softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au · Web viewFor all other amendments, cancellation of the original is required to occur before amended data can be submitted. For this reason, it is

Employee Share Scheme (ESS) annual report companion guide

2016 and subsequent financial years

Version 1

[INTERNAL/EXTERNAL]

ContentsAcronyms 4

Definitions 5

1. Introduction 61.1 Background 6

1.2 Who should use this guide 6

1.3 How to use this guide 6

1.4 Regular Updates 6

1.5 Feedback 6

2. Legal Requirements 72.1 Updates 7

2.2 Other Obligations 8

2.2.1 Requirement to deduct TFN withholding tax 8

2.2.2 Australian business numbers 8

2.2.3 Employee statements 8

3. Lodgment 93.1 Do I need to lodge? 9

3.2 When to lodge 9

3.3 Extension of time to lodge 9

3.4 Retention of information 10

3.5 Lodgment Methods 10

3.5.1 Paper and Spreadsheet lodgment 11

3.5.2 Electronic Lodgment 11

3.5.3 Entities that do not have an ABN 12

3.6 Test Function 12

3.7 Lodgment validation 13

3.7.1 File Transfer 13

3.7.2 Online Forms 13

4. Reporting Procedures 144.1 Key Identifiers 14

4.2 Reporting party employee identifier 14

4.3 Plan Reference/Identifier 14

4.4 Plan date 15

4.5 Acquisition Date 15

4.6 Australian Business Number fields 15

4.7 Reporting for Overseas Providers 15

4.8 Reporting for Start-up’s 16

4.9 Reporting for employees with overseas employment 16

4.10 SRN/HIN 17

4.11 Acquisition Price 17

4.12 Deferral Schemes 17

4.13 Options 18

4.14 30-day rule 18

4.15 Indeterminate rights 19

5. Reporting Examples 205.1 Start-up’s 20

5.1.1 Shares eligible for the start-up concession 20

5.1.2 Options eligible for the start-up concession 22

5.2 Taxed-upfront 23

5.2.1 Taxed-upfront scheme - eligible for reduction 23

5.2.2 Taxed-upfront scheme - not eligible for reduction 24

5.3 Deferral scheme 25

5.3.1 Deferral scheme 25

5.3.2 Deferral Scheme and sold within 30 days of what would otherwise be the deferred taxing point 26

5.3.3 Deferral scheme – Becoming a resident 27

5.4 Reporting for Multiple Schemes 28

5.4.1 Multiple Schemes 28

6. Amendments 306.1 File Transfer 30

6.1.1 Key Identifiers 30

6.1.2 Amending an ESS report 31

6.1.3 Amended option examples 33

6.2 Online form 36

6.3 Amendment examples 37

6.3.1 Amendment to ESS report for a taxed up front scheme eligible for reduction 37

6.3.2 Amendment to ESS report as rights lapse after deferred taxing point in tax-deferred scheme 39

6.3.3 Taxed-upfront scheme - not eligible for reduction with amendments to indeterminate rights 40

7. Frequently Asked Questions 42

8. Appendices 448.1 Appendix A – BDE validation error and warning codes 44

8.2 Appendix B – pre-filling information 49

8.3 Appendix C – ERS/online forms Field name reference comparison 50

VERSION CONTROL

Version Published Date Description1.0 New document

AcronymsCommon term DescriptionABN Australian Business Number

ATO Australian Taxation Office

ERS Electronic Reporting Specification

ESS

Employee Share Scheme

A scheme under which ESS interests in a company are provided to its employees (including current, past or prospective employees and their associates) in relation to their employment.

The interests provided may be interests in the employer entity or that entity’s holding company.

SBR

Standard Business Reporting

A set of standards for reporting to government that is being progressively introduced in Australia. For more information, see What is SBR?

TFN Tax File Number

https://www.sbr.gov.au/about-sbr/what-sbr

DefinitionsCommon term Description

AUSkey A secure login that identifies you when you use participating government online services on behalf of a business.

Discount If an employee acquires ESS interests under a taxed-upfront scheme, the discount is the market value of the ESS interests at acquisition, reduced by the amount paid to acquire the interests.

If an employee acquires ESS interests under a deferral scheme, the assessable amount (commonly referred to as the Discount) is the market

Common term Descriptionvalue of the ESS interests at the deferred taxing point, reduced by the cost base of the interests.

Employee Identifier

The employee identifier is an alpha numeric identifier that is unique to the employer and employee. It may be a payroll number or similar and must remain constant across all lodgments. (Do not report an employee’s tax file number as the identifier.)

Employee For the purpose of this document, an employee is defined as a participant and owner of employee share scheme (ESS) interests.

ESS interests Shares, stapled securities, or rights (including options) to acquire shares or stapled securities

Intermediary The intermediary (Supplier) is the organisation who has lodged the

Common term DescriptionEmployee share scheme (ESS) annual report with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

This is the organisation (as authorised by the ESS reporting party) that manages the affairs of one or more ESS reporting parties. An intermediary may be an ESS administrator, computer service provider, trustee company, tax agent, accountant or employee of an ESS provider.

Reporting Party

A reporting party (Provider) is an entity that provides an employee share scheme to employees. It is the responsibility of the reporting party to ensure that the Employee share scheme (ESS) annual report is completed correctly and lodged with the ATO by the due date.

Common term Description

Scheme Type

This is determined by the nature of the scheme information is to be reported for. Options available are:

E – Taxed up-front scheme – eligible for reductionD – Deferral schemesN – Taxed up-front scheme – not eligible for reductionP – ESS interest acquired pre 1st July 2009S – Start-up concession

Security Reference Code

A unique code used to identify companies listed on a securities exchange. For Australian listed companies, these codes can be found on the websites of the Australian Securities Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of Australia and Chi-X Australia.

Common term Description

Start-up company

A start-up company for the purposes of ESS is a company that fits the definition prescribed by the law (i.e. unlisted, less than $50m turnover, less than 10 years incorporation) and is therefore eligible to issue ESS interests under the start-up concessions.

Start-up concessions

The discount on the price of shares or options issued by a start-up company may be excluded from being taxed under Division 83A if all the conditions contained in the legislation are met.

For more information, see Terms we use.

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/employee-share-schemes/ess-basics/terms-we-use/

1.1 BackgroundThis guide provides information to assist in the preparation and lodgment of the ESS annual report for the 2016 and subsequent financial years. The examples contained in this guide are merely illustrative of how to report data, and do not endorse how an employer may interpret and apply the relevant legislation in relation to the creation and operation of ESS. For more information, see Employee share schemes.

1. Introduction

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Employee-share-schemes/

1.2 Who should use this guideThis guide has been developed for ESS suppliers, providers, commercial software developers and other interested parties for the 2016 and subsequent financial years, who are utilising either ERS or online form platforms. Please note, lodgment via paper or spreadsheet is only acceptable for 2015 and prior years.

1.3 How to use this guideRead this guide in conjunction with the:

ESS annual report ERS v3.0.0, or Whilst completing the ESS annual report online form

https://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/ESSspecification

ESS field references within this document relate to the ERS v3.0.0. For a comparison of the ERS and online form references and field numbers, please refer to Appendix C.This guide does not address every field detailed in the ERS. Its purpose is to provide examples and additional information to assist in completing the report.

1.4 Regular UpdatesTax legislation continues to be a significant part of the government's legislation program. If law changes occur affecting the information collected in the ESS report, then this guide and the reporting specifications will be updated accordingly.

To keep up to date with any changes to this guide or the ESS report specification, subscribe to the ESS News and Updates bulletin by emailing [email protected] or alternatively, see Subscribe to our emails

1.5 FeedbackWe welcome your feedback about the information and examples contained in this guide. Provide your feedback and suggestions to [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

https://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/subscribe-our-emails--old


Section 83A-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) provides the meaning of ESS and ESS interest. Under Division 392 of Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA), an entity that provides ESS interests is required to lodge a statement for the financial year to the Commissioner in the approved form, by the 14th August. The file produced by both the ERS and Online forms, are approved forms in accordance with section 388-50 in Schedule 1 to the TAA.

2. Legal Requirements

1.6 UpdatesOn 1st July 2015 there were some changes to the tax treatment of ESS:

ESS operated by start-up companies can issue shares at a discount (the discount cannot exceed 15% of the market value of the shares) to their market value and the discount is not taxable in the hands of the employee. When the shares are disposed of, the market value of the shares on the date of acquisition will be the cost base for capital gains tax purposes. The circumstances under which this concession can be applied are set out in section 83A-33 of ITAA 1997.

Similarly where an ESS operated by a start-up company issues rights (options) and the exercise price is greater than or equal to the market value of an ordinary share then the discount is excluded from assessable income but the cost base of the right is retained and the right and/or subsequent share may be subject to capital gains tax.

The taxing point for ESS interests acquired under a deferral scheme increases to a maximum of 15 years.

The significant ownership test now includes all interests acquired in the company, including options.

A tax refund may be applicable if tax has already been paid in respect of rights acquired, where the taxpayer later chooses not to exercise the rights.

For reporting for financial years 2018 onwards, changes have been made to support the new third party reporting regime under Subdivision 396-B of Schedule 1 of the TAA to report the acquisition price of ESS interests acquired under an ESS scheme.

Paragraph 10 of the Legislative Instrument – Excluded Classes of Transactions and Entities for Third Party reports on Shares and Units determination 2018 (F2018L00473), provides an

exclusion to prevent duplication. It confirms that information provided through the ESS annual report should not also be provided through this Sale of Securities data record. This is limited to events that are reported through the ESS annual report, such as the allotment of securities.

Section 202G of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) requires an investment body that keeps the whole or part of the information it is obliged to give to the Commissioner on a computer system, to supply this information in a manner and form that is in accordance with the specifications set out by the Commissioner.

