This tax information and impact note is about changes to the rules for employee share schemes.

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Changes to Employee Share Schemes

Details

This measure makes changes to the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) and Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), which are tax-advantaged employee share schemes. It also changes certain non-tax-advantaged share options.

increase the individual option limit for CSOP

remove the interaction between the CSOP and EMI option limits

increase the maximum exercise period for CSOP options

increase the period that certain tax-advantaged and non-tax-advantaged shares and share options are excepted from the disguised remuneration rules

extend the Employee Ownership Trusts exception in the EMI rules

increase the EMI exercise window following disqualifying events

The changes will take effect from 6 April 2027.

Updates to this page

12 November 2026 The summary of impacts table for 2031 to 2032 has been changed from £140 to -140.

The summary of impacts table for 2031 to 2032 has been changed from £140 to -140.

28 October 2026 First published.

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