Section 531: Limitation of charge on exercise of option to acquire shares below market value
2153.This section sets out how to calculate the amount chargeable under section 476 when a qualifying option (or replacement option) is exercised to acquire shares for less than their market value when the option was originally granted. It derives from paragraph 45 of Schedule 14 to FA 2000.
2154.This provision is subject to section 532 which outlines what happens if a disqualifying event takes place.
2155.There are formulae to aid understanding of the text in this and in the succeeding section, which provide the basis for the calculation of the charges.
2156.There is no successor to paragraph 46 of Schedule 14 to FA 2000 (exercise of option to acquire shares at nil cost). This is redundant in that it is a variation of the situation in this section. Small changes have been made to sections 531 and 532 to ensure that the whole picture is preserved. In subsection (1) of section 531 there is a new “(or at nil cost)” and in both subsection (2) of this section and subsection (4) of section 532, a reference to “if any” in the definition of “ACS”.
2157.There is a further point affecting both this and the next section. The source legislation includes a provision that stating that if the section 476 gain was nil there is no liability to income tax. Sections 531 and 532 now use a formulaic approach and a more general solution has been found to deal with negative results. Section 420 provides for the position where a formula in Part 7 would produce a negative result. The result is to be taken to be nil.