Providers must distribute statements to their employees by the 14th July, and lodge an annual statement by the 14th August following the relevant financial year, or within such further time as the Commissioner, by written notice given to the reporter, allows. Consequently, reporters

that fail to lodge their ESS annual report by the due date may be subjected to either administrative penalties or prosecution. An administrative penalty for the late lodgment of an approved form is imposed by subsection 286-75(1) of Schedule 1 TAA. The amount of the penalty is set out in section 286-80 of Schedule 1 to the TAA.

1.7 Other Obligations

1.7.1 Requirement to deduct TFN withholding taxIf the employee has not provided the employer with a TFN, the employer may be required to withhold tax at the top marginal rate on employment related remuneration and benefits. To

determine when this requirement is applicable, refer to Payments you need to withhold from. Where TFN withholding amounts are withheld, they are reported at the TFN amounts withheld from discounts (6.50) field.

1.7.2 Australian business numbersABNs are reported at the Intermediary ABN (6.4), Reporting Party ABN (6.4) and Employee ABN (6.4) fields.

https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/PAYG-withholding/Payments-you-need-to-withhold-from/

1.7.3 Employee statements Employers are required to provide an ESS statement to those employees that received ESS interests during the financial year and/or had an ESS deferred taxing point occur during the year (whether the ESS interests were issued during the current, or an earlier year), by the 14th July following the relevant financial year in which the interests were issued. The ESS statement is an approved form as defined in section 388-50 of Schedule 1 to the TAA.

The requirement to issue a statement is contained in section 392-5 of Schedule 1 to the TAA. Section 286-75 provides an administrative penalty for breach of this section. For ESS statement samples, see ESS self-print statement .

https://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/ESSselfprintspecification

1.8 Do I need to lodge?A reporting obligation arises for a year in which a taxing point occurs for ESS interests that were acquired at a discount. If ESS interests were not granted at a discount, the ESS tax provisions don’t apply. To determine when a taxing point occurs, it is necessary to consider whether the interests were acquired:

before 1st July 2009, between 1st July 2009 and 30th June 2015, or after 30th June 2015

3. Lodgment

as different rules apply for each period.

For further information around the different rules, see Reporting to us

1.9 When to lodgeProviders must lodge their ESS annual report to the Commissioner by the 14th August following the relevant financial year. Early lodgment will assist your employees to prepare their income tax returns, as the information you provide will be pre-filled into their tax returns.

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Employee-share-schemes/In-detail/Employer-reporting-requirements/ESS---Reporting-requirements-for-employers/#Reportingtous

1.10 Extension of time to lodgeYou can apply for an extension of time to lodge. The request must be received prior to the 14th August. An extension of time to lodge can be requested via the Business or Tax Agent Portals.

Select ‘Mail’ and the Portal user inbox screen will be displayed Select ‘New message’ from the left navigation bar and the ‘New message – select

subject’ screen will be displayed. o This screen allows you to select the subject heading as the first part of the

Select subject step Select the ‘Lodge Report’ topic Select the ‘ESS Extension of Time’ subject

Select the ‘Next’ button and the ‘New message – enter message’ details screen will be displayed.

Enter the following details in the message text box. o ABN of ESS providero ESS provider nameo reasons for the request, ando the date by which the reporting entity will supply the ESS report

For foreign entities without portal access, please email the request to [email protected] and include the above information.


Confirmation of extensions granted and the new lodgment date will be provided via the original message method. Generally further extensions after the extended date will not be granted.

1.11 Retention of informationGenerally, records must be kept for five years after they were prepared or obtained, or five years after the completion of the transactions or acts to which they relate (whichever is the later), unless the Commissioner has notified the provider or supplier that retention of the records is not required.

For ESS deferral scheme purposes, the taxing point is the relevant transaction. The records used to work out the report lodged for the year of the taxing point would need to be kept for five years. A copy of the data file provided to the ATO must be able to be regenerated on request by the ATO, for example where a problem has been encountered in processing the information.

1.12 Lodgment MethodsFinancial Year Lodgment

ChannelOptions Versions

2018 onwards Electronic ERS via File transfer in ATO v3.0.0

lodgment Portals

Online form* in ATO Portals

2016 and 2017**

Electronic lodgment

ERS via File transfer in ATO Portals

v2.0.0

Online form* in ATO Portals

2015 and prior years**

Electronic lodgment

ERS via File transfer in ATO Portals

v1.0.1

Bulk Load Excel Spreadsheet via ATO Portals mail option

v1.3.4

Mail Paper form NAT 73514

* The Online form is restricted to reporting for 50 employees or less with no more than three share schemes per employee.

** Originals and amendments must be lodged using only these options.

1.12.1 Paper and Spreadsheet lodgmentESS paper and spreadsheet lodgments can only be lodged for 2015 and prior years. If you are required to lodge or amend an annual report for this period, and require access to a copy of the spreadsheet, please forward an email to [email protected] .

1.12.2 Electronic LodgmentESS reports for the 2016 and subsequent financial years are only accepted electronically by using one of the following lodgment methods.


1.12.2.1 File TransferElectronic file transfer will allow you to:

lodge ESS reports quickly and securely through our online portals and Online services for agents

test your files for errors before lodging report for any number of employees, as there is no minimum or maximum number.

What you need: a valid ABN (or refer to entities that do not have a valid ABN) business management software to generate your reports in a supported file format an online security credential – either

o AUSkey or Manage ABN Connections (set up in myGov) to log in to an ATO portal

o AUSkey to log in to Online services for agentsHow to use file transfer:

generate a file using the relevant ERS version for the financial year being lodged log in to the Business Portal (alternatively, if you are a tax agent, use the Tax Agent

Portal or our Online services for agents) using your online security credential prepare the lodgment

o in portals, select File transfer > Lodge file in the left menuo in Online services for agents, select Reports and forms then file transfer.

Select Lodge in the banner to be navigated to the Lodge file screen it is recommended you test your file to eliminate errors before lodging. For more

information, please refer to Test Function.After successfully testing your file, you can Lodge your file.

from the Lodge File screen select the Lodge radio button.

browse to select the file from your network your notification email address will default to the last used email address. If you

haven’t entered an email address previously, key the email address. when you select Lodge the ‘declaration statement’ is a mandatory field. Read the

statement and click on the declaration statement checkbox. select Submit to lodge the file to the ATO.

For more information, see File transfer.

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/In-detail/File-transfer/

1.12.2.2 Online FormsThe ESS online form can be lodged by:

those reporting for 2016 and subsequent financial years, who have up to 50 employees; and with up to 3 different schemes per employee.

What you need: a valid ABN (or refer to entities that do not have a valid ABN) business management software to generate your reports in a supported file format an online security credential – either

o AUSkey or Manage ABN Connections (set up in myGov) to log in to an ATO portal

o AUSkey to log in to Online services for agentsHow to use online forms:

locate the ESS annual report form;o For the Tax Agent Portal only - first choose the client, then select Client Forms

in the menuo For the Business Portal select Online Forms in the menu

Select the ESS annual report form Enter your data Select ‘Lodge’ when complete

For more information, see Employee Share Scheme (ESS) Online form.

http://portalhelp.ato.gov.au/BP/ADMIN/Online_forms/Employee_Share_Scheme_(ESS)_Online_form/

1.12.3 Entities that do not have an ABNEntities that do not have an ABN will not be able to access the Portals. They can however, lodge using a related Australian entity or engage an Australian resident tax agent, service provider or share registry to lodge the ESS report on their behalf.

ImportantIn this case the Australian related entity, tax agent, service provider or share registry is acting as the intermediary and will complete the ABN field in the Intermediary data record. The ABN field in the Reporting party data record should be zero-filled.

1.13 Test FunctionA test facility is provided so that flat file transfer reporters can test and correct errors prior to lodging their ESS files (online form users do not have the same functionality).

from the lodge file screen select the test button browse to select the file from your network to receive a notification email advising you that the validation report is available for

download, enter your organisation’s preferred email address for notifications. Only one email address can be input.

select submit to transfer the file to the ATO for testing. Files submitted for ‘test’ are not ‘lodged’ with the ATO.

Test status:The status of your file will indicate the success or fail of the validation process.

if the status is test failed, you will need to fix any errors before you lodge your file. if the status is test successful with warnings, we recommend you review and resolve

the warnings before you lodge your file. However, you can proceed to lodge your file. if the status is test successful, you can proceed to lodge your file.

For more information, see Testing and lodging files.

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/In-detail/File-transfer/?anchor=Testingandlodgingfiles#Testingandlodgingfiles

1.14 Lodgment validationTo ensure data submitted to the ATO contains accurate information, it is subject to validation checks. The type of validation your form will be subject to will be dependent on the lodgment method.

1.14.1 File TransferAfter an ESS file is submitted, the ATO provides a validation report which details any warning messages and/or fatal errors detected. The validation report is available for downloading via the file status function in the Portal menu.

If Test has been selected, files will not be lodged with us, however a validation report is still produced.

If fatal errors are identified the report will be rejected and corrective action is required before the report can be re-lodged. Warning messages are notified in cases where there may be a format issue or a logical error, but it is not significant enough that the whole file should be rejected. To improve data quality we recommend investigating/correcting records with warning messages as information may be prevented from being pre-filled.

StepsIdentify the error or warning from the validation report.

The Summary of Warnings and Summary of Errors sections of the validation report provide explanations of the issues and the total number of occurrences.

The Detail of Errors and Details of Warnings sections of the validation report provide details of the affected data record/s and relevant field name/s.

For a list of error and warning message codes, the fields they can be applied to, and the associated messages, see Appendix A. The messages indicate what the issue is and in some instances, the corrective action required.

1.14.2 Online FormsOnline forms have the same validation requirements as file transfer however, rather than a validation report being generated, ESS providers will receive real time messages and will need to correct the data before the form can be lodged.

