Tax errors can be costly! Don't draw unwanted attention from the IRS. Our Tax Center explains and illustrates the tax rules for sales of company stock, W-2s, withholding, estimated taxes, AMT, and more.
Podcast included! Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) are a super deal. However, the related taxation and financial planning can be deceptively complex. This article presents the essential points that you should understand before you participate in your company's ESPP.
One good thing about employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) is they can't be "underwater" like stock options. In fact, an ESPP with a discount and a lookback can be a good deal even in down markets. This article explains the unique shelter from volatile and falling stock prices that ESPPs offer.
Your company's employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) can be a strong financial benefit, but the rules and taxation can be tricky. Part 2 delves into the complicated topics of holding periods, tax treatment, and the impact of various life events on your ESPP participation and holdings.
Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) are popular and prevalent at most public companies. However, the structure of these plans is changing. These modifications may affect your decision to participate in your ESPP and its place in your financial planning.
After you decide to participate in your company's employee stock purchase plan, your next decision is whether to sell the stock soon after purchase or to hold it (and for how long). This article series examines different ways to participate in your ESPP according to relative risk tolerance, timeframe, and needs for money.
You can build your employee stock purchase plan into your long-range savings and retirement strategy. This article compares buying company stock at a discount through your ESPP to putting the same money into your 401(k) or another retirement plan.
Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) are changing in many ways, largely in response to accounting rules. For Part 2, myStockOptions.com asked financial and wealth advisors what they are recommending to clients about ESPP participation.
Podcast included! When you think about year-end financial and tax planning, don't forget to review shares acquired through an employee stock purchase plan. This article outlines issues and strategies to contemplate.
Before you participate in your company's employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), understand the following essential points for financial planning with ESPPs...
Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) can be designed in different ways and provided with various features that make them appealing to participants. Before you enroll in your company's ESPP, run through this checklist of questions to answer...
