Transfer employer’s National Insurance to employees
Write a legal document to transfer employer’s National Insurance to an employee on certain shares and share options.
Overview
As an employer, you can legally agree with employees to transfer your National Insurance contributions liability to them on certain shares and share options. This is known as a joint National Insurance contributions (NICs) election.
By transferring National Insurance you won’t have unpredictable and uncapped National Insurance payments when there is a chargeable event.
To make the transfer you need to:
- write a legal document
- have the document approved by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- sign it and get it signed by the employee
Here you’ll find guidance on the wording you need to use in your document and details of how to submit it to HMRC for approval.
Write your legal document
This suggested wording will help you write your document. HMRC will approve it faster if your document is exactly the same as the suggested wording. Any changes you make will mean it takes longer as HMRC will need to examine it more closely.
You can choose between one of 2 formats for your document:
- A single joint NICs election: suggested wording – for an election with an individual employee.
- A 2-part joint NICs election: suggested wording – for when you are transferring NICs for large numbers of employees.
Submit your document to HMRC
Once you’ve completed your document, you need to send it for approval along with:
- a copy of the scheme rules
- any other document that impacts how the joint NICs election works
Details of where to send your joint NICs election to
If your document is an exact copy of the wording HMRC has provided, it usually takes up to 2 weeks to get approval. For documents with edits and additions this may take longer, but HMRC tries to send out all approval letters within 28 days of receiving a document.