Capital gains or income tax?

[Karcheer]

We had shares in a private company that recently sold. My husband was given these when he joined the company as part of his package. He left the company about three years ago but retained the shares.
We were expecting to pay cgt but have just received a letter from the company solicitor saying income tax has been paid to the tax office.
Clearly this makes a huge difference.
Is it correct? Is there anything we can do?

It really depends on the terms of the contract. It is possible that these share could be attributed to employment income but my first instinct would be to say they are not (although it’s been a long time since I’ve studied this). I would query it.

The inland revenue are normally really helpful with queries. I would say check the contact and ring them.

What sort of thing would I be looking for in the contract?

If they are LTIPS they usually go via payroll. Speak to a tax accountant. Only the scheme details will tell you.