The salary test is now applied to each pay period rather than to the annual average. What that means for compensation structures weighted towards bonus and commission.
- Audit exemption thresholds
- Mandatory 3-month HMRC notification
- What is the Skilled Worker salary threshold for 2026?
The more consequential fact for companies staffing UK operations is immigration, not tax. Since free movement ended in January 2021, hiring any non-UK national — including EU citizens without settled or pre-settled status — requires a Skilled Worker sponsor licence and a role meeting the relevant salary threshold: a general minimum of £41,700 or the occupation-specific "going rate," whichever is higher, with reduced thresholds for healthcare roles, new entrants and Shortage Occupation List positions. From 8 April 2026, sponsors must additionally demonstrate the threshold is met in every individual pay period rather than as an annual average, a change aimed specifically at bonus- or commission-heavy compensation structures that previously passed on a yearly basis.
What a foreign hire has to satisfy in United Kingdom. Every figure below is published on the United Kingdom country page.
| United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Currency | GBP |
| Employer social security | National Insurance — 15% on earnings above the £5,000/year secondary threshold (frozen until April 2028) |
| Dividend tax | No dividend withholding tax (dividends paid gross to UK and non-UK residents); UK-resident individuals taxed on dividend income at 10.75%–39.35% (2026/27) after a £500 allowance |
| Minimum share capital | Private limited company: none required (typically 100 shares of £1) · PLC: £50,000 |
| VAT | 20% standard · 5% reduced (domestic energy, children's car seats) · 0% zero-rated (most food, books, children's clothing) · £90,000 registration threshold |
What makes it complex in United Kingdom
- Audit exemption thresholds — effective from 6 April 2025 — small company: turnover < £15M, gross assets < £7.5M, < 50 employees (2 of 3 criteria, in both the current and preceding financial year).
- Mandatory 3-month HMRC notification — — companies must notify HMRC of corporation tax liability within 3 months of starting to trade, independently of the automatic CT41G letter that Companies House registration triggers.
What is the Skilled Worker salary threshold for 2026?
The general minimum is £41,700 per year, or the occupation-specific "going rate" for the role's SOC code, whichever is higher. Reduced thresholds apply to healthcare roles (from £25,000), new entrants (from £33,400), and roles on the Shortage Occupation List (a 20% discount on the going rate).
Audit exemption thresholds is one of the points HTLC Network handles for clients operating in United Kingdom, within a single engagement that covers every other country they operate in — executed locally, governed centrally.
In United Kingdom the scope is: Skilled Worker sponsor licence applications and per-pay-period salary compliance for non-UK partners, managers and key staff — EU nationals included since Brexit ended free movement.
See Workforce Mobility in United Kingdom for the full scope, or the United Kingdom country page for the statutory framework across every service.
Figures as published on the HTLC Network country pages, reviewed September 2026 and collected from public sources. They are not a substitute for advice on a specific case and should be verified before being relied on.