ERSM20540 - Employment-related Securities and Options

When shares are acquired for money’s worth charge

It may not always be easy to determine when the shares are actually acquired. The normal rule is that the shares are acquired on the date the employee becomes entitled to the shares. That may not be the same as the date of the allotment or transfer of shares.

There is a specific statutory rule determining the date of acquisition in ITEPA03/S421B (2) (see ERSM20240). This does not apply to the money’s worth charge, although in practice there is unlikely to be any difference.

Entitlement itself may be conditional and the date of acquisition can then be dependent on the conditions being fulfilled. It is usually possible to determine the date of entitlement by a review of the rules of the scheme under which the shares are acquired.