1.15 Key IdentifiersKey Identifiers within the ESS report are to identify data for –

pre-fill amendment processing data quality checks

Reporting Party Key Identifiers: Provider ABN (6.4) field in the Reporting party identity data record

4. Reporting Procedures

Financial year (6.20)Employee Key Identifiers:

Employee tax file number (6.30) Reporting party employee identifier (6.31) Plan reference/identifier (6.59) Plan date (6.60) – not used for Start-ups Acquisition date (6.61)

If the same Key Identifiers are used across multiple records under one employee, this may cause duplication issues, resulting in only one record being processed with all others being cancelled. Where your system has multiple records and all key identifiers are identical, ensure you aggregate the figures, reporting only one record.

When reporting cancellations and/or amendments, if the Key Identifiers do not match the original, the cancellation and/or amendment will not process.

1.16 Reporting party employee identifier The Reporting Party employee identifier (6.31) is a unique identifier that must be allocated to each employee that will identify the employee for all ESS reports. This reference must not be the employee’s TFN.

If the TFN is used for the purpose of the employee identifier it will be a breach of The Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA). Subsections 8WB(1) of the TAA provides that a

TFN cannot be used as an identifier for a person for any purpose other than fulfilling taxation obligations as permitted by law.

1.17 Plan Reference/Identifier The Plan Reference/Identifier (6.59) field must be populated with a value that makes a plan unique within all plans run by a particular Provider. If a Provider offers only a single plan to its employees, this field must still be populated.

1.18 Plan dateThe Plan date (6.60) field must be populated with the date that a taxing point occurs to an ESS interest acquired by an employee. For an upfront scheme, this will be the same as the acquisition date. For a deferral scheme, this will be the deferred taxing point. The plan date must be within the same financial year the ESS report relates to. For a start-up this field will be blank filled.

1.19 Acquisition Date The Acquisition date (6.61) field must be populated with the date the shares or options/rights were acquired by the employee.

For Deferral schemes, the ATO is NOT making it obligatory to report a record for acquisition purposes only. Acquisition information need only be reported once – that is in the financial year of the taxing point.

1.20 Australian Business Number fieldsABN’s are reported at the following fields –

Reporting party identity data record (6.4) = Reporting party’s ABN Employee details data record (6.4) = Employee’s ABN (if applicable) Intermediary data record (6.4) = Intermediary who lodged the report on behalf of the

Reporting Party. If an Intermediary is not used then the Reporting party’s ABN is to be reported here.

1.21 Reporting for Overseas ProvidersIf a Provider obliged to report ESS data is an overseas entity, that entity’s name must be reported in the ‘Reporting party name’ field. The relevant overseas address details are reported in the appropriate Reporting Party address fields.

If the overseas entity does not have an ABN, the ‘Reporting party ABN’ field is zero filled.

If the data for an overseas entity is lodged by an Australian affiliate or another third party, details for the Australian affiliate or other third party should be provided in the Intermediary Data record.

1.22 Reporting for Start-up’s Any reference to ‘shares’ relates to all ESS interests which includes rights/options.

Division 83A of the ITAA 1997 (amended 2015), details the circumstances under which employees of certain small start-up companies, who acquire ESS interests on or after 1st July 2015, can reduce amounts included in assessable income.

Companies whose employees qualify for the start-up concession must set the ESS start-up business indicator (6.28) field to Y in the Reporting party identity data record, regardless of whether a start-up share scheme is offered.

A company that identifies itself as a start-up is not restricted to only offering schemes under the start-up concessions. For example, such a company could continue a scheme that was created prior to 1st July 2015 or could offer new schemes which do not qualify for the start-up concession.

If the ESS start-up business indicator (6.28) field is set to Y, and a start-up share scheme is offered, other related start-up business reporting fields that may need to be completed in the Employee details data record include:

Scheme type (6.37) Number of shares acquired under start-up concession (6.52) Market value of shares acquired under start-up concession (6.53) Acquisition price of shares acquired under start-up concession (6.54)

Number of options acquired under start-up concession (6.55) Market value of ordinary shares on the date options acquired under start-up

concession (6.56) Exercise price of options acquired under start-up concession (6.57)

1.23 Reporting for employees with overseas employment

The overseas employment field, Number of days of overseas employment (6.58), should only be completed if a taxing point occurred during the year and either:

the ESS interests were acquired before 1st July 2009, or

the employee is or has been a temporary resident or foreign resident for tax purposes at any stage from the date of grant.

The number of days to report is calculated with reference to the number of days the employee has been employed overseas by the company providing the ESS (so is unlikely to be considered an Australian resident for tax purposes), from the date of grant to the taxing point. It is NOT restricted to: the number of days of overseas employment that occur within the taxable year the report is being lodged for.

For more information on residency, see ESS – Foreign income exemption for Australian residents and temporary residents.

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/employee-share-schemes/in-detail/foreign-residents/ess---foreign-income-exemption-for-australian-residents-and-temporary-residents---employee-share-schemes/

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/employee-share-schemes/in-detail/foreign-residents/ess---foreign-income-exemption-for-australian-residents-and-temporary-residents---employee-share-schemes/

You may not be aware whether your employee meets the conditions to qualify as a foreign or temporary resident. In this case, it is recommended that the full amount of discounts is reported to us.

1.24 SRN/HINAn SRN is a Security Reference Number that is issued to a holder who is listed on an issuer sponsored or certificated share sub-register.

A HIN is a Holder Identification Number identifying a holder of securities on the CHESS register. CHESS is a registry system operated by the Australian Securities Exchange.

1.25 Acquisition PriceWith reference to the following fields, the term shares relates to all ESS interests which includes options/rights.

Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction (6.40)

Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction (6.43)

Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme (6.47)

For Deferral schemes, the ATO is NOT making it obligatory to report a record for acquisition purposes only.

The ESS Electronic Reporting Specification includes an attention box that states, “This amount is only required to be reported in the year the ESS interests are acquired. It will not be required to be reported again in a future year.” The Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme need only be reported once – that is in the financial year of the taxing point.

1.26 Deferral SchemesIf an employee ceases employment before the ESS interests have vested (taxing point) but continues to be held by the participant subject to original vesting conditions the taxing point is the date employment ceased.

For employees who cease employment part way through a scheme, any acquisitions that occur post–cessation date should be reported under scheme ‘Taxed up-front scheme – not eligible for reduction’. Only an employee can be eligible for deferral and reduction.

1.27 OptionsAn option is a right (but not an obligation) to purchase shares in a company at a specified time or during a specified period in the future. Some rights may only be exercisable when the employee has satisfied specified performance conditions or been employed for a minimum time period (the vesting conditions). Certain rights may also require the payment of an exercise price.

The Exercise price is the amount the optionee has to pay for the stock when the options are exercised. Typically (although not always), the price is set at the stock’s fair market value at

the time the option is granted. If the stock’s value goes up, the option becomes valuable as the optionee has the right to buy the stock at the cheaper price.

ESS options acquired under a Deferral scheme are assessed in the year the deferred taxing point occurs. The amount assessed will be the market value of the ESS options at the deferred taxing point, reduced by the consideration (if any) paid by the employee.To access the ESS calculator, see Employee share scheme calculator.

1.28 30-day ruleIf your employee disposes of their ESS interest (or the share acquired on exercise of the right) within 30 days after the deferred taxing point, the deferred taxing point becomes the

https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/employee-share-schemes-calculator/

date of that disposal. For example, a deferred taxing point would otherwise arise on 10th March 2018 and the employee disposes of the ESS interest on 29th March 2018. Due to the sale being within 30 days, the deferred taxing point is now 29th March 2018.

You must take account of the 30-day rule when you are aware of a disposal.

In some situations this means that the 30-day rule will move the deferred taxing point from one income year into the next. In that case, when fulfilling reporting obligations;

if you become aware of the disposal before issuing the ESS statement to your employee for the earlier year, you must update the ESS statement for the earlier year so that it does not show a discount for those ESS interests in that year (but include the discount on the ESS statement for the later year)

if you become aware of the disposal after issuing the ESS statement to your employee for the earlier year, you must give an amended ESS statement to your employee to remove the discount for those ESS interests in that earlier year, and you will need to show the discount in the ESS statement for the later year

if you have already sent the ESS annual report to us, you will need to amend that report for the earlier year to ensure that we and your employee have the same information

1.29 Indeterminate rights When an employee acquires a right from an employer, their entitlement to a share or a specific number of shares may be uncertain. This is known as an indeterminate right. For example, an employee could be given a right to acquire at a future time.

shares with a specified total value, rather than a specified number of shares a number of shares to be determined at a later time, or either shares or cash (at the discretion of the employer)

Subsection 83A-340(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997(ITAA 1997)1 applies, where:(i) you acquire a right under a contract(ii) at the time you acquire it, the right is not a right to acquire a beneficial interest in a

share(iii) at a later time, and because a condition in the contract is satisfied, the right ‘becomes’

another right, and(iv) at this later time, the right is a right to acquire a beneficial interest in a share.

A right that becomes a right to acquire a share when a condition of the contract is satisfied must be enforceable against the other party under the terms of the contract, even if only to the extent of the condition.

For more information, see ESS – Indeterminate rights

1PAGE 65 OF 101

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/employee-share-schemes/in-detail/indeterminate-rights/ess---indeterminate-rights/

The following examples illustrate the way in which certain scenarios would be reported in the ESS annual report. Not all data records or fields that are required in the report are shown in the following examples.For a comparison of the ERS and online form references and field numbers, please refer to Appendix C.

1.30 Start-up’s

1.30.1 Shares eligible for the start-up concessionSirius Cybernetics Corp is an Australian entity that was created in 2016 and meets all the start-up company criteria. On 31st December 2017 all employees were offered shares in the company at a 10% discount to their market value of $5.50. Brett Adams acquired 500 shares at a cost of $4.95 each.

