Tell HMRC about your Employment Related Securities schemes
When and how to tell HMRC about new Employment Related Securities (ERS) schemes, or schemes that have ceased.
You must register all new ERS schemes on HMRC Online Services, including one-off awards or gifts of shares.
Gifts and awards of shares in companies, often known as Employment Related Securities (ERS), are commonly used by employers to reward, retain or provide incentives to employees. They can be tax-advantaged or non tax-advantaged.
Agents
You will only be able to view and file returns on ERS schemes that have already been registered — you will not be able to register or cease an ERS scheme.
Find out how to register as a professional tax agent.
When to tell HMRC
New tax-advantaged schemes should be registered by 6 July following the tax year they were established. If you miss this deadline, you’ll need to follow the late registration process.
You only need to register schemes without a tax advantage when there’s a reportable event, for example:
- acquiring or disposing of securities
- assigning or releasing securities options
You should register your non-tax advantaged scheme by 6 July following the tax year when the first reportable event happened.
For Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes
You must tell HMRC about a grant of an EMI option within 92 days of the date of grant if the option was granted before 6 April 2024.
If it was granted on or after 6 April 2024, you must tell HMRC about this on or before 6 July following the end of the tax year in which the grant is made.
If you fail to notify HMRC within these deadlines you risk losing any tax benefits for you and your employees.
Before you register
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You need to add the ERS service to HMRC Online Services before you can register an ERS scheme with us.
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To register, you need an employer PAYE reference number — get this from HMRC PAYE Online Service for employers using your Government Gateway user ID and password.
If you need to register as an employer, it can take up to 15 working days to get your PAYE reference number.
Add the ERS service to HMRC Online Services
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Sign in to HMRC Online Services for employers.
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Select ‘Add a tax, duty or scheme now’.
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Select ‘Employers or intermediaries, for example PAYE for employers or CIS’.
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Select ‘Employment Related Securities (ERS)’.
Register an ERS scheme with HMRC
Once the ERS service has been added to HMRC Online Services, you can register ERS schemes with us.
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Sign in to HMRC Online Services for employers.
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Select ‘ERS Online Service’.
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Select ‘Register a scheme or arrangement’.
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Select the scheme type you want to register and click ‘Next’.
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Fill in the self certification declaration.
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Re-enter your sign in details to complete the registration.
HMRC will allocate a scheme reference number within 7 days of registering an ERS scheme. You can find your reference number on HMRC Online Services by selecting ‘View schemes and arrangements’.
Late Registrations
By 6 July following the end of the tax year in which the first award of shares or first grant of options is made you must register your:
- Share Incentive Plan
- Save As You Earn Scheme
- Company Share Option Plan
When you have registered your scheme, you must submit your end of year return by 6 July following the end of the tax year.
For Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), you must tell HMRC about a grant of an EMI option. To do this, you will need to register your EMI scheme first. Once you’ve registered, you will need to submit your EMI notification by the deadline and submit your end of year return by 6 July following the end of the tax year.
For non-tax advantaged share schemes, where there is a reportable event, you must submit an end of year return by 6 July following the end of the tax year.
If you miss the deadline for registering a new share scheme or submitting an EMI notification you must set out your reason for missing the deadline in writing, either by email to shareschemes@hmrc.gov.uk or to this address:
Charities Savings and International 1
HMRC
BX9 1UA
If we accept you have a reasonable excuse for missing the deadline, we will explain the next steps. These will include how to:
- register your scheme late
- submit any late returns
- submit any late EMI notifications
We may also ask you to use a safe data transfer method to enable you to submit any late returns. The HMRC preferred method for data transfer is through the Secure Data Exchange Service (SDES).
Submitting a late return, may result in you being charged late filing penalties. Find out more information about how to appeal any late filing penalties.
After you’ve registered
You must submit your ERS return by 6 July following the end of the tax year or you may have to pay a penalty.
You must:
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Submit an ERS return for each registered ERS scheme every year until you cease the scheme, even if there is no reportable event.
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Keep a copy of your return for your own records.
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Submit a nil return if you have nothing to report — to submit your nil return, you’ll need the Government Gateway user ID and password you used when you told HMRC about the scheme.
How to authorise an agent to submit ERS returns
You will need to authorise your agent if you want them to submit an ERS return on your behalf. To do this, you can either:
- ask the agent to complete the authorisation
- authorise the agent using the HMRC Online Services for employers, in your business tax account
Read more about how to authorise an agent through your business tax account.
Tell HMRC that your ERS scheme has ceased
To tell HMRC about the cessation of your ERS scheme, you’ll need the Government Gateway user ID and password you used when you told HMRC about the scheme (ERS agents cannot cease an ERS scheme).
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Sign in to HMRC Online Services for employers.
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Select ‘View schemes and arrangements’.
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Select the scheme which you need to cease. You’ll be taken to another screen after selecting the scheme.
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Select ‘End of year returns’.
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Select ‘Provide a date of final event’ and enter the date the ERS stopped (the date can be in the past, but an annual return must be submitted for the tax year in which the final event date falls).
Last updated 15 May 2024 + show all updates
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Information has been added to support late registrations and submitting nil returns.
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We have updated the guidance with more information about when to tell HMRC about a grant of an Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) option.
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Before you submit your employment related securities return or notification, you need to save a copy of it for your own records. This is because the online service will not save the details and you will not be able to access them again.
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If you need to register as an employer, it can now take up to 15 working days to get your PAYE reference number.
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A Welsh translation has been added,
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Information about the 2 ways an agent can be authorised has been added to the 'How to authorise an agent to submit an ERS return' section.
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Guidance has been added to explain how to add employment related securities to HMRC Online Services and how to register employment related securities with HMRC. Steps have also been added to show how to authorise an agent to submit employment related security returns on your behalf.
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Guidance on how and when you'll get your scheme reference number has been updated.
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More information about how to tell HMRC about your ERS schemes has been added.
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First published.