The General Financial Directorate has issued information for employers and employees concerning the taxation of income from employee share and option plans. The GFŘ is thus responding to the uncertainty caused by the recently approved change in the method of taxation.
According to the amendment, if an employer does not announce its choice of deferred taxation, employee income from share and option plans received by the employee before the amendment came into effect will be considered settled in the second month after the amendment came into effect or as income for the 2025 tax period. Last year, the Ministry of Finance already anticipated that income received in 2024 would be subject to the same taxation method as that applicable until the end of 2023, i.e., income from dependent activity would be taxable in the month in which the shares or transferable options were acquired. Some employers therefore proceeded to tax their employees' income during 2024 in accordance with the wording effective in 2023.
The General Financial Directorate confirms this procedure in its published information. For the 2024 tax period and for the part of the 2025 tax period before the amendment comes into effect, the financial administration will accept the procedure under the legislation effective until December 31, 2023. The financial administration will also accept the same procedure in cases where taxation takes place within the tax return. Natural persons (employees) will be able to choose whether to include income from employee share and option plans received in 2024 in their tax returns for 2025 (provided that the employer does not announce a deferral of taxation) or whether to include it in their tax returns for 2024.
