transferring shares from SAYE to ISA

tony_w_2

I've invested in an approved company SAYE share scheme which is coming up to maturity soon. Over 3 years I've invested £9000 (£250 a month - max. I think). The share have an option price of 30p (current price 90p) so I can obtain a share certificate for 30,000 shares. I've been reading about Share ISA's and understand that you can invest £11,520 in the current tax year and understand that any gains from the sale of the shares held in the ISA is free from capital gains tax. I also see that you cannot transfer shares you already hold into a share ISA however there seems to be a 'bed & ISA' process where existing shares can be simultaneously sold and repurchased into the ISA (share purchase tax & dealing commissions mean you will end up with a few less shares). So my question is if I gain my share certificate and sign a CREST transfer form & use the 'bed & ISA process' will I be subject to capital gains tax on the £18,000 gain from on my SAYE shares (30,000 shares x (90p-30p))?

redped

You can tranfer shares from a SAYE scheme directly into an ISA (up to the ISA limit) - have a look at:

http://www.tddirectinvesting.co.uk/help/faqquestions/how-can-i-transfer-shares-into-my-isa/

This page doesn't seem to work properly in Chrome, but is okay using IE. I've got it bookmarked for when my SAYE scheme matures in 18 months time!

tony_w_2

thanks redped - that's helped clarify things.

chris_m

Your company's scheme administrators may include an ISA as one of the maturity options - where they open one for you and deposit the shares into it directly.

For the remainer which won't "fit" into the ISA, remember that you are allowed to make a gain of £10600 (IIRC, but do check) in this financial year before being liable for CGT.

Another possibility, if you're not desperate to get your hands on the money immediately - some schemes, maybe all(?) have a six-month time between maturity and the option expiring and, also, will put the shares into a holding account (rather than posting you a certificate) until you instruct sale or transfer.

If that is the case, you could defer taking the option until mid-January then take the option and immediately ask for one ISA's-worth to be transferred to your ISA. Then, after April 6th but still within 90 days of exercising the option, ask for another lot to be transferred to the ISA. Whether this can be done with an ISA set up as part of the maturity instructions I don't know, that will depend on the administrators and ISA provider's mechanisms. It can certainly be done with a separate ISA which you've arranged independently.

Obviously, the above assumes that you have not made any ISA contributions, to either an S&S ISA or a Cash ISA this year and won't next year too - if you have, you'll need to work out the amounts that you can transfer without breaking the ISA limit.