Your employer will do three key things.
- Tell you if you are eligible
Your employer will tell you if you are eligible to participate in an employee share scheme.
- Tell you the type of scheme
They will also tell you whether the employee share scheme or schemes offered meet the criteria for the start-up concession, taxed-upfront - eligible for reduction or tax-deferred schemes. This will help you work out whether you will need to pay tax on any discounts received in the year in which you acquire the ESS interests or at a later time. They will not tell you if your own circumstances allow you to access the concessions. You will need to review your taxable income after adjustments and also determine whether you meet the ownership and voting rights test.
- Give you an ESS statement
Your employer will give you an ESS statement detailing the discount amounts you need to include in your assessable income for each income year.
Your ESS statement will show the:
- discount for ESS interests acquired under each type of taxed-upfront scheme
- discount for ESS interests acquired under a tax-deferred scheme for which a taxing point arose during the financial year
- discount for shares and rights acquired before 1 July 2009 for which a cessation time occurred during the financial year
- total TFN amounts withheld from discounts during the financial year
- details of shares and options acquired under the start-up concession (this will help you complete any capital gains tax calculations when you sell the ESS interests or the shares you acquired from exercising your ESS interests).
Your employer must give you an ESS statement by 14 July after the end of the relevant financial year. This ESS statement will help you complete your tax return.
Find out:
Your employer will give you information about the ESS and an ESS statement.