Sirius Cybernetics Corporation prepares a 2018 ESS report for lodgment with the ATO. The following tables are extracts from the report prepared based on the events that took place.

Reporting Party Identity Data Record (Extract)Reference

numberField type Field name Content

6.1 M Record length 9966.19 M Record identifier IDENTITY

6.5 M Date timestamp report created 2018-08-10T21:32:05.00+10:00

6.4 C Australian Business Number 123456789116.20 M Financial Year 2018

6.7 M Name SIRIUS CYBERNETICS CORP

6.21 O Reporting party trading name Blank fill6.22 M Postal address line 1 27 BACK STREET6.22 O Postal address line 2 Blank fill6.23 M Postal address suburb, town or locality CHATSWOOD6.24 M Postal address state or territory NSW6.25 M Postal address postcode 20676.26 C Postal address country Blank fill6.8 O Contact name PETER MYERS6.9 O Contact phone number area code 026.10 O Contact phone number 55544466

6.16 M Email address [email protected]

6.27 M Software product type INHOUSE PMYERS6.28 M ESS start-up business indicator Y6.18 S Filler Blank fill

Employee Details Data Record (Extract)

PAGE 66 OF 101

5. Reporting Examples

Reference number

Field type Field name Content

6.1 M Record Length 9966.29 M Record identifier DESS6.30 O Employee tax file number 9876543216.4 O Australian business number 000000000006.20 M Financial year 20186.31 M Reporting party employee identifier A4567896.32 O Date of birth 198006096.33 M Surname or family name ADAMS6.34 C First given name BRETT6.35 O Second given name IAN6.11 M Street address line 1 64 MAIN STREET6.11 O Street address line 2 Blank fill6.12 M Street address suburb, town or locality CHATSWOOD6.13 M Street address state or territory NSW6.14 M Street address postcode 20676.15 C Street address country Blank fill6.36 O SRN/HIN Blank fill6.37 M Scheme type S6.38 O Security reference code Blank fill

6.39 C Number of ESS interests from taxed up front schemes eligible for reduction 00000000000

6.40 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction 00000000000

6.41 C Discount from taxed up front schemes eligible for reduction 00000000000

6.42 C Number of ESS interests from taxed up front schemes not eligible for reduction 00000000000

6.43 CAcquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction

00000000000

6.44 C Discount from taxed up front schemes not eligible for reduction 00000000000

6.45 O Number of ESS interests acquired during the year under deferral schemes 00000000000

6.46 C Number of ESS interests with a deferred taxing point arising during the year 00000000000

6.47 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme 00000000000

6.48 C Discount from deferral schemes with a deferred taxing point during the year 00000000000

6.49 CDiscount on ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009 - and ‘cessation time’ occurred during the financial year

00000000000

6.50 M TFN amounts withheld from discounts 00000000000

6.51 C Discount amounts are assessable or gross (=A or G) Blank fill

6.52 C Number of shares acquired under start-up concession 00000000500

6.53 C Market value of shares acquired under start-up concession 00000002750

6.54 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under start-up concession 00000002475

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Reference number


6.55 C Number of options acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.56 C Market value of ordinary shares on the date options acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.57 C Exercise price of options acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.58 C Number of days of overseas employment 000000006.59 M Plan reference/identifier ESS020186.60 C Plan date Blank fill6.61 M Acquisition date 201712316.62 M Amendment indicator (=A ,C or O) O6.18 S Filler Blank fill

1.30.2 Options eligible for the start-up concessionOn 1st April 2018 Tim is issued with 10,000 options under an ESS operated by his small Australian start-up employer for no consideration. The options allow Tim to acquire 10,000 ordinary shares from his employer after paying an exercise price of $5.00 per right (which is greater than the current market value of each share - $4.00 per share).

Employee Details Data Record (Extract)Reference


6.51 C Discount amounts are assessable or gross (=A or G)Discount amounts are assessable or gross

Blank fill

6.52 C Number of shares acquired under start-up concession

00000000000

6.53 C Market value of shares acquired under start-up concession

00000000000

6.54 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under start-up concession

00000000000

6.55 C Number of options acquired under start-up concession

00000010000

6.56 C Market value of ordinary shares on the date options acquired under start-up concession

00000040000

6.57 C Exercise price of options acquired under start-up concession

00000050000

6.58 C Number of days of overseas employment 000000006.59 M Plan reference/identifier ESS020186.60 C Plan date Blank fill6.61 M Acquisition date 201804016.62 M Amendment indicator (=A ,C or O) O

PAGE 68 OF 101

1.31 Taxed-upfront

1.31.1 Taxed-upfront scheme - eligible for reductionOn 1st March 2018, Cara acquires 300 options on ordinary shares for no consideration. The value of the underlying shares of the options is $8.50 each (300 x $8.50 = $2,550). As Cara was not required to pay for the options, the discount she received was $2,550. The scheme in which she participates is a taxed upfront scheme so the acquisition needs to be reported to the ATO in 2018. Because Starry Eyes Pty Ltd does not know Cara’s eligibility to the reduction they report the discount as $2,550, ignoring any concession.

Starry Eyes Pty Ltd prepares a 2018 ESS report for lodgment with the ATO. The following table is an extract from the report prepared based on the events that took place.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) Reference

numberField type Field Name Content

6.36 O SRN/HIN Blank fill6.37 M Scheme type E6.38 O Security reference code Blank fill





6.43 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction 00000000000






6.49 CDiscount on ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009 and ‘cessation time’ occurred during the financial year

00000000000

6.50 M TFN amounts withheld from discounts 000000000006.51 C Discount amounts are assessable or gross G

6.52 C Number of shares acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.53 C Market value of shares acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.54 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.55 C Number of options acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.56 C Market value of ordinary shares on the date options acquired under start-up concession 00000000000

6.57 C Exercise price of options acquired under start-up 00000000000

PAGE 69 OF 101

Reference number

Field type Field Name Content

concession6.58 C Number of days of overseas employment 000000006.59 M Plan reference/identifier StarryBB056.60 C Plan date 201803016.61 M Acquisition date 201803016.62 M Amendment indicator 0

1.31.2 Taxed-upfront scheme - not eligible for reductionLulu works for AED Technologies Ltd and acquires 800 shares in their ESS on 1st September 2017. The shares do not qualify for deferral nor do they qualify for a reduction under section 83A-35.

The total market value of the shares on that day is $5,200. Lulu is required to pay $4,800 to purchase the shares therefore she acquires the shares for a discount of $400 ($5,200 less $4,800).

AED Technologies Ltd prepares a 2018 ESS report for lodgment with the ATO. The following table is an extract of the report prepared based on the events that took place.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) Reference


6.36 O SRN/HIN Blank fill6.37 M Scheme type N


6.43 C Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front scheme – not eligible for reduction 00000004800


6.60 C Plan date 201709016.61 M Acquisition date 20170901

PAGE 70 OF 101

1.32 Deferral scheme

1.32.1 Deferral schemeCassie works for Mars Travel Ltd and acquires 300 options in their ESS for no consideration on 30th January 2016 under a tax-deferred ESS. In this case tax may be deferred until the options are exercised.

A deferred taxing point occurs on 14th February 2018 when Cassie exercises the options. At the deferred taxing point Cassie’s shares have a total market value of $2,000. Cassie was not required to pay for the shares, the discount she received was $2,000.

The Acquisition price for a deferral scheme is to be reported when a taxing event occurs.

Supply Cassie with a 2018 ESS Employee statement and lodge an annual report showing the Acquisition Date as well as the Plan Date.

2018 Employee Details Data Record (Extract) Reference


6.37 M Scheme type D

6.45 O Number of ESS interests acquired during the year under deferral scheme 00000000000




6.60 C Plan date 201802146.61 M Acquisition date 20160130

PAGE 71 OF 101

1.32.2 Deferral Scheme and sold within 30 days of what would otherwise be the deferred taxing point

Cassie works for Mars Travel Pty Ltd and acquires 300 options in their ESS for no consideration on 30th January 2017 under a tax-deferred ESS. The 300 rights vest in 12 months’ time provided still employed at that time.

A deferred taxing point occurs on 30th January 2018 a total market value of $2,000.

As Cassie was not required to pay for the shares, the discount she received was $2,000.

Subsequently Cassie sold the shares on 15th Feb for $3000 which is within 30 days of the deferred taxing point; the deferring tax point becomes the date of sale which is 15th Feb 2018.

Mars Travel Pty Ltd prepares and lodges their 2018 ESS annual report with the ATO. The following table is an extract from the report prepared based on the events that took place.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract)Reference number







6.60 C Plan date 201802156.61 M Acquisition date 201701306.62 M Amendment indicator O

PAGE 72 OF 101

1.32.3 Deferral scheme – Becoming a residentMichael was employed overseas from 15th January 2010 and came to Australia to work on 1 March 2015. Michael owned options that he had previously acquired through an ESS which had a grant date of 30th April 2011.The options vested and were exercised on 16th March 2017.

Michael’s employer has calculated the total market value at the deferred taxing point as $42,940.00 AUD.

Michael became a resident for tax purposes on 1st March 2015 and the exercise date of the rights was 16th March 2017.

