Your company gave you shares. Your payslip took a big chunk. Now you've sold some and you're wondering if there's anything left to do. Usually there is.
Tax one: when they vest
On vesting day the shares become yours. Their value that day is treated like salary, so income tax, USC and PRSI apply. Your employer normally deducts this through payroll, often by selling some of the shares for you ("sell to cover").
That part is generally handled. You don't file anything for it if you're PAYE.
Tax two: when you sell
Once vested, the shares are just shares. If you sell them later for more than they were worth on vesting day, the rise is a capital gain. That's yours to report and pay.
Your cost isn't zero, which is a common mistake. It's the value on vesting day, because you've already been taxed on that.
Example
100 shares vest when they're worth $150 each. Rate that day: $1.10 = €1. Cost: €13,636.
You sell them a year later at $190. Rate that day: $1.08 = €1. Proceeds: €17,593.
Gain: €3,957. Less €1,270: €2,687. Tax at 33%: €886.71.
Sold straight away?
If you sell on vesting day, or the shares sold to cover tax, there's usually little or no gain. Small currency or price moves can still create a gain or a loss of a few euro. Those still belong on your return.
Several vests, one sale
If you have shares from different vesting dates, Irish rules say the first shares you got are the first ones you sold (first in, first out). Each batch has its own cost. This is where spreadsheets get messy, and where cgteasy does the matching for you.
What you need
- Your vesting confirmations or broker history showing vest dates and values
- Your sale confirmations
- The ECB euro rate for each date