New reporting requirements for company directors from 2025–26

HMRC is introducing new rules that will add further complexity to self assessment tax returns for company directors.

While recent years have seen efforts to reduce the number of people who need to file a return, those who still do – particularly business owners and directors – will face more detailed reporting obligations from the 2025–26 tax year onwards.

At present, the employment pages of the self assessment tax return (SA102) ask whether an individual is a company director and whether the company is a close company. From 2025–26, completing these sections will become mandatory.

In addition, directors of close companies will be required to provide the following information for each relevant company:

• The name and registered number of the company

• The value of dividends received from that company during the year (to be shown separately from other UK dividends)

• Their percentage shareholding in the company during the year – based on the highest level of ownership if this changes during the period

A close company is broadly defined as a UK resident company controlled by five or fewer individuals, meaning most small and family-owned limited companies fall within this category.

Further changes from 2025–26 will also require individuals, partnerships, and trusts to include start and end dates where a business has begun or ceased during the tax year.

It’s important to note that these new requirements do not change who must file a return, but they do increase the amount of information that needs to be provided.

To enforce compliance, HMRC is introducing a new £60 penalty for each failure to correctly report the required information. This new penalty sits outside the existing framework because these disclosures do not affect income tax or capital gains tax calculations.

There is some uncertainty around how certain details – such as shareholdings in companies with multiple share classes – should be reported. HMRC guidance is expected to clarify these points, and we hope this will be made available well ahead of the 2025–26 filing season, which opens in April 2026.

At HURST, we’ll be monitoring developments closely. Please do all you can to ensure you are well prepared and fully compliant when the new rules take effect.