In this case because the deferred taxing point occurred when Michael was a resident the entire amount of $42,940 is included in Michael’s assessable income.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – If reporting gross amount - 2017Reference


6.37 M Scheme type D6.38 O Security reference code Blank fill











6.49 CDiscount on ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009 - and ‘cessation time’ occurred during the financial year

00000000000

6.50 M TFN amounts withheld from discounts 00000000000

6.51 C Discount amounts are assessable or gross (=A or G) G

6.58 C Number of days of overseas employment 0000014016.59 M TFN amounts withheld from discounts ESS020166.60 C Plan date 201703166.61 M Acquisition date 201104306.62 M Amendment indicator (=A ,C or O) O

PAGE 73 OF 101

PAGE 74 OF 101

1.33 Reporting for Multiple Schemes

1.33.1 Multiple Schemes Taxed upfront scheme eligible for reduction Taxed upfront scheme not eligible for reduction Deferral scheme

Impala Constructions Ltd operates three ESS plans. Heidi acquired interests in all three plans in the financial year ending 30th June 2018 as follows:

9th September 2017 – 300 shares under the taxed upfront scheme eligible for reduction for no consideration. The market value of the shares on that day is $1,410. As Heidi was not required to pay for the shares, the discount she received was $1,410.

31st December 2017 – 800 shares in the taxed upfront scheme not eligible for reduction for $3,100. The market value was $3,500 so the discount amount is $400 ($3,500 - $3,100)

1st March 2018 – 500 rights in a deferral scheme for no consideration.

Heidi ceases employment with Impala Constructions on 30th June 2018 and this becomes the deferred taxing point for the rights acquired under the deferral scheme. The market value on that day is $2,500. As the rights were acquired for no consideration the discount (assessable amount) is $2,500.

Impala Constructions prepares a 2018 ESS report for lodgment with the ATO. The following tables are extracts from the report prepared based on the events that took place.

Employee Details Data Record 1 (Extract) – Tax up front eligible for reductionReference


6.37 M Scheme type E



6.41 C Discount from taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction 00000001410

6.59 M Plan reference/identifier ICLESS1E6.60 C Plan date 201709906.61 M Acquisition date 20170990

Employee Details Data Record 2 (Extract) – taxed up front not eligible for reduction Reference


6.37 M Scheme type N



6.44 C Discount from taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction 00000000400

6.59 M Plan reference/identifier ICLESS2N6.60 C Plan date 20171231

PAGE 75 OF 101

Reference number


6.61 M Acquisition date 20171231

Employee Details Data Record 3 (Extract) – Deferred Reference







6.59 M Plan reference/identifier ICLESS3D6.60 C Plan date 201803016.61 M Acquisition date 20180301

PAGE 76 OF 101

This section applies to ESS reports lodged for the 2016 and subsequent financial years. Employers should report amendments as soon as it becomes apparent that records have been omitted or not reported correctly.

It is important to note, once a file has been lodged with respect to a particular employer, any amendment files must be submitted via the same method. The only exception is where a file has been lodged via the Online Form method and the amendment would result in information for more than 50 employees being reported. In such a circumstance it will be necessary to either, cancel the existing Online Form lodgment and resubmit via the File Transfer function or, submit only the additional employees via the File Transfer function.

1.34 File Transfer

1.34.1 Key IdentifiersThe ATO processing system uses data from certain fields within an ESS report to

identify specific records. This is particularly important when processing amended ESS reports. In order to amend or cancel a previously reported record, the same Key identifiers must be used on the amendment or cancel record in order for the ATO’s processing system to locate the relevant previously reported record.

Reporting Party Key Identifiers:1. Provider ABN (6.4) field in the Reporting party identity data record2. Financial Year (6.7) field in all data records

Employee Key Identifiers:3. Employee tax file number (6.30)4. Reporting party employee identifier (6.31)5. Plan reference/identifier (6.59)6. Plan date (6.60)7. Acquisition date (6.61)

1.34.1.1 Reporting to the ATO

There are three options available to amend ESS data. Option 1 must be used if a change is required to one or both Reporting Party key identifiers. If the Reporting Party key identifiers are correct, any of the three options can be used.

In all three options, the information reported in the Intermediary data record can be different to the information provided in the original lodgment.

1.34.1.2 Reporting to the Employee

Data in an ESS statement (given to an employee) must be the same as provided to the ATO. Accordingly, if data sent to the ATO for an employee is changed (including being cancelled or added), a new ESS Statement, containing the updated details, must be issued to the affected employee.

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6. Amendments

1.34.2 Amending an ESS report

1.34.2.1 Option 1 must be used if a change is required to one or both Reporting Party key identifiers can be used if a change is NOT required to one or both Reporting Party key

identifiers, but changes to Employee Key identifiers are required can be used if no changes are required to any Key identifiers requires all previously reported records to be cancelled and replaced involves two new ESS data files being created and lodged. The first data file is used

to cancel all previously reported records and the second to report, as originals, all current records.

StepsCreate a new ESS data file incorporating the following;1. For each original report located on an earlier data file, that require updates to the

Reporting Key Identifiers;a) include the Reporting Party key identifiers and Employee details data record,

populating all fields with the same data as previously reported.b) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to C

2. Create a second ESS data file including one or all of the following options;a) any updates necessary to the Reporting Party key identifiers;b) any updates necessary to Employee details data record;c) records not previously reported that need to be added;d) records that did not require updating.e) setting the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to O

If option 1 is being used to: change either or both Reporting Party Key identifiers, and/or cancel all existing records (because each record has been reported with at

least 1 incorrect Employee Key identifier), and replace with new original records,

lodgement of both the cancel file and the new original can occur simultaneously. This is due to key identifiers changing, removing the possibility of ATO systems treating the lodgements as duplicates.

Lodgements received simultaneously could result in multiple records being active at the same time. Both lodgements will only remain active until ATO systems have finished processing the cancellation.

For all other amendments, cancellation of the original is required to occur before amended data can be submitted. For this reason, it is requested there be a delay of 2 business days between lodging the 1st (cancel) file and the 2nd (new originals) file. This will allow ATO systems to correctly locate the original and cancel it before the new original is submitted, removing the possibility of ATO systems treating the lodgements as duplicates.

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1.34.2.2 Option 2 must NOT be used if a change is required to one or both Reporting Party key

identifiers should only be used with respect to records that need replacing because one or more

incorrect Employee Key identifiers were reported

A single ESS replacement data file is created and lodged. The first part of the data file is used to cancel records reported previously that contained one or more incorrect Employee Key identifiers; the second part is used to report the new data, as originals.

StepsCreate a new ESS data file incorporating the following;1. For each Employee details data record that was included on an earlier data file, that

contained one or more incorrect Employee Key identifiers and have not already been cancelled;a) include an Employee details data record, populating all fields with the same data as

previously reported, including the incorrect Employee Key identifiersb) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to C

2. Following that, report an Employee details data record for each employee record that needs replacinga) populating all fields with the correct and/or updated data including updates to

Employee key identifiers. b) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to O

1.34.2.3 Option 3 can only be used if no changes are required to either Reporting Party or Employee

key identifiers requires that only those Employee details data records to be cancelled, added or

changed need be reported involves a single ESS amendment data file being created and lodged

StepsCreate a new ESS data file including one or all of the following options1. For each Employee details data record that has not previously been reported;

a) include an Employee details data record, populating all fields with the required data. b) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to O

2. For each Employee details data record that should not have been included on an earlier data file;a) include an Employee details data record, populating all fields with the same data as

previously reported. b) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to C

3. For each Employee details data record that was included on an earlier data file, and a change, other than to any Employee key identifier/s, is requireda) include an Employee details data record, populating all fields with the correct and/or

updated data.b) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to A

4. For each Employee details data record that was correctly included on an earlier data file and requires no change;a) exclude this Employee details data record from the new data file; orb) include an Employee details data record, populating all fields with the same data as

previously reported. c) set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to A

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1.34.3 Amended option examplesYou can use either option 1, 2 or 3 for changes in employee details however if a change is required to one or both Reporting Party key identifiers (ABN and Financial year) option 1 must be used. If a change is required to any Employee key identifiers only options 1 and 2 can be used.

These examples explain the difference between the three options. More detailed examples on specific amendments are also included later in this section.

Not all fields in the Employee details data record are shown in these examples, only those relevant to the changes.

Meg, Mark and Ian received ordinary shares in an ESS during the 2016 financial year.

Their employer lodged an original ESS report in July 2016 for the 2016 financial year with the following details in the Employee details data record.

Original ESS ReportRef No

Fieldtype Field Name

EmployeesMeg Mark Ian

6.39 C Number of ESS interests from taxed up front schemes eligible for reduction 300 500 200

6.41 C Discount from taxed upfront schemes eligible for reduction 30 50 256.62 M Amendment indicator O O O

It was later discovered that some of the details lodged were incorrect. Meg received 175 shares, not 300

Mark didn’t receive any shares. The acquisition was made by Steven, not Mark

Ian’s record was correct

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1.34.3.1 Option 1 ExampleThe cancellation and corrections are done in separate ESS reports.

Create a new ESS data file and Report the Reporting Party key identifiers exactly as they were reported on the

previously lodged and accepted data file.o For each Employee details data record reported on an earlier data file, not

already cancelled, report an exact copy, but set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) to C

A new ESS report is created to cancel the previously lodged ESS report.Ref No

Fieldtype Field Name

EmployeesMeg Mark Ian


6.41 C Discount from taxed upfront schemes eligible for reduction 30 50 25

6.62 M Amendment indicator C C CProcessing outcome Removed Removed Removed

Create a second (new) ESS data file with the correct details for each data record that needs to be reported, including:

updates necessary to the Reporting Party key identifiers; and set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field in each Employee details data record to O

A second new ESS report is created with the correct data.Ref No

Field type Field Name

EmployeesMeg Steven Ian



6.62 M Amendment indicator O O OProcessing outcome Added Added Added

NB. The cancellation file includes a record for Mark. The second new file makes no mention of Mark, but a record is included for Steven.

If any other Employee details data records, included in the original ESS report, were correct (like Ian’s) then they too would be included in both ESS reports.

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1.34.3.2 Option 2 ExampleA single ESS replacement data file is created and lodged. The first part of the data

file is used to cancel all previously reported records; the second part is used to report the new data, as originals.

