HMRC plans to end separate notices when EMI options are granted

Key facts

Each row is checked against the stored copy of the official document; open a row to see the exact words and where they appear.

The story

HMRC has published a short note on a planned change to Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI). The note says the measure simplifies the administration of EMI.

The note says companies will no longer need to tell HMRC separately when they grant their employees EMI options. In its words, the measure is about the removal of the requirement to submit a notification of a grant of EMI options.

The information will not disappear, though. Instead, a company will be required to report details of the grant of options through the existing EMI end of year return. That means the details are given in a return that already exists, rather than in a separate notification each time options are granted.

The change applies to options granted on or after 6 April 2027. The note does not say what happens to options granted before that date.

The note gave 13 July 2026 as the date the draft legislation was being published, and it said the draft was open for technical consultation until 7 September 2026. That date has now passed, so the consultation has closed.

This was a draft proposal. The note does not say whether the draft has changed since the consultation closed or whether it has become final law, so the official source is the place to check the current position.

What changed

Companies would no longer need to tell HMRC separately when they grant EMI options; grant details would be reported through the existing EMI end of year return instead.

What it means

Written by AI and checked by a second AI. Published under the responsibility of VERADIQ's human director. Lens: reporter

This looks like it would reduce paperwork: a company that grants EMI options would have one fewer separate filing, because the grant details move into a return that already exists.

The note does not discuss timing. HMRC would learn of a grant through the return rather than through a separate notification; the note says nothing more on this.

Because the note describes draft legislation, the final rules could differ from it. The consultation closed on 7 September 2026, but the note does not say what came next.

Who is affected

• Companies that grant EMI options to their employees

Key dates

• 2026-07-13 — Draft legislation published
• 2026-09-07 — Technical consultation closed (the note says it was open until this date)
• 2027-04-06 — Measure applies to options granted on or after this date

What the document does not say

• It does not say how the existing EMI end of year return will change to carry the grant details.
• It does not say what happens to options granted before 6 April 2027.
• It does not say whether any deadline or penalty rules will change.
• It does not give any estimate of the time or cost saved.
• It does not say what happened after the consultation closed.

Plain-English glossary

Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI)

The name the note uses for the options companies grant to employees. The note does not define it.

End of year return

The existing EMI return through which, under the change, a company would report details of option grants.

Technical consultation

General explanation, not from the official text: a period when comments are invited on draft law. The note says this one ran until 7 September 2026, and it closed on that date.

How this was checked

Status

confirmed

Checked by

claude, second family

Method

quote check, digit guard, adversarial review, independent second-family review, compliance review

Limits

Based only on the short stored GOV.UK note, retrieved on 28 October 2026. It describes a draft measure and gives no figures, costs or detailed rules. The consultation it mentions closed on 7 September 2026; the note does not say what happened afterwards.

Approved for publication

28 Oct 2026, 14:55 GMT

Not tax, legal or investment advice.

Corrections

No corrections have been made to this story.