Finance Lab
Profit through a company against distributing it
Compare retaining profit in a company with distributing it to individuals, on the rates you enter.
Company path: profit × company rate is paid as tax; the balance is retained. Distribution path: profit is split between the recipients you enter and taxed at their marginal rates. Both paths are shown after tax.
Step 1 · Enter your figures
Every box starts with an example figure. Replace each one with your own — the result updates as you type. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored.
The profit available to retain or distribute.
The rate that applies to your company. Enter it from the current published rate.
How many individuals would share the distribution.
The average rate they would pay on their share.
The amount you must take out to live on, whatever the structure.
Step 2 · Read the result
Kept after tax, drawing only what you need
$213,600
You draw the cash you need at your marginal rate and the rest stays in the company at the company rate.
- Kept after tax, distributing everything
- $196,500
- Difference
- $17,100Above nil, retaining the surplus keeps more in the group this year on the rates entered.
- Tax paid by the company
- $45,000
- Tax paid personally
- $41,400
- Effective tax rate on the profit
- 28.8%
- Profit shared per recipient if distributed
- $150,000
- Kept after tax, distributing everything$196,500
- Difference$17,100
- Tax paid by the company$45,000
- Tax paid personally$41,400
- Effective tax rate on the profit28.8%
- Profit shared per recipient if distributed$150,000
What this answer rests on (10)
- Profit before tax$300,000
You entered this
The profit available to retain or distribute.
- Company tax rate25.0%
You entered this
The rate that applies to your company. Enter it from the current published rate.
- Number of people it would be distributed to2
You entered this
How many individuals would share the distribution.
- Average marginal rate of those people34.5%
You entered this
The average rate they would pay on their share.
- Cash you need to draw personally$120,000
You entered this
The amount you must take out to live on, whatever the structure.
- The rate you entered is the one applied. No rate, threshold or statutory figure is supplied by the platform — confirm it from the current published source before you rely on the result.
The calculator applied this
- This is a timing comparison only. Tax paid by the company is credited to shareholders when the profit is eventually paid out as a franked dividend, so the difference shown is deferral, not a permanent saving.
The calculator applied this
- A single average marginal rate is applied. Real marginal rates step through brackets and include the Medicare levy.
The calculator applied this
- Distributions from a trust to a company, minors, non-residents and reserved amounts are not modelled.
The calculator applied this
- This is arithmetic on the figures you entered, not tax advice. Confirm your structure with your accountant.
The calculator applied this
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Save to my workspaceWhat this means for you
How much of this year's profit you keep if you draw only what you need, against distributing all of it.
How to read it
- The difference is a deferral of tax, not a permanent saving — the balance is paid when profits are eventually distributed.
- The effective rate is the honest summary of the whole year.
- Change the amount you must draw. Structure matters far less when you need all the cash.
Watch out for
- Treating retained profit as spendable. Taking it later triggers the personal tax you deferred.
- A single average marginal rate. Real rates step through brackets and include the levy.
- Deciding structure from arithmetic alone. Asset protection and succession usually matter more.
Assumptions behind this result
- The rate you entered is the one applied. No rate, threshold or statutory figure is supplied by the platform — confirm it from the current published source before you rely on the result.
- This is a timing comparison only. Tax paid by the company is credited to shareholders when the profit is eventually paid out as a franked dividend, so the difference shown is deferral, not a permanent saving.
- A single average marginal rate is applied. Real marginal rates step through brackets and include the Medicare levy.
- Distributions from a trust to a company, minors, non-residents and reserved amounts are not modelled.
- This is arithmetic on the figures you entered, not tax advice. Confirm your structure with your accountant.
General information only. This calculator does not take your circumstances into account and is not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Confirm every rate, threshold and figure with your own adviser before acting.
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Take this further
Members run this calculator on their own recorded figures, save the workings to their workspace, export them to Word or Excel, and read the lessons that teach the thinking behind the result.