1st part Create a new ESS data file. Report the Reporting Party key identifiers exactly as they were reported on the

previously lodged and accepted data file For each Employee details data record reported on an earlier data file, every

previously reported record needs to be cancelled, and set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to C

2nd part Include, an Employee details data record for each employee record that should be

reported including any new records not previously reported. Set the Amendment Indicator (6.62) field to O

Report correct data in the O records – including any updates to Employee key identifiers.

Lodge the replacement data file. Before lodging any new ESS report, ensure the Date timestamp report created (6.5)

field reflects the most recent creation date and time and not those of the previous report.

Employee Details Data Records (Extract) – records 1 - 3 Ref No

Field type Field Name Employees

Meg Mark Ian



6.62 M Amendment indicator C C CProcessing outcome Removed Removed Removed

Employee Details Data Records (Extract) – records 4 - 6Ref No

Field type Field Name Employees

Meg Steven Ian



6.62 M Amendment indicator O O OProcessing outcome Added Added Added

If any other Employee details data records, included in the original ESS report, were correct (like Ian’s) then they too would be included in both ESS reports.

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1.34.3.3 Option 3 ExampleThe correction of the data is done in a single ESS report. Amendment indicator A is used where applicable.

No change to Reporting Party key identifiers or Employee key identifiers. A single ESS amendment data file is created and lodged. Only Employee details data records that need to be cancelled, added or changed are reported or a full file can be lodged.

Full file amendment lodged – If any other Employee details data records, included in the original ESS report, were correct (like Ian’s) then they too would be included in the amendment report.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – records 1 - 4

Ref No


Employees

Meg Mark Ian Steven

6.39 C Number of ESS interests from taxed up front schemes eligible for reduction 175 500 200 500

6.41 C Discount from taxed upfront schemes eligible for reduction 30 50 25 50

6.62 M Amendment indicator A C A OProcessing outcome Changed Removed Unchanged Added

Only records reported that need to be cancelled, added or changed.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – records 1 - 4 Ref No


EmployeesMeg Mark Steven



6.62 M Amendment indicator A C OProcessing outcome Changed Removed Added

1.35 Online formOnly an original report, previously lodged as an Online Form, can be amended using the Online Form platform.

To amend a report previously lodged as an Online Form, access the Portal: Select Online forms from the left menu Select the ESS report lodgment to be amended Make the necessary changes Select Submit to send the form.

If an amendment for additional employees would increase the number of employees to over 50, the following 2 options are available

the existing Online form lodgment can be cancelled and; o resubmit a full file, including the additional employees, via the File Transfer

function leave the existing Online form lodgement,

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o resubmit a file with only the additional employees via the File Transfer function.

1.36 Amendment examples

1.36.1 Amendment to ESS report for a taxed up front scheme eligible for reduction

Peter, Stewart and Maria are employed by Maddox Ltd in the 2018 financial year. Peter acquires 200 shares in their ESS at a discount of $1,212. Stewart received 800 shares at a discount of $2,000. Maria received 500 shares at a discount of $2,500.

On 14th August 2018, Maddox Ltd lodged a 2017 ESS. The following report extract shows how the above was reported.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – Original 2018 ESS ReportRef No


EmployeesPeter Stewart Maria


6.41 C Discount from taxed-upfront schemes - eligible for reduction 2112 2000 2500

6.62 M Amendment indicator O O O

On 4th September 2018, Maddox Ltd identifies that the discount amount reported for Peter was incorrect as they had reported $2,112 however they should have reported $1,212.

Maddox Ltd must tell both Peter and the ATO about the error within 30 days of becoming aware of it. Maddox Ltd lodges an amended 2018 ESS report.

If lodging a full file (with all employee records), the amended report must contain the correct information relating to Peter and all of the same information for all other employee records lodged in the original report. The amended report is completed as follows:

Employee Details Data Record 1 (Extract) – Peter Ref no



6.39 C Number of ESS interests from taxed upfront schemes eligible for reduction 00000000200

6.41 C Discount from taxed upfront schemes eligible for reduction 000000012126.60 C Plan date 201803316.61 M Acquisition date 201803316.62 M Amendment indicator A

The A Amendment indicator triggers the ATO system to cancel the original record for Peter and replace it with the new record.

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Employee Details Data Record 2 (Extract) – Stewart Ref no





Employee Details Data Record 3 (Extract) – Maria Ref no





The A Amendment indicator triggers the ATO system to cancel the original records for Stewart and Maria and replace them with the new records.

Or if preferred an amendment report containing only Peter’s employee details data can be lodged.

Employee Details Data Record 1 (Extract) – Peter Ref no





This example uses amendment Option 3 above, however either Option 1 or 2 could also be used.

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1.36.2 Amendment to ESS report as rights lapse after deferred taxing point in tax-deferred scheme

Caitlin works for Kanone Resorts Ltd and acquires 400 rights to acquire shares in Kanone Resorts Ltd for no consideration on 7th February 2017 under a tax-deferred ESS.

Caitlin ceases employment on 14th April 2018 and a deferred taxing point occurs. On that date the rights have a total market value of $2,000. She is allowed to keep her rights. Kanone Resorts Ltd reports the following information on the 2017 ESS report

400 at 'Number of ESS interests with a deferred taxing point arising during the year' $2,000 at 'Discount from deferral schemes'.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – Original 2017 ESS ReportRef no





6.60 C Plan date 201702076.61 M Acquisition date 201702076.62 M Amendment indicator O

On 7th February 2019, Caitlin's rights lapse because specified company performance conditions were not met.

The earlier deferred taxing point is now disregarded. As Kanone Resorts Ltd will be aware that Caitlin’s rights have lapsed, it is required to provide an amended statement for the 2017 financial year to Caitlin and amended data to the ATO within 30 days of the rights lapsing.

Kanone Resorts Ltd lodges an amended ESS report for the 2017 financial year with the ATO.

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – Amendment 2017 ESS ReportRef no





6.60 C Plan date 201702076.61 M Acquisition date 201702076.62 M Amendment indicator C

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1.36.3 Taxed-upfront scheme - not eligible for reduction with amendments to indeterminate rights

On 10th January 2017 Andrew received 600 shares in a taxed-upfront scheme eligible for reduction with a discount of $2,400.

On 14th April 2017, Andrew is granted a right to an employment benefit by his employer Big Insurance Ltd. Andrew pays no consideration for the right. The right is not subject to a real risk of forfeiture.

The right conferred on 14th April 2017 will be satisfied on 14th April 2019. At that time, Big Insurance Ltd will determine whether to satisfy the right with cash or Big Insurance Ltd shares. As Big Insurance Ltd had not, as at 30th June 2017, determined that Andrew would definitely receive shares in April 2019, Big Insurance Ltd does not report any details in its 2017 ESS annual report with reference to the right conferred on Andrew on 14th April 2017. Big Insurance Ltd’s record for Andrew in its 2017 ESS annual report includes these details:

Employee Details Data Record (Extract) – Original 2017 ESS ReportRef no

Filed type Field name Content



6.41 C Discount from taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction 000000024006.60 C Plan date 201701106.61 M Acquisition date 201701106.62 M Amendment indicator O

On 14th April 2019, Big Insurance Ltd gives Andrew 1,000 shares. The right that Andrew acquired on 14th April 2017 is now treated as if it had always been rights to acquire 1,000 shares. Those rights were acquired under a taxed-upfront scheme not eligible for reduction.

The market value of the rights on 14th April 2017 was $4,000. Because Andrew paid no consideration for the rights, the discount on the rights is $4,000.

In April 2019 Big Insurance Ltd lodges an amended ESS annual report for the 2017 financial year. The following information, relating to Andrew, is included:

600 at 'Number of ESS interests from taxed-upfront schemes - eligible for reduction' $2,400 at 'Discount from taxed-upfront schemes - eligible for reduction'. 1,000 at 'Number of ESS interests from taxed-upfront schemes - not eligible for

reduction' $4,000 at 'Discount from taxed-upfront schemes - not eligible for reduction'

Employee Details Data Record 1 (Extract) – Amendment RecordRef no




6.41 C Discount from taxed up front schemes - eligible for reduction 000000024006.60 C Plan date 201701106.61 M Acquisition date 20170110

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Ref no


6.62 M Amendment indicator A

Employee Details Data Record 2 (Extract) – New RecordRef no


6.37 M Scheme type N


6.44 C Discount from taxed up front schemes - not eligible for reduction 000000040006.60 C Plan date 201704146.61 M Acquisition date 201704146.62 M Amendment indicator O

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1.37 Does an employee have to provide an employer with a TFN?No. An employee is not obliged to disclose their TFN to an employer.

1.38 What do I do if an employee does not provide a TFN or a reason for a TFN exemption code to apply?

Withholding obligations may apply if the employee does not provide a valid TFN. Refer to Employer obligations.

1.39 How can a foreign entity without an ABN lodge an ESS report?For information on how to lodge an ESS report, where the entity does not hold a valid ABN, refer to Entity does not have an ABN.

1.40 How many employees and schemes can I report for using the Online form?

The Online Form is limited to entities that have an ABN and up to 50 employees with a maximum of 3 schemes for each employee.

1.41 Can I print a preview of the Online form data entered?You can only print the information entered once you have submitted the online form.

1.42 What is the difference between 'Acquisition date' and 'Plan Date'?The acquisition date is the date that the ESS interests were received. The plan date is the date of the taxing point. In the case of rights acquired in a taxed up front scheme or shares, the acquisition date and the plan date will be the same. In the case of rights acquired in a tax-deferred scheme, the acquisition date is the date that the rights were acquired and the plan date is the date of the deferred taxing point.

