Employee tax-advantaged share plans 

The measure

The government announced various measures related to tax-advantaged employee share schemes as detailed below: 

It was announced that the company eligibility criteria for Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) will be increased. The employee limit will increase from 250 to 500 full time equivalent employees, the gross assets test will increase from £30m to £120m, and the maximum value of shares that a company can grant under EMI options will increase from £3m to £6m at the date of grant. 

Importantly, for many organisations, the maximum holding period for an EMI option will increase from 10 years to 15 years, and this can be applied to existing as well as new EMI contracts. 

It was also confirmed as previously announced that existing EMI and Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) options would be capable of being amended to include PISCES as an exercise event. 

Who will be affected?

The changes should allow more medium-sized companies to offer EMI options to their employees. 

When will the measure come into effect?

The changes all apply from 6 April 2026.