Directors don’t need to wait until the financial year to declare a dividend; however, they do need to check that enough profit is in the company to cover any dividend. We’ll help calculate the available profits from the company records.
Most shareholders prefer consistency; it is normal to pay dividends on regular dates, and often for fairly regular amounts – perhaps with the final dividend reflecting whether it has been a profitable year, money needed for investment, etc.
Companies generally do not declare dividends more than quarterly. With frequent dividends HMRC might consider they are not a return on investment at all but effectively extra salary. They would then be taxed accordingly under PAYE rule; dividend paperwork should always be properly completed to help avoid any debate. We can help with this if you like.