If you are thinking about disposing of the shares in your own company then make sure you plan ahead to ensure you meet all of the criteria for Entrepreneurs Relief.
Entrepreneurs Relief reduces the Capital Gains Tax on certain gains from 28% or 18% to 10% but all of the relevant conditions must be met for the gain to qualify.
In this scenario, for the 12 months up to the disposal of the shares:
1. The company must be a trading company
2. You must hold 5% or more of the shares in the company
3. You must be an employee or officer of the company
The first of these conditions – a trading company – means a company whose activities do not include to a substantial extent activities other than trading activities.
If you have amassed a large cash balance in the company bank accounts this could be considered to be an investment activity rather than a trading activity and could therefore leave you open to a challenge by HMRC over whether Entrepreneurs Relief is due on the gain.
Careful planning is required in advance.
Showing posts with label shares. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shares. Show all posts
Monday, 4 August 2014
Friday, 31 January 2014
IHT Relief on Business Assets
Inheritance tax (IHT) is payable at 40% on the net value of the assets you own when you die, plus (to a certain extent) on the value of the gifts you made in the seven years before you die. The first £325,000 of assets is currently exempt from IHT in all cases.
There are also exemptions from IHT for business assets, such as shares held in unquoted companies. However, you cannot escape IHT by holding all your investments and spare cash inside your personal company. The business of the company must be more than passive holding of investments, and the Taxman normally regards letting property as an investment, but this is a grey area.
Even where your company has an active trade, it doesn't follow that the full value of its shares will qualify for the IHT exemption. The Taxman wants to look inside the company and check that each asset it holds, including cash, is used for the purpose of the trading business.
This can cause difficulties for companies which hold more cash than is needed for everyday working capital. If your company is in this position, to get the IHT exemption you need to form some plans for use of the funds within the business and document those plans.
The IHT exemption applies where the shares of the trading company are held by individuals, or where a holding company holds the shares, and shares in that holding company are held by individuals. However, where the holding vehicle is a general partnership or an LLP, instead of a company, the IHT exemption does not apply.
There are also exemptions from IHT for business assets, such as shares held in unquoted companies. However, you cannot escape IHT by holding all your investments and spare cash inside your personal company. The business of the company must be more than passive holding of investments, and the Taxman normally regards letting property as an investment, but this is a grey area.
Even where your company has an active trade, it doesn't follow that the full value of its shares will qualify for the IHT exemption. The Taxman wants to look inside the company and check that each asset it holds, including cash, is used for the purpose of the trading business.
This can cause difficulties for companies which hold more cash than is needed for everyday working capital. If your company is in this position, to get the IHT exemption you need to form some plans for use of the funds within the business and document those plans.
The IHT exemption applies where the shares of the trading company are held by individuals, or where a holding company holds the shares, and shares in that holding company are held by individuals. However, where the holding vehicle is a general partnership or an LLP, instead of a company, the IHT exemption does not apply.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
New Employee Shareholder Status
The Government thinks that employees who own shares in their employing company feel more involved in that business and hence are happy and loyal employees. So it has introduced a new share scheme from 1st September 2013 which allows you, as an employer, to give your employees tax-free shares in your company, but in return the employees must give up some key employment rights.
How does this work?
The employee must sign a fresh employment contract called an 'employee shareholder' contract, then they must be issued with shares worth at least £2,000 (and up to £50,000) in their employing company. When the individual sells those shares any gain arising on that disposal is completely exempt from capital gains tax. However, any gain up to £10,900 (for 2013/14) would be tax free anyway.
Normally where shares are awarded to an employee their value is treated as taxable income for that employee, unless the shares are issued under an approved share scheme. In this case the first £2,000 worth of shares awarded will be free of income tax and NIC, but not any further shares.
The downside is the employee must surrender all of following rights to take up employee shareholder status and receive the free shares:
- compensation for unfair dismissal, apart from when this is automatically unfair or relates to anti-discrimination law;
- request for time off for studying or training;
- request for flexible working; and
- statutory redundancy pay.
Also the employee must give 16 weeks' notice (instead of 8 weeks) when returning from maternity or adoption leave.
This sounds like an attractive deal for an entrepreneur who doesn't care about his own employment rights. However, any person who holds 25% or more of the company (alone or with associates) can't take up employee shareholder status and enjoy the tax-free shares. So this share scheme can only be used to give shares to employees who don't already have a significant share in the company.
Before implementing this scheme you should take employment law advice, and specialist advice on how to value your company's shares. The employees should also take independent advice before signing away their employment rights, but you, as their employer, can pay for that advice with no tax consequences.
How does this work?
The employee must sign a fresh employment contract called an 'employee shareholder' contract, then they must be issued with shares worth at least £2,000 (and up to £50,000) in their employing company. When the individual sells those shares any gain arising on that disposal is completely exempt from capital gains tax. However, any gain up to £10,900 (for 2013/14) would be tax free anyway.
Normally where shares are awarded to an employee their value is treated as taxable income for that employee, unless the shares are issued under an approved share scheme. In this case the first £2,000 worth of shares awarded will be free of income tax and NIC, but not any further shares.
The downside is the employee must surrender all of following rights to take up employee shareholder status and receive the free shares:
- compensation for unfair dismissal, apart from when this is automatically unfair or relates to anti-discrimination law;
- request for time off for studying or training;
- request for flexible working; and
- statutory redundancy pay.
Also the employee must give 16 weeks' notice (instead of 8 weeks) when returning from maternity or adoption leave.
This sounds like an attractive deal for an entrepreneur who doesn't care about his own employment rights. However, any person who holds 25% or more of the company (alone or with associates) can't take up employee shareholder status and enjoy the tax-free shares. So this share scheme can only be used to give shares to employees who don't already have a significant share in the company.
Before implementing this scheme you should take employment law advice, and specialist advice on how to value your company's shares. The employees should also take independent advice before signing away their employment rights, but you, as their employer, can pay for that advice with no tax consequences.
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