Leaving Company Share scheme - keep or cash in?

[Bullett]

I've just left my old company (Kingston-on-Hull based telco)and started in a new place. I have just had a letter saying they need to close my SIP scheme and would I like to cash in my shares or get a share certificate?

I don't need the money, but wanted to do the most tax efficient thing (I'm PAYE).

If I take the cash do I get taxed before the cash gets to me or will I need to do a tax return (when do I need to do this?) I also want to claim back my extra mileage allowance for this FY(15ppm to 40ppm).

Or do I take the Share certificate and hope they go up in value and cash them in when I need them and pay tax then. They seem to be at a 3 year high right now with a gentle uphill trend.

[northandy]

Fwiw when I left my old employer I had a similar option, my scheme was an AESOP scheme which meant as long as the shares were kept for 5 years you were free of tax/ni and capital gains tax. However I obviously had a lot that the hadn't been in 5 years when I left, I took the certificate option so my employer sold enough to pay the tax due and then put it through payroll.

It worked for me as the shares were $55 when I left, and are now $93

So now I am making sure I use my capital gains tax allowance this year, so will sell as many as I can to cover that.