Why Not treat your employees to a staff share scheme this Year

What better way to reward your employees with a share scheme. An employee share scheme allows staff to have a stake in the company they work for. Not only can they boost performance and morale, they also offer some tax advantages.

You might thinking giving away shares is the last thing you want , its scary but heres 2 ways you can

  • Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs)
  • Company Share Option Plan (CSOP)

A simple guide to the  different models.

Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs)

If your company has assets of £30 million or less and fewer than 250 employees, it can offer employees Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs) – the ultimate Christmas present in the form of share options.

To qualify as an employee for this, you need to work at least 25 hours a week (or 75% of your time) for the company, like a Christmas elf working hard behind the scenes.

The perks:

  • EMIs give you share options up to the value of £250,000 in a three-year period
  • No Income Tax or National Insurance if you buy the shares at market value (the price they were when you were granted the option).

If your employee gets a discount on those shares, they might owe some tax on the difference.  If you buy the shares within 10 years of being offered them, you will not pay Income Tax or National Insurance on the difference.

Companies covered by HMRC’s ‘excluded activities’ are not allowed to offer EMIs.

Company Share Option Plan (CSOP)

A CSOP gives employees the option to buy up to £60,000 worth of shares from 6 April 2023 (or £30,000 if the options were granted before 6 April 2023).

If an employee buys shares between 3 and 10 years after being offered them, they will not pay Income Tax or National Insurance on the difference between what they paid for the shares and what they’re actually worth (Market Value). It’s like getting a Christmas bonus with no extra strings attached.

Summary Points:

There are a range of share schemes that offer a range different benefits with different conditions, and they are not limited to the two examples in this article. If you think a share scheme would be something that you have been considering, Gravita can review the scheme to ensure that you offer the scheme that fits you best.

If you are an employer already operating an EMI (Enterprise Investment Management) or non-tax advantaged share schemes, you must submit an ERS (Employment Related Securities) return every year for all schemes, including one-off awards or gifts of shares.

Transactions for each tax year should be included in the ERS return for that year which must be submitted by 6th July following the end of that tax year.

Please contact us if you would like to explore the above

STORY SO FAR

27 Years deep in battle scars has led me to step into the world of advisory from a notable track record . A background started straight from University on a graduate accounting training programme with Laura Ashley  In those humble days I worked closely in the development , growth and scale up of an iconic brand

From these foundations I have had the privilege of holding executive posts with Virgin, Cisco , Dell and numerous international multi nationals driving value chains and creating wealth for stakeholders. My time in M&A has given me a passion of valuing, negotiating and implementing JVs, subsidiaries in foreign geographies spanning Europe , MENA ,Japan and the states

A Strategic mind for ever up skilling in 2010 I completed my Masters in financial Management from the prestigious London University concentrating on banking and corporate finance.  Therefore as you can see my background of 27 years is totally industry, were I gained the extensive robust tools at the highest board level and interaction through non financial stakeholders

All the principles of Azam are the same , we know business full stop. This is what makes us unique and this is why we can say we are trusted business advisors . Without a solid commercial legacy you can not advise or add value

The accountancy industry has evolved as now only 3% of what we do is compliance- ticking boxes, the remainder is all advisory. But from who do you take counsel? That is the question. Do you rely on those who have spent years creating value and wealth, building relationships and  legendary companies and making dreams reality.  or do you take it from  those who have learnt it from a book! No one seems to answer the actual question “ what problem am I solving”? at Azam everything starts from this very question

Were unique as our immense business knowledge spans from start ups to large scale group structures across numerous industries , deployed through the Azam Masterclass. This is what REAL advisory and accounting is. I will help you achieve all your goals , achieve that work life balance , create legendary businesses and then we will make sure you keep what you made through our highly skilled accounting and tax teams

At Azam we leave are Egos at the door, we let our results speak. We get offended at the conservative Geeky accountants  sitting behind calculators and not delivering. We are the same as you the bold , the brave those who dream. And this is the reason why I created Azam Consultancy. The accountants of the brave !

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