Both the 3-year and 5-year rates for Save As You Earn (SAYE) share option schemes will change on the 15th day following a change in the Bank of England Bank Rate.
Employees who are already saving under existing SAYE contracts are not affected by these rate changes.
The bonus rates and early leaver rates with their effective dates for SAYE share option schemes are:
Save As You Earn (SAYE)
SAYE is a savings-related share scheme where an employee can buy shares with their savings for a fixed price.
They can save up to £500 a month under the scheme.
At the end of your savings contract (3 or 5 years) they can use the savings to buy their employers company shares.
The tax advantages are:
- the interest and any bonus at the end of the scheme is tax-free
- they do not pay Income Tax or National Insurance on the difference between what is paid for the shares and what they’re worth
Employees may have a Capital Gains Tax liability if they sell the shares.
They won’t pay Capital Gains Tax if they transfer the shares:
- to an Individual Savings Account (ISA) within 90 days of taking them out of the scheme
- to a pension, directly from the scheme when it ends
If they do not transfer their shares to a pension immediately when the scheme ends, they can still transfer them up to 90 days later.
They may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if they go up in value between when they buy them and when they transfer them.
PAYadvice.UK 7/11/2026