HMRC's Employment-Related Securities Bulletin 68 removes the EMI notification requirement and streamlines ERS net settlement reporting from 6 April 2027, reducing employer compliance burden.
HMRC Simplifies Employment Benefits Reporting: EMI Notification Requirement and ERS Return Streamlining from April 2027
HMRC's latest Employment-Related Securities Bulletin 68 (August 2026) covers net settlement reporting, SAYE guidance and the forthcoming simplification of EMI option reporting. For accountants advising employers on share schemes, this signals a welcome administrative lightening of the compliance burden—but only if advisers and their clients prepare now.
The EMI Change: One Less Form to File
At Budget 2025, the government announced it will remove the requirement for a company to submit a notification of a grant of Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) options to HMRC from 6 April 2027.
Currently, this notification is required in addition to the EMI end of year return, creating duplication. From next year, firms will file only the annual ERS return, streamlining a process that has long frustrated compliance teams.
For companies operating EMI schemes—popular with growth-stage businesses incentivising employees—this cut administrative friction. However, the transition deadline is fast approaching. Advisers should flag to clients that the change takes effect from 6 April 2027, meaning the last notification under the old rules will likely be required for option grants made just before that date.
ERS Net Settlement: Halving the Data Entry
Equally significant for firms handling employment tax compliance is the revision to how net settlement must be reported on the ERS end-of-year return, under which employers will no longer need to complete 2 lines of information, but only one row per individual employee.
As set out in Employment-related securities bulletin 63 (January 2026), HMRC changed how employment related securities (ERS) net settlement must be reported, and this August bulletin confirms that a second phase of that change is streamlining the format further.
What may seem a minor tweak—collapsing two rows into one—has real operational payoff for employers running large share-scheme populations. Data mapping exercises will be needed: software vendors will need to update templates and interfaces, and employer payroll and HR teams will need retraining. For accountants, this is an early-warning opportunity to contact clients using non-tax-advantaged share schemes and signal that their systems and processes need reviewing well before April 2027.
Record-Keeping Remains Rigorous
It is vital that advisers counsel clients that employers must continue to retain employer records showing they have accounted for Income Tax and National Insurance contributions correctly, including how these were recovered from employees — these records should be retained for the current tax year plus 6 years and produced to HMRC if we request them as part of a routine compliance check. Simplification of reporting does not mean simplification of evidence. HMRC's audit appetite around ERS remains high, particularly in schemes where market valuation or gains are at issue.
Look Ahead
These changes reflect a wider HMRC agenda of digital simplification and streamlining of administrative reporting. HMRC's Tax Update, published on 23rd June 2026, sets out a range of consultations and policy announcements that indicate where the tax system could be heading over the coming years, with proposals focused on making the tax system simpler, more digital and fairer. The ERS and EMI changes are early fruits of that modernisation effort.
For accountancy firms, the message is clear: begin scoping software changes, client communication plans and training for these April 2027 deadlines now, rather than scrambling in March.