Guidance

RegisterTell HMRC about your employmentEmployment relatedRelated securitiesSecurities schemeschemes

When and how to tell HMRC about new employmentEmployment relatedRelated securitiesSecurities (ERS) schemes.schemes, or schemes that have ceased.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
1 January 2014
Last updated
1015 OctoberMay 2024 — See all updates

Important deadlines

IfYou youmust failregister toall notifynew HMRCERS ofschemes youron employmentHMRC relatedOnline securitiesServices, (ERS)including schemeone-off byawards theor followinggifts deadlinesof youshares.

Gifts riskand losingawards anyof taxshares benefitsin forcompanies, youoften andknown youras employees. 

Tax-advantagedEmployment schemes

YouRelated shouldSecurities register(ERS), neware tax-advantagedcommonly schemesused by 6employers Julyto followingreward, theretain taxor yearprovide theyincentives wereto setemployees. up.They can be tax-advantaged or non tax-advantaged.

IfAgents you
missYou thiswill deadline,only you’llbe needable to followto theview lateand registrationfile process. 

Findreturns outon moreERS about tax-advantaged schemes.

For Enterprisethat Managementhave Incentivesalready (EMI)

Forbeen Enterpriseregistered Management— Incentivesyou (EMI)will optionsnot grantedbe beforeable 6to Aprilregister 2024or youcease mustan tellERS usscheme.

Find withinout 92how daysto ofregister theas datea ofprofessional granttax agent.

If

When theto optionstell areHMRC

New grantedtax-advantaged afterschemes 6should Aprilbe 2024,registered you must tell us by 6 July following the endtax ofyear thethey taxwere yearestablished. inIf whichyou miss this deadline, you’ll need to follow the grantlate isregistration made.process.

Non tax-advantaged schemes

You only need to register schemes without a tax advantage when there’s a reportable event, for example example:

  • acquiring or disposing of securities, or securities
  • assigning or releasing securities options.

    options

You should register your nonnon-tax tax-advantagedadvantaged scheme by 6 July following the tax year when the first reportable event happened. happened.

For Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes

FindYou outmust moretell HMRC about nona tax-advantagedgrant schemesof an EMI option.

Before youwithin register 

92 days of the date of grant if the option was granted before 6 April 2024.

BeforeIf youit canwas registergranted youron ERSor scheme,after 6 April 2024, you must firsttell registerHMRC asabout anthis employer.on or before 6 July following the end of the tax year in which the grant is made.

If you needfail to registernotify asHMRC anwithin employer,these itdeadlines canyou takerisk uplosing toany 30tax workingbenefits daysfor toyou getand your PAYEemployees.

Before referenceyou number.

register

  1. OnceYou need to add the ERS service to HMRC Online Services before you havecan register an employerERS PAYEscheme referencewith number,us.

  2. To register, you mustneed enrolan foremployer andPAYE activatereference thenumber — get this from HMRC PAYE onlineOnline serviceService for employers.

    Add the PAYE serviceusing toyour HMRCGovernment OnlineGateway Services 

    user ID and password.

You’llIf you need yourto PAYEregister referenceas andan Accountsemployer, Officeit reference.can Thesetake areup includedto in15 theworking letterdays fromto HMRCget confirming your registration.PAYE reference number.

Add the ERS service to HMRC Online Services

  1. Sign in to to HMRC Online Services for employers or create an account..

  2. Select ‘Add a tax, duty or scheme now’. now’.

  3. Select ‘Employers or intermediaries, for example PAYE for employers or CIS’. CIS’.

  4. Select ‘PAYE‘Employment forRelated employers’. 

  5. CompleteSecurities the information required on screen.(ERS)’.

Once you’ve enrolled, we’ll send you an activation code in the post. You must use this to activate your account within 28 days of enrolling.

Register youran ERS scheme with HMRC

Once you’vethe ERS service has been added the PAYEto onlineHMRC service,Online Services, you can register your ERS schemeschemes with us.

  1. Sign in to to HMRC Online Services for employers. .

  2. GoSelect to‘ERS theOnline section ‘Employment related securities (ERS)’.Service’.

  3. Select ‘Register ora viewscheme youror schemes and arrangements’.arrangement’.

  4. Select the ERS scheme type you want to register and selectclick ‘Next’. ‘Next’.

  5. Fill in the self certification declaration. declaration.

  6. SignRe-enter your sign in againdetails to complete yourthe registration.

HMRC will issueallocate ana ERSscheme Scheme reference number online within 7 days of registering youran ERS scheme. You willcan befind ableyour toreference findnumber this on your HMRC Online Services by viewing the ‘Employment Related Securities’ section and selecting ‘View schemes and arrangements’.

AfterLate you’ve registered Registrations

YouBy 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 either:register your:

  • submitShare yourIncentive ERS returnPlan
  • 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 nilgrant 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 if6 July following the end of the tax year.

For non-tax advantaged share schemes, where there is a reportable event, you havemust nothingsubmit 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 reportthis 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

YouWe mustmay 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 returnlate orreturn, nilmay 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.

How

You tomust:

  1. Submit authorise an agentERS toreturn submit for each registered ERS returns

scheme every year until you cease the scheme, even if there is no reportable event.

  • IfKeep a copy of your return for your own records.

  • Submit a nil return if you have askednothing anto agentreport — to managesubmit 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 scheme,returns

    You you’llwill need to authorise themyour agent if you want them to submit an an ERS return return on your behalf. To do this, you can either:

    AgentsRead willmore onlyabout behow able to viewauthorise andan fileagent returnsthrough onyour employmentbusiness relatedtax securitiesaccount.

    Tell (HMRC that your ERS) schemesscheme thathas areceased

    To alreadytell registered.HMRC Theyabout willthe notcessation beof ableyour ERS scheme, toyou’ll registerneed orthe endGovernment aGateway scheme.

    Readuser moreID and password you used when you told HMRC about howthe to authorisescheme (ERS agents cannot cease an agentERS throughscheme).

    1. Sign yourin businessto taxHMRC accountOnline Services for employers.

    Updates

  • Select to‘View thisschemes page

    • and arrangements’.

    Published

  • Select 1the Januaryscheme 2014
    Lastwhich updatedyou 10need Octoberto 2024 + showcease. allYou’ll updates

    1. Weto haveanother removedscreen sectionsafter coveringselecting latethe registrationsscheme.

    2. Select ‘End of year returns’.

    3. Select ‘Provide a date of final event’ and endingenter anthe date the ERS schemestopped and(the linkdate tocan newbe guidancein forthe both.past, Webut havean alsoannual updatedreturn guidancemust onbe wheresubmitted tofor findthe yourtax ERSyear referencein number.which the final event date falls).

    • Published 1 January 2014
    Last updated 15 May 2024 + show all updates

    1. Information has been added to support late registrations and submitting nil returns.

    2. We have updated the guidance with more information about when to tell HMRC about a grant of an Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) option.

    3. 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.

    4. If you need to register as an employer, it can now take up to 15 working days to get your PAYE reference number.

    5. A Welsh translation has been added,

    6. 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.

    7. 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.

    8. Guidance on how and when you'll get your scheme reference number has been updated.

    9. More information about how to tell HMRC about your ERS schemes has been added.

    10. First published.

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