1.43 What is the difference between 'Assessable' and 'Gross' discount amounts?

The gross discount amount is the amount of discounts actually received by the employee. In cases where the employee is known to be a foreign resident or temporary resident for tax purposes and they spent time working in a foreign country, it may be possible to reduce the discount amount on a pro rata basis. An Assessable discount amount is the amount left after the Gross discount amount has been pro-rated to take into account time spent working in a foreign country. There are limited circumstances where this pro rata reduction is applicable.

For more information about Australian or temporary residents and ESS exemptions, refer to ESS – Foreign income exemption for Australian residents and temporary residents

For information about residency refer to Residency

A reduction in the discount amount reported may also apply where discounts are received on ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009, a cessation time occurred during the financial year and the employee spent time in foreign employment. For more information regarding ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009, refer to ESS interests with a taxing point before 1 July 2009.

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7. Frequently Asked Questions

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/employee-share-schemes/in-detail/ess-interests-with-a-taxing-point-before-1-july-2009/

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/employee-share-schemes/in-detail/ess-interests-with-a-taxing-point-before-1-july-2009/

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/International-tax-for-individuals/In-detail/Residency/

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Employee-share-schemes/In-detail/Foreign-residents/ESS---Foreign-income-exemption-for-Australian-residents-and-temporary-residents---employee-share-schemes/

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Employee-share-schemes/Employers/Employer-obligations/

Employers must indicate on the ESS annual report whether the amount reported is the ‘Gross’ or ‘Assessable’

on a Gross (unadjusted) basis or on an actual Assessable basis (which would take into account any period of foreign

service by the employee which may not be subject to Australian tax).

1.44 When to report A in the Discount amounts is Assessable field? ESS amounts Indicating that the ESS amount reported is ‘Assessable’ will indicate the amount has been adjusted for amounts that relate to employment outside of Australia.

1.45 When to report G in the Discount amounts is a Gross field?ESS amount Indicating that the ESS amount reported is ‘Gross’ will indicate the amount has not been adjusted for amounts that relate to employment outside of Australia.

1.46 Where can I find answers to more specific questions about ESS?For more information in regards to ESS, refer to Employee share schemes

Updates about ESS are also provided to subscribers in the ESS News and Updates Bulletin. To subscribe to the bulletin, email [email protected].

1.47 Do I have to report Acquisition only records?With reference to Deferral schemes, legislation states that acquisition only records should be reported, however the ATO is not making it mandatory to report a record for acquisition purposes only.

If in the financial year that the shares were acquired, and the Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme (6.47) field was not reported, this information is required to be reported within the financial year the taxing event occurred.

If in the financial year that the shares were acquired, and the Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme (6.47) field was reported, this information is not required to be reported again within the financial year the taxing event occurred. However, if the Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme (6.47) field was reported at both time of acquisition and taxing event, this will be accepted.

If the Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme (6.47) field was reported at time of acquisition, and is later found to be incorrect (due to being forfeited, cancelled or lapsed), to avoid unnecessary compliance action, an amendment record should be provided for the purposes of cancelling the previously reported record.

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https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Employee-share-schemes/

1.48 Appendix A – BDE validation error and warning codes

The following table lists the error and warning codes generated by the validation of ESS reports lodged using ESS reporting software, and shows the relevant message text.

Error codes (prefix GE, FS, VR) will cause the ESS report to reject. Warning codes (prefix WM) will allow the report to be processed but may prevent associated data from being made available for pre-fill.

CodeESS report electronic

reporting specificationFile / Field Reference

Message text

Generic errors

GE1 Entire file

The file contains non-ASCII characters. To lodge a file electronically you must first create a file that is generated from your software in a format and version supported by our systems. Scanned images or forms, screen prints, spreadsheets and word processing files (for example .pdf, .doc, .xls, .jpg, .tiff) cannot be lodged via the file transfer function on our portals. More information can be found at: www.ato.gov.au/filetransfer or contact your software developer.

GE2 Entire file The compressed file is corrupted and cannot be processed. Please try again.

GE3 Entire file The file cannot be processed, a virus has been detected.GE4 Entire file The file supplied is empty - it contains zero bytes.

GE6 Entire file Please contact your AUSkey Administrator. This type of file is not able to be sent by the AUSkey holder.

GE7 Entire file

The version of this file type cannot be sent by this channel. Other report types and versions may be able to be sent through another ATO channel. More information can be found at: www.ato.gov.au/filetransfer or contact your software developer.

GE8 Entire file Please contact your software developer. The file size is not a correct multiple of the record length.

GE9 Entire file

The file is an invalid format. To lodge a file electronically you must first create a file that is generated from your software in a format and version supported by our systems. Scanned images or forms, screen prints, spreadsheets and word processing files (for example .pdf, .doc, .xls, .jpg, .tiff) cannot be lodged via the file transfer function on our portals. More information can be found at: www.ato.gov.au/filetransfer or contact your software developer.

GE10 Entire file The file cannot be processed as it contains a compressed file within a compressed file.

GE11 Entire file The declaration was not completed.

GE12 Entire file The process to test or send this file was not completed correctly.

GE13 Entire file This file was not received.

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8. Appendices



Message text

GE14 Entire file

This file is a duplicate of an already lodged file, reference @DupBET@ submitted on @RegDt@. Download the validation report for the original file to confirm if the file has been: successfully lodged or tested; OR completed with warnings; OR rejected due to errors.

GE15 Entire file The compressed file contains no files. Please try again.

GE16 Entire file

An error was found. To lodge a file electronically you must first create a file that is generated from your software in a format and version supported by our systems. Scanned images or forms, screen prints, spreadsheets and word processing files (for example .pdf, .doc, .xls, .jpg, .tiff) cannot be lodged via the file transfer function on our portals. More information can be found at: www.ato.gov.au/filetransfer. If the error persists contact the ATO.

GE18 Entire file This file contains more than the allowable non-ASCII characters and cannot be processed. To lodge a file electronically you must first create a file that is generated from your software in a format and version supported by our systems. More information can be found at: www.ato.gov.au/filetransfer or contact your software developer.

GE21 Entire fileThe file contains invalid data. More information can be found at: www.ato.gov.au/filetransfer or contact your software developer.

File Structure errors

FS01 Entire file Please contact your software developer. The file contains an unexpected End of File (EOF) marker.

FS02 Entire file Please contact your software developer. The file contains unexpected Carriage Return/Line Feed characters.

FS03 Entire file

Please contact your software developer. The file contains a Carriage Return character without a detected Line Feed character or contains a Line Feed character without a preceding Carriage return character.

FS05 Entire file Please contact your software developer. The file does not contain expected Carriage Return/Line feed characters.

FS06 Entire file Please contact your software developer. The file contains an illegal character at end of last record.

FS08 Entire file

Please contact your software developer. Records must be in the defined sequence. This record and any subsequent records will be ignored during file validation until we find a valid sequence of records.

Record level errors

VR01 Entire file Please contact your software developer. The Record length field must be '996'.

VR04 Entire file The field must not contain blanks or non-numeric characters.

VR06 6.31, 6.59 The field must be entered but you did not report anything in this field.

VR09 6.13, 6.24 The state or territory field must contain either: ACT, NSW, VIC, QLD, NT, SA, WA, TAS or OTH.

VR12Intermediary data record and Reporting party identity data record 6.4

The Australian business number field must contain a valid Australian business number.

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Message text

VR13 6.17The Run type field must contain either 'T' (Test - used by Software Developers only) or 'P' (Production - used for lodgment of report submitted to the ATO).

VR20 Intermediary data record 6.14 The postcode field must be within the range of '0001-9999'.

VR37 6.20 The Financial year field cannot be after the current Financial year.

VR43 6.64 The Number of Records field must equal the total of all records in this file.

VR46 6.17Please contact your software developer. The Run type field must be 'P' (Production - used for lodgment of report to the ATO).

VR58 6.2Please contact your software developer. The Record Identifier in File Total Data Record must contain 'FILE-TOTAL'.

VR165 6.12 The field must contain at least one alpha character (A-Z, a-z).

VR172 6.4 Please contact your software developer. The ABN must be within the range of ‘00000000000-99999999999’.

VR202 6.7 The field must contain only the following valid values: A-Z a-z 0-9 space apostrophe hyphen

VR203 6.12, 6.22 The field must contain only the following valid values: A-Z a-z 0-9 space apostrophe hyphen () & /

VR332 6.29 The Record Identifier in Employee Data Record must contain 'DESS'.

VR337 Various fields The field must contain only the following valid values: A-Z, 0-9 space apostrophe hyphen () & /.

VR377 6.2Please contact your software developer. The Record Identifier in Intermediary Data Record must contain ‘IDENTREGISTER.

VR378 6.5

The Date timestamp field must contain a valid date in the format YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.ffTZD. For example: 5th August, 2018, 8:15:30.40 am, Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) would be reported as 2018-08-05T08:15:30.40+10:00

VR381 6.19, 6.29, 6.63

Please contact your software developer. This record and any subsequent records will be ignored during file validation until we find a valid sequence of records. The Record identifier must be in this sequence: IDENTREGISTER, IDENTITY, DESS and FILE-TOTAL.

VR382 6.65Total count of Reporting party identity data record reported does not equal the actual number of Individual Identity Data Records reported in the file.

VR383 6.66Total count of Employee details data record reported does not equal the actual number of Employee details data record reported in the file.

VR385 6.19 The Record Identifier in Reporting party identity data record must contain 'IDENTITY'.

VR397 6.60 The date in this field must be equal to or greater than the date in Acquisition date field.

VR475 6.62 Value must be A (Amendment), O (Original) or C (Cancelled).

VR515 6.20Financial year reported in Employee Details Data Record must be the same as the Financial year reported in the Reporting Party Identity Data Record,

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Message text

VR517 6.37

Field must contain value of either: E (Taxed up-front scheme – eligible for reduction), N (Taxed up-front scheme – not eligible for reduction), D (Deferral schemes), P (ESS interest acquired pre 1st July 2009) or S (Start-up concession).

