EMI share options
An EMI option scheme for your team, set up by a lawyer. From £899.
EMI options let you give employees a share in the company with the tax treatment the law allows, but only if the conditions are met and HMRC is told on time. We check that you qualify, have the share value agreed with HMRC, prepare the plan and each option agreement, and notify the grants. You see the price before any work starts.
How it works
01
Tell us about the company and the team
Send the details on the platform. We check that the company and each person meet the EMI conditions, and quote for the scheme within two working days.
02
The share value is agreed with HMRC
For £349 fixed, our accountant partner values the shares and we submit the valuation to HMRC on form VAL231, within five working days of having your figures.
03
We set up the scheme
From £899: plan rules, an option agreement for each person, and the board minutes that approve the plan and the grants.
04
Grants made and notified to HMRC
Options are granted while HMRC's agreed value is still valid. We notify the grants to HMRC and set up the annual return.
Do you qualify?
The EMI rules, and what we do about each.
The main tests for options granted from 6 April 2026. There are more, and the higher limits do not apply to certain Northern Ireland companies. Our guide to EMI options for a UK startup explains how the scheme works.
| The rule | What we do | |
|---|---|---|
| Size of the company | Gross assets of £120 million or less and fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees | We check the latest accounts and headcount before anything is drafted |
| What the company does | An independent company carrying on a qualifying trade, with a permanent establishment in the UK. Some activities are excluded, for example banking, farming, property development, legal services and shipbuilding | We check the trade and the group structure against the rules |
| Who can hold options | Employees who work for the company at least 25 hours a week or, if less, 75% of their working time, and who do not hold more than 30% of the company | We check each person before their option agreement is prepared |
| How much one person can hold | Unexercised options over shares worth up to £250,000, valued at the date of grant, counted over a three-year period | The valuation fixes the figure used for this limit |
| How much the company can grant | Unexercised EMI options over shares worth up to £6 million in total | We keep the running total with your grants |
| When options must be exercised | Within 15 years of grant | The plan rules set your own period inside that limit |
| Telling HMRC | Each grant is notified to HMRC by 6 July following the end of the tax year in which it was made. An annual return is due by 6 July each year | We make the notification and set up the annual return |
What we need from you
- Your articles of association and current cap table
- Your latest accounts, management accounts and forecasts
- Details of any funding round in the last year, or one you are planning
- Who is getting options: name, role, weekly hours and how many shares
- The terms you have in mind: exercise price, vesting period, cliff, and what happens when someone leaves
Not sure about vesting or leaver terms yet? Send what you have; we tell you what is usual and what each choice means.
Scheme set up, quoted first
From £899
- Plan rules and an option agreement for each person
- Board minutes and the grant process
- HMRC notification and the annual return set up
- Quote within two working days, before any work starts
Valuation agreed with HMRC, fixed fee
£349
- Actual and unrestricted market value, valued by our accountant partner
- Supporting report and figures
- Submitted to HMRC's Shares and Assets Valuation team on form VAL231
- HMRC's agreed value, valid for 90 days, passed to you for the grants
On the Growth plan, the share options tool keeps every grant, its vesting and each holder's own view in one place.
Get a quote for your schemeQuestions
What is an EMI option?+
A right, given to an employee, to buy shares in the company later at a price fixed today. EMI stands for Enterprise Management Incentives, a tax-advantaged scheme set out in UK tax law. If the conditions are met and the exercise price is at least the market value of the shares when the option was granted, there is no income tax or National Insurance when the employee buys the shares. Capital gains tax may be due when the shares are sold.
Do we have to agree a valuation with HMRC?+
It is not compulsory, but most companies do it. HMRC's agreement fixes the market value used for the exercise price and for the limits, so the tax treatment is not open to argument later. The request is made on form VAL231.
How long does an agreed valuation last?+
90 days from the date of HMRC's agreement, as long as nothing happens in that time that changes the value of the shares. If the options are not granted within the 90 days, a new application is needed.
Who cannot have EMI options?+
People who are not employees of the company, such as consultants and advisers, and employees who work fewer than 25 hours a week and less than 75% of their working time for the company. Anyone who holds more than 30% of the company is also excluded. For those people a different kind of option is used, without the EMI tax treatment.
What happens if a grant is notified late?+
An option that is not notified to HMRC by the deadline is not an EMI option and loses the tax treatment. The deadline is 6 July following the end of the tax year of grant. The government has said it will remove the notification for options granted on or after 6 April 2027; until then it applies.
What does it cost?+
The valuation agreed with HMRC is £349 fixed. The scheme itself starts from £899; the quote depends on the number of people and how standard the terms are, and you see it before any work starts. Changes to your articles, if they are needed first, are quoted separately.
Giving your team equity?
Options are one part of your equity. On the platform you also keep the cap table, record each grant and its vesting, and give every option holder a link to see what they hold, with a lawyer when you need one. Read the guide to EMI options first if you are new to them.
General information about UK share option rules, not tax advice, and no guarantee that HMRC will agree a valuation or that options will qualify for EMI treatment. The limits change; we check them on the date you grant.