax applies to a capital distribution in a members' voluntary liquidation in 2026/27, and when does it become income instead?

What is left in the company, your share and your other income. The rates come from GOV.UK.

Answered by Joseph Ellul, which reads every enquiry this page takes.

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