Employee share plans: SAYE and SIP

Q: Can I split my transfer across two tax years?

If the shares are within 90 days of exercise of the SAYE option or release from the SIP, you can request a second transfer to use your ISA allowance in a new tax year. Please note that your current provider must also facilitate partial transfers.

Q: What are employee share plans?

There are two common types of employee share save schemes: Save As You Earn (SAYE) where you can buy shares at a fixed price. At the end of a SAYE scheme, you can opt to hold the shares in a nominee account electronically with the scheme administrator. Share Incentive Plan (SIP) where you can purchase or access shares for the company you work for in a variety of ways.

Your employee scheme broker or registrar must initiate your transfer request when you transfer employee share plans.

You will need to contact them to request your transfer.

Transferring into an ISA

To transfer employer share plans directly into an ISA, the transfer must be made within 90 days of the exercise of the SAYE option or release from the SIP.

We will need a letter from your provider confirming your personal details and information about your holding. For example, when it was released from the scheme and the number of shares which were released.

Please note

The value of the shares you transfer will count towards your ISA allowance for the current tax year. It is important to check how much allowance you have left before you transfer.
If the value of your shares exceeds your ISA allowance, the excess shares must be transferred into a Trading Account.
If you did not add to your ISA during the previous tax year, you may need to reactivate your ISA before transferring.

Can I split my transfer across two tax years?

What are employee share plans?