EMI Schemes & Employee Incentives
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There are a number of tax advantaged company share schemes available, but many of our clients have found that the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share option scheme is the most attractive.
As well as being tax efficient for the employee, EMI arrangements offer a great deal of flexibility to the employer as to which members of staff they wish to incentivise, the performance criteria they set for the scheme members and the protection the scheme provides for existing shareholders.
EMI basic rules – The employer
- The employer company must be unquoted and not under the control of another company
- The company must be carrying on a qualifying trade
- The company must have fewer than 250 employees (or full-time equivalent) at the time the options are granted
- The company’s gross assets must be less than £30 million
- The maximum value of shares subject to options is £3 million, based on the market value of the shares at the date the options granted
The employer company must be unquoted and not under the control of another company
The company must be carrying on a qualifying trade
The company must have fewer than 250 employees (or full-time equivalent) at the time the options are granted
The company’s gross assets must be less than £30 million
The maximum value of shares subject to options is £3 million, based on the market value of the shares at the date the options granted
The employee/director
- The maximum value of options that can be held by the employee is £250,000, based on the market value of the underlying shares at the date of grant
- The employee or director must be full-time or work a minimum 25 hours a week or 75% of available working time (whichever is the lower)
The maximum value of options that can be held by the employee is £250,000, based on the market value of the underlying shares at the date of grant
The employee or director must be full-time or work a minimum 25 hours a week or 75% of available working time (whichever is the lower)
SEIS investors will qualify for 50% income tax relief (as opposed to 30% for an EIS investor). They will also be able to claim a capital gains tax (CGT) exemption equal to 50% of the amount they invest. These reliefs are available either for the year the investment is made or for the previous tax year.
At Friend Partnership, we have many years’ experience in advising on, creating and implementing EMI schemes and other share-based employee incentives (such as the issue of growth shares) for our clients.
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