Tax and Employee Share Schemes
Save As You Earn (SAYE)
This is a savings-related share scheme where you can buy shares with your savings for a fixed price.
You can save up to £500 a month under the scheme. At the end of your savings contract (3 or 5 years) you can use the savings to buy shares.
The tax advantages are:
- the interest and any bonus at the end of the scheme is tax-free
- you do not pay Income Tax or National Insurance on the difference between what you pay for the shares and what they’re worth
You might have to pay Capital Gains Tax if you sell the shares.
You’ll not pay Capital Gains Tax if you transfer the shares:
- to an Individual Savings Account (ISA) within 90 days of the scheme ending
- to a pension, directly from the scheme when it ends
If you do not transfer your shares to a pension immediately when the scheme ends, you can still transfer them up to 90 days later. You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if they go up in value between when you buy them and when you transfer them.