24/05/2023tax , Tax Issues , Tax News and Tips , Tax Saving Tips , Taxation
The main purpose of the SAYE (save as you earn plan) is to enable the employees to get the savings on and buy shares from the company they are working for. The plan of SAYE is totally allowed and well-approved by the side of HMRC. The tax advantages that you can get from the SAYE plan are equally available for the employers as well as the employees. In case you are a beginner to the save-as-you-earn plan but aim to implement this in your business set-up, there are several services that will professionally help you in this regard.
Furthermore, for this purpose you might wonder about the basic facts related to the saving as you earn plan which is right include a little introduction to this plan, how it works for employees and employers, what is the criteria to be eligible, and what might happen if the employee plans to leave. Let us kick off the discussion by knowing further about the save-as-you-earn plan in the UK.
Talk to one of our intelligent and clever professionals to get your further queries about saving as you earn (SAYE). We will ensure to come up with the best possible solution.
What is the SAYE Plan and How it Works in the UK?
The plan SAYE (save as you earn) provides the option to employees to buy the shares as they are working for the company. Discounted prices are often offered to employees of the company to promote the purchasing of the shares. There will even be an option of saving on a monthly basis from the post-tax amount of money. This kind of saving contract is often made for a duration of three years to five years limit. The plan names SAYE is equally offered to all the employees and the benefits remain the same for everyone in the workforce.
Moreover, for one employee the amounts of £5 and £500 can be saved on a monthly basis, it is the choice of the employee to decide how they want to save the amount. After the agreement the amount is not changeable usually and the contract will go on with the agreed terms and conditions.
How the Employee Buys the Shares?
Once the contract with any of the company employees is done, the employee is in a good position to claim the amount of all the savings to be repaid or the employee can purchase the number of shares that are agreed upon according to the contract. The prices of the shares are also known as the exercise price that is being used on a regular basis normally. The employees are in the capacity to set the price of the shares. The prices being sold to the employee’s shares is always lower than the market value. Normally a percentage of 20 is lower than the regular value of the shares in this regard.
What are the HMRC Criteria for the SAYE Plan?
Just like any other scheme and plan, there is a certain criterion to be eligible and qualify for the purchase of company shares. Some of the conditions are to be met by the employer and others are to be met by the employees. In the case of the employer, the following are required for the selling of company shares:
- The company is not under the control of any other company or organisation.
- The company is allowed to be controlled by a parent company.
- The company must be a part of the stock exchange.
Moreover, the shares in such a case must be fully paid up and ordinary. There must not be any redeemable thing in a matter of these shares. Also when it comes to the employees being eligible for this opportunity, the following must be considered as well:
- The qualifying period of the employment must be followed and it must not cross the limit of five years.
- The directors of the company are good to invite for the scheme.
- Employees belonging to foreign countries are also considered to be eligible for this plan.
What Happens to the SAYE Plan If an Employee Leaves?
The SAYE plan excise will be permitted to the employees who are terminated, however, it will depend a lot on the reason for termination. After the termination or leaving of the employees, there will be six-month duration permission for the employees in one of the flowing cases:
- The company the employer is sold out.
- Retirement
- Statutory redundancy
- Death or the injury of the employee
In case of the employee resigns before a certain limit of the contract, no such benefits will be entertained in such a scenario.
How is Taxation Relevant to SAYE Plans?
The SAYE plan is approved by HMRC and it also enables the offer to save the tax payment. This option is applicable when the employer and employee are getting into the contract on agreed terms and conditions. Moreover, the company must have held the employee for a period of at least three years.
SAYE Plan and HMRC Reporting
The SAYE plan must get into the knowledge of HMRC if you are the one who is getting the benefits from the company. This will be done when the employee is getting the process of annual tax returns done every tax year. This will be done in the tax year which is followed by the year the SAYE plan was opted for by the employee.
The Bottom Line
Now that you have gathered a fair amount of information about what is SAYE and how it works in the UK, we can bring the discussion towards wrapping up. So the save-as-you-earn plan is quite beneficial for the case of employees and employers, This is because of the fact that the shares are being sold out at a discounted price which is lower than the market value. It is at least 20 per cent lower than the rate going on in the market for these shares. This turns out to be a win-win situation if the employee or the employer is eligible to get the benefits. We hope these few minutes of reading will help you to develop a better understanding of the criteria of the SAYE plan and how can you get benefits from this plan in the UK.
If you seek professional help to learn more about saving as you earn (SAYE), why wander somewhere else when you have our young and clever team of professionals at CruseBurke?
Disclaimer: All the information provided in this article on what is save as you earn (SAYE) includes all the texts and graphics. It does not intend to disregard any of the professional advice.