Have I really screwed up my SAYE?

[CoffeeGuy]

Hey everyone,

I was talking to a colleague of mine yesterday and we got onto SAYE’s. I transferred my shares from the US employer companies provider (equate plus) to an A J Bell dealing account.

He was saying that they have to be done “interstate” or such to avoid CGT?

In my case the shares landed in my dealing account and the I bed and Isa’d them with a view to selling in next few days.

Apparently this means I haven’t done it in a way that avoids CGT?

I have asked the accountant but prolly won’t get a reply for days and I figured the gurus here could tell me.

[Jon39]

Many years ago, a maturing SAYE could be moved directly to an S&S ISA. No tax liability.
Transfer to spouse was also sometimes useful, although the UK CGT free allowance is now almost useless and provides no investment incentive.
Whether the same rules are still in place, I don't know.
Wonder whether an SAYE with a USA business might introduces any complications?

I would have thought your employer should have provided the facts, before each SAYE maturity, to help employees.

[Panamax]

CoffeeGuy said:

the shares landed in my dealing account and the I bed and Isa’d them with a view to selling in next few days.

If you are selling the shares what's the point of,
Selling them
Buying them back in an ISA, and then
Selling them again?

Under a UK SAYE scheme I believe option shares only get CGT exemption if they are "transferred" into an ISA or SIPP within 90 days of maturity. If they are "sold" then CGT will be payable insofar as gains exceed the annual tax free allowance.

If what you actually did is,
have a maturing SAYE share option
transfer the shares into an ISA, and
now propose to sell the shares
I can't see there's anything adrift.

[DaveH23]

Our company have introduced this company to give us free advice on this topic.

Their website gives quite abit of information on your question.

https://www.wealthatwork.co.uk/mywealth/2024/05/07...

[Roger Irrelevant]

When you say you 'bed & ISA'd' the shares do you mean you sold the shares while they were sat in the general account and then used the proceeds to buy the same shares within the ISA? If so then I think you have cocked it up - CGT will be chargeable on that sale. If you simply transferred the shares from the general account to the ISA though then you're fine.

I had a bit of a problem with a recent(ish) SAYE scheme - I executed an electronic transfer of the shares to my ISA provider along with evidence that they had arisen from a recent SAYE exercise. Despite this the provider just plonked them into the general account. It was by pure chance that I realised this before the 90-day post-exercise window for transfer to an ISA had expired, so I got back in touch with the provider to explain the situation, resubmitted the evidence that they had come from a SAYE, and the provider soon shifted them to the ISA. If the last bit is essentially what you did then you're ok.