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Share awards as an alternative to share options

Produced by Tolley in association with
Employment Tax
Guidance

Share awards as an alternative to share options

Produced by Tolley in association with
Employment Tax
Guidance
imgtext

In some cases, a company may wish to make outright share awards to its employees rather than granting options. This will normally be the case where it wants employees to acquire shares without paying for them. One common example is the award of shares under a long-term incentive plan or performance share plan. Under these plans, employees receive contingent awards of shares and where demanding performance targets are met, usually after a three-year measurement period, the free shares are awarded. This type of arrangement is commonly used by listed companies but may be used by any company. However, for an unlisted company, consideration should be given to how the income tax / NIC costs will be funded by the employee if there is no market for the shares.

There are two significant issues in making a share award:

  1. an award of shares for no consideration will give rise to an income tax charge on the employee on an amount equal to the tax market value of the shares at the date the

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Ken Moody
Ken Moody

Tax Consultant at KM Tax Consultant 


Ken Moody CTA (Fellow), ATT has worked in tax for over 40 years. He qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) while working for a local firm of Chartered Accountants in his home town Sheffield. Ken then joined a top 30 London firm, managing the tax affairs of a SE-quoted group of companies. As lead tax adviser, this involved complex technical negotiations with HMRC, briefing and meeting with Tax Counsel, group tax planning and advice on corporate transactions. Following a takeover, Ken took on a similar role in Saffery Champness' London office. Since 1995, Ken has worked for firms in the North of England and Scotland, in mainly advisory roles, focussing on the holistic tax affairs of owner-managed businesses (OMBs) and their proprietors. Ken now works as an independent tax consultant advising a number of professional firms of accountants around the North West, where he is based, but also offering nationwide support. Still with an OMB focus, Ken advises across a broad range of UK direct tax issues. Ken's writing career began with articles in Taxation and Tax Journal from about 2000 onwards and in writing in-house tax publications for DTE in Bury, as part of his role as Senior Tax Manager. He has since written numerous articles for professional magazines and other publications. Ken was awarded the Fellowship of the CIOT in 2011 for his work "Employment-Related Securities and Unlisted Companies".

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