Offering shares to employees can be an important part of the armoury to incentivise employees. In designing such a scheme, don't forget to consider the qualification requirements for entrepreneurs' relief as this can have a significant impact upon the tax that your employee would be required to pay. Bryan Rickman explains how to ensure that share scheme incentives are optimised.

Trading through a limited company gives you a number of advantages. It enables you to involve other investors in the business in a structured way, it means you can defer taking income from the company until it suits your tax planning, and it provides you with a potentially clearer exit by selling your shares in the company. But running a limited company brings with it legal responsibilities and you need to be sure that you are happy to take these on.