VR528 6.60 The date provided must be the within the Financial year reported in the Reporting Party Identity Data Record.

VR529 6.20 The Financial year field must be on or after 2018.

Record level warnings

WM01 Applies to alphanumeric fields.

The field must contain at least one alpha character (A-Z, a-z).

WM02 6.9, 6.10 The field must be entered but you did not report anything in this field.

WM03 6.13 The state or territory field must contain either: ACT, NSW, VIC, QLD, NT, SA, WA, TAS or OTH.

WM06 6.14, 6.25 The state or territory field is 'OTH' therefore the postcode field must be '9999'.

WM07 6.14, 6.25 The state or territory field is not 'OTH' therefore the postcode field must not be '9999'.

WM09 6.27

Please contact your software developer. The Software product type field must contain 'COMMERCIAL' followed by Software developer name, software product and software version number or 'INHOUSE' followed by report supplier or contractor/consultant company name.

WM10 6.32, 6.60, 6.61 The date field must not contain a future date.

WM15 6.15, 6.26The postcode field is '9999' therefore the country field cannot be blank or a country name other than Australia must be entered.

WM17 6.15, 6.26 The postcode field is between 0001-9998 therefore the country field must be blank or contain Australia.

WM50 6.16,

The local part of an email address (before the @) generally consists of letters and digits and may also include some special characters. The domain part (after the @) generally consists of letters, digits, hyphens and dots only. A domain part must include a dot, but must not start or end with a dot.

WM52 6.7, 6.8, 6.11, 6.12, 6.22 The field must not commence with a space.

WM53 6.7, 6.8, 6.12, 6.22 The name field must not contain two or more spaces between names.

WM120 Applies to alphanumeric fields.

The field must contain only the following valid values: A-Z a-z 0-9 space apostrophe hyphen () & /

WM133 6.8, 6.33, 6.34, 6.35 The field must contain only the following valid values: A-Z a-z 0-9 space apostrophe hyphen

WM253 6.17

The Run type field contains 'T' (Test). Data contained in Reports where the Run type field is input as ‘T’ will not be processed onto the ATO’s production environment. Only data contained in Reports where the Run type field is input as ‘P’ (and the report is not rejected) will be processed onto the ATO’s production environment.

WM272 6.61 The date field must contain a valid date in the format CCYYMMDD.

WM275 6.51 Field must contain value of either: ‘A’ (assessable) or ‘G’ (gross)

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Message text

WM277 6.39, 6.40, 6.41 When Scheme type value is either D, N, P or S, this field must be zero filled.

WM279 6.42, 6.43, 6.44 When Scheme type value is either E, D, P or S, this field must be zero filled.

WM281 6.45, 6.47, 6.48 When Scheme type value is either E, N or S, this field must be zero filled.

WM282 6.46 When Scheme type value is either E, N or S, this field must be zero filled.

WM283 6.49 When Scheme type value is either E, D, N, or S, this field must be zero filled.

WM285 6.52, 6.53, 6.54, 6.55, 6.56, 6.57

When Scheme type value is either E, D, N, or P, this field must be zero filled.

WM315 6.39Field must be greater than zero if Discount from taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction field is greater than zero.

WM316 6.42Field must be greater than zero if Discount from taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction field is greater than zero.

WM317 6.45, 6.46

This field or Number of ESS interests with a deferred taxing point arising during the year field must be greater than zero if Discount from deferral schemes field is greater than zero.

WM318 6.52Field must be greater than zero if Market value of shares acquired under start-up concession field is greater than zero.

WM319 6.55Field must be greater than zero if Market value of ordinary shares on the date options acquired under start-up concession field is greater than zero

WM321 All records in fileRecord contained non-ASCII characters but these were converted to an equivalent ASCII character or zero for processing.

WM328 6.28 Field must contain value of either: 'Y' (Yes, start-up business) or 'N' (No, non-start-up business)

WM585 6.60 If the Scheme type is 'S', the Plan date must be blank filled.

WM586 6.58 If the Discount amounts are assessable or gross field is ‘A’ then this field must be greater than zero.

WM587 6.60 If the Scheme type is 'E’ or ‘N’, the Plan date must contain a valid date in the format CCYYMMDD.

WM588 6.60

If the Scheme type is ‘D’ and the Discount from deferral schemes with a deferred taxing point during the year is greater than zero, the Plan date must contain a valid date in the format CCYYMMDD.

WM589 6.60

If the Number of ESS interests acquired during the year under deferral scheme field is greater than zero and the Number of ESS interests with a deferred taxing point arising during the year field is zero, the Plan Date field must be blank filled.

WM590 6.32The date field must contain a valid date in the format CCYYMMDD. Not all of the components of the date need to be entered. Those not entered must be blank filled.

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1.49 Appendix B – pre-filling informationPre-filling The following ESS data may be used by pre-filling into myTax and the Tax Agent Portal:

Reporting Party identity details recordo Australian business number (6.4) o Name (6.7)o Reporting Party trading name (6.21)

Employee Details Data Recordo Discount from taxed upfront schemes - eligible for reduction (6.41)o Discount from taxed upfront schemes - not eligible for reduction (6.44)o Discount from deferred schemes with a deferred taxing point during the year

(6.48)o Discount on ESS interests acquired before 1st July 2009 and 'cessation time'

occurred during the financial year (6.49)o TFN amounts withheld from discounts (6.50)o Discount amounts are assessable or gross indicator (6.51) – informative onlyo Plan reference/identifier (6.59)

ESS amounts will be aggregated when the Plan reference number is identical. This is because records should be displayed to the taxpayer exactly as per the ESS statement received from the employer (i.e. one ESS statement for each identical plan reference number).

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1.50 Appendix C – ERS/online forms Field name reference comparison

Provider sectionERS

Reference number

ERS Field name Online Form

6.7 Name Provider’s name6.4 Australian business number Provider’s ABN6.22 Postal address line 1 Provider’s address6.22 Postal address line 2 Provider’s address6.23 Postal address suburb, town or locality Provider’s address6.24 Postal address state or territory Provider’s address6.25 Postal address postcode Provider’s address6.26 Postal address country Provider’s address6.28 ESS start-up business indicator (=Y or N) Is this a start-up company?6.8 Contact name Authorised contact name

6.9 Contact phone number area code Authorised contact phone number area code

6.10 Contact phone number Authorised contact phone number6.16 Email address Authorised contact email6.8 Name Intermediary contact name

6.9 Contact phone number area code Intermediary contact phone number area code

6.10 Contact phone number Intermediary contact phone number

Employees sectionERS

Reference number


6.30 Employee tax file number Employee’s TFN6.4 Australian business number (ABN) Employee’s ABN6.31 Reporting party employee identifier Employee’s identifier6.33 Surname or family name Employee’s family name6.34 First given name Employee’s given name6.35 Second given name Employee’s other given name6.32 Date of birth Employee’s date of birth6.15 Street address country Country6.11 Street address line 1 Address details6.11 Street address line 2 Address details6.12 Street address suburb, town or locality Suburb/town/locality details6.14 Street address postcode Postcode details6.13 Street address state or territory State/territory details

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1.50.1.1 Share scheme details

Fields for ‘Start-up’ scheme typeERS Reference number


6.36 SRN/HIN SRN/HIN6.59 Plan reference/identifier Plan identifier6.37 Scheme type Scheme type6.61 Acquisition date Acquisition date

6.52 Number of shares acquired under start-up concession Number of shares acquired

6.53 Market value of shares acquired under start-up concession Market value of shares acquired

6.54 Acquisition price of shares acquired under start-up concession Acquisition price of shares acquired

6.55 Number of options acquired under start-up concession Number of options acquired

6.56 Market value of ordinary shares on the date options acquired under start-up concession Market value of options acquired

6.57 Exercise price of options acquired under start-up concession Exercise price per option acquired

6.50 TFN amounts withheld from discounts TFN amounts withheld form discounts

Fields for ‘Deferred’ scheme typeERS

Reference number


6.36 SRN/HIN SRN/HIN6.59 Plan reference/identifier Plan identifier6.37 Scheme type Scheme type6.61 Acquisition date Acquisition date6.60 Plan date Plan date

6.48 Discount from deferral schemes with a deferred taxing point during the year Discount

6.45 Number of ESS interests acquired during the year under deferral scheme

Number of ESS interests acquired during the year

6.46 Number of ESS interests with a deferred taxing point arising during the year

Number of ESS interests with a taxing point arising during the year

6.47 Acquisition price of shares acquired under a deferral scheme Acquisition price of ESS interests acquired


6.58 Number of days of overseas employmentWas this employee employed overseas during the year?Number of days of overseas employment

6.51 Discount amounts are assessable or gross Have discounts for this employee been reported as assessable or gross amounts?

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Fields for ‘Taxed upfront – eligible for reduction’ scheme typeERS

Reference number



6.41 Discount from taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction Discount

6.39 Number of ESS interests from taxed up front schemes eligible for reduction Number of ESS interests

6.40 Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – eligible for reduction Acquisition price of ESS interests acquired




Fields for ‘Taxed upfront – not eligible for reduction’ scheme typeERS

Reference number



6.44 Discount from taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction Discount

6.42 Number of ESS interests from taxed up front schemes not eligible for reduction Number of ESS interests

6.43Acquisition price of shares acquired under taxed up front schemes – not eligible for reduction

Acquisition price of ESS interests acquired




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Fields for ‘ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009’ scheme typeERS

Reference number



6.49Discount on ESS interests acquired pre 1st July 2009 – and ‘cessation time’ occurred during the financial year

Discount




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Documents

softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au · Web viewFor all other amendments, cancellation of the original is required to occur before amended data can be submitted. For this reason, it is