If you are a founder that is onto something big, and your start up is likely to scale you may need to consider how to incentivise and retain your talent. Plan ahead with us, by considering an Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) plan to reward your staff with a stake in the future growth of the business, on your terms. EMI options schemes offer generous tax treatment – both for the employees and the employer issuing the options. For the employee there’s no tax or national insurance on grant of an EMI option if issued at market value, and if less than, the tax paid is on the difference between the exercise price and the market value. Employees also gain lower rates of capital gains tax qualifying for Entrepreneurs Relief at 10% on the sale of their shares. For the employer, you can gain a corporation tax deduction equal to the difference between the market value of the option shares at the date of exercise and the option price.