IMPORTANT: Due to HMRC changes, any EMI options granted from the 6th April 2024 onwards, will not require an initial notification to be completed within 92 days of grant. Instead, they will be included as part of the annual notification.
PLEASE NOTE: You only need to register one EMI scheme with ERS, then all subsequent grants can be notified as part of that scheme. If this is your first EMI submission, please follow this guide to register your EMI scheme.
Once you have registered your EMI scheme, you need to submit an initial notification to HMRC within 92 days of the option grant/agreement date.
If you have an HMRC account with PAYE set up, log in here: https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services
Important: If you don’t have an account with HMRC Online Services for PAYE, please note that it can take up to 3 weeks to set up. There’s also a delay of 24 hours or more between registering a scheme (Step 1) and being able to complete the initial notification (Step 2). So be sure to leave enough time to carry out the notification before the 92 day deadline.
Start by navigating to the HMRC Employment Related Securities system, select In Year Notification and enter the date the options were granted - you will then end up on the page below.
Click on Create an EMI Notification at the bottom of the page. The link will appear different as it includes the name you gave the scheme when registering it.
Select the tax year the options were first granted and click Next.
If these are new EMI option agreements, please select No for the first question. Typically, the options will be issued for shares in the company employing the individual, so the second answer is normally Yes.
Once you have answered those 2 questions you will end up on the summary page below, this has 3 sections that need to be filled out:
- Company details: Your company name, address, Corporation Tax Reference and Company Registration Number.
- Share details: Whether this is a new share class, if this share class is just being used for options, and any other share classes within the company. You'll also need to enter the UMV and HMRC valuation for these options.
- Employee details: The details of the recipients of the options. The easiest way to complete this section is by uploading the spreadsheet from Vestd.
Download the spreadsheet from Vestd by going to Share schemes > Initial notifications. Select the notification you're submitting to HMRC, then you'll be prompted to download the spreadsheet. Please double-check the details in there and fill in any missing information before uploading it to HMRC.
Once you've confirmed the details in the spreadsheet, select Upload attachment in the bottom right to upload it to HMRC. Review the details and make any corrections if needed.
It’s worth re-uploading the completed spreadsheet to Vestd for safekeeping, as HMRC won’t provide a record of your submission. You can do this on the page you initially downloaded the spreadsheet from.
When all 3 sections have been filled in you will see 3 ticks. Then click Next.
You'll then be taken to a summary page for one last check. This is your last chance to make any corrections before submitting the notification.
You will then need to confirm the submission is correct. Clicking Next will complete the initial notification. You may get logged out at this point. Don't worry, the submission should have been saved. Simply log back in to confirm everything has been submitted correctly.
When you log back in you'll see your acknowledgement reference number. We recommend uploading this (and the completed spreadsheet you uploaded to HMRC) to Vestd for safekeeping, as HMRC won't send you a receipt or be able to tell you anything about your submission.
To add the completed information to Vestd, return to your Initial notifications page, select the grant dates you've just submitted, upload the completed spreadsheet and enter the acknowledgement reference to the platform.
Our team, content and app can help you make informed decisions. However, any guidance and support should not be considered as 'legal or financial advice.'