Sole trader or limited company for gamers and streamers?

Plenty of players and streamers are told to "go limited" the moment they start earning. Sometimes that is right, sometimes it is premature. It is a calculation, not a rule, and it turns on how much you make, how much you need to take out, and how much you can leave in the business.

When incorporating starts to make sense

Broadly, a limited company becomes attractive when profits are consistently into the higher-rate band and you do not need to draw everything personally. A company lets you take a modest salary plus dividends and retain the rest at corporation-tax rates, reinvesting between contracts or seasons. If you are spending everything you earn at a basic-rate level, the sole-trader route is usually simpler and cheaper.

The 2026/27 dividend rates

If you do incorporate, the numbers to plan around changed on 6 April 2026. Dividend tax is now 10.75% in the basic-rate band, 35.75% in the higher-rate band and 39.35% in the additional-rate band, with a £500 dividend allowance. Any plan built on the old 8.75% and 33.75% rates is out of date, so a salary-dividend split should be modelled on the current figures.

Putting gear through the company

Equipment bought wholly and exclusively for the business — your competition PC, peripherals, capture and streaming kit — can go through the company with corporation tax relief, and larger items attract capital allowances. The catch is mixed use: a machine you also game on personally has to be handled carefully to avoid a benefit-in-kind charge. Keep the business purpose clear and documented.

The director-loan trap

A company’s money is not your money. If you take out more than your salary and dividends it is usually a director loan, and if it is still outstanding nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays Section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance on loans made on or after 6 April 2026 (refundable once the loan is repaid). Loans made between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2026 are charged at the old 33.75% rate, so the date the money went out decides which applies. It is a common trap for first-time company owners and entirely avoidable with a little planning.

The admin you take on

• Annual accounts and a corporation tax return.
• A Companies House confirmation statement.
• Payroll if you pay yourself a salary.
• Tighter bookkeeping and a business bank account.

We model both routes on your actual figures, handle incorporation if it stacks up, and run the company properly afterwards. Tell us roughly what you earn and want to draw, and we will come back within 48 hours with a fixed written quote.