Can I pay my husband a salary from my limited company?

Yes — employing a spouse is completely allowed, and he's treated like any other employee. With 8–10 hours a week of genuine admin and invoicing work, a salary is entirely legitimate. Here's the practical side:

Run payroll properly. Register as an employer with HMRC if you haven't already, then operate PAYE for him: deduct Income Tax and employee National Insurance, report through Full Payment Submission, and give him payslips. If he has no other income, paying up to the £12,570 Personal Allowance means no Income Tax — a sensible and common approach.

The salary must be commercial. HMRC can challenge a salary that looks like a disguised distribution, so keep a written job description and a simple record of his hours.

Watch employer's National Insurance: 15% on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold (2025/26). The Employment Allowance of up to £10,500 often wipes this out for small employers. The National Minimum Wage (£12.21 an hour for 21+ from 1 April 2025) applies to family employees too.

The company gets Corporation Tax relief on his salary, and he pays tax like any employee. The settlements legislation mainly bites on dividends gifted to a spouse with no real role — a genuine salary for genuine work is the safe route.

Amelia's covered the essentials — let me add the angle that makes this even more attractive than it first looks, plus two pitfalls.

The Employment Allowance point is bigger than it seems. A company with only one director-employee can't claim it, but putting your husband on the payroll gives you two employees — which makes the company eligible for up to £10,500 a year off employer NIC. Run the numbers on a £12,570 salary: employee NIC is nil (at the £12,570 primary threshold), and employer NIC is 15% of £7,570 — the amount above the £5,000 secondary threshold — which is £1,135.50, wiped out by the Allowance. It can also shelter employer NIC on your own salary.

Two pitfalls. First, don't backdate his start date to manufacture extra tax-free pay — the employment must be genuine from the actual start, with PAYE records to match. Second, check the National Living Wage: at 8–10 hours a week, £12,570 a year works out around £24–30 an hour, comfortably above the £12.71 hourly rate for 21+ from April 2026 — but log his hours anyway, since that's what proves the salary is commercial.