The annual individual savings account (Isa) allowance will be increased to £15,000 from 1 July 2014, according to Chancellor George Osborne in today’s Budget speech.
This will allow staff transferring exercised shares into an Isa from a maturing employee share plan (such as sharesave) to protect more of their gains over the tax-free limit, of £10,900 from April 2014, from capital gains tax (CGT).
The current limit is £11,520 for a stocks and shares Isa and £5,760 for a cash Isa.
From 1 July the two types of Isa will be merged in to a single new Isa taking both cash and shares.
Staff transferring shares from an employee share plan need to do so within 90 days in order to maintain the tax protection from CGT.
