Employee Share Scheme (ESS) reporting is an annual tax reporting requirement for companies that provide shares, rights and options to their employees under an employee share scheme.
Whilst employee equity continues to be a popular way to incentivise employees globally, the volume of reporting required by many employers has significantly increased over time. For those using Australian share plan administrators, many of the challenges with reporting can be streamlined, but reporting for foreign inbound companies or Australian companies with mobile employees continues to be challenging and time consuming.
As ESS reporting involves the reporting of taxing events in relation to employee equity awards, you first need to understand the potential taxing events for your employee equity plans. For example, are the awards taxable at grant, vest, exercise, sale or at some other event? Once you know what events to look for, you need to obtain the relevant data to calculate the taxable amount to be reported on the ESS statement and ESS annual report.
For most Australian listed companies, your Australian share plan administrator should be able to assist you with ESS reporting. However, for most foreign listed companies and private companies that do not have an Australian share plan administrator, you typically have two options:
ESS statements need to be provided to employees by 14 July following the end of the tax year.
The ESS annual report needs to be provided to the ATO by 14 August following the end of the tax year.
We work with hundreds of companies to meet their ESS reporting, payroll tax (on equity) and gender pay gap obligations each year. PwC’s ESS reporting tool allows us to take multiple data sets and inputs and translate these into outputs in a meaningful and importantly cost-effective way.
The outputs meet the regulatory requirements but also help employees understand what they have received in equity which adds to the perceived value of the award they are receiving. Our assistance will also allow you more time to focus on the strategic aspects of your employee equity programs.
Michelle Kassis
Silvia Nuccio
Kimberley Levi