New share plan tax reporting requirements to be complied with from 14 July 2010

On 16 and 18 June 2010 the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released information, including pro-forma reporting forms and fact sheets, on the new employer reporting obligations that apply from 1 July 2009 in relation to employee share schemes.

 

).

 

The deadline for employers to provide employees with an annual share scheme statement is 14 July 2010, while the deadline for the share scheme annual report to be provided to the ATO is 14 August 2010.

 

This article summarises what employers need to provide.

 

Employee Share Scheme (ESS) statement to be provided to employees

 

The ESS statement which employers must provide to employees by 14 July following the end of the tax year must include the following information:

 

The discount on ESS interests acquired under taxed-upfront schemes

The discount on ESS interests acquired under tax-deferred schemes

The discount on shares and rights acquired before 1 July 2009 for which a taxing event occurred during the tax year

The total of Tax File Number amounts withheld from discounts during the financial year.

 

 

ESS annual report to be provided to the ATO

 

 

A plan identifier which identifies each ESS plan that a company operates

The date of the taxing point

The number of ESS interests for a taxing point arose during the tax year

The number of ESS interests acquired from a foreign source (optional)

The discount for ESS interests which have a foreign source (optional)

 

Full details of reporting requirements can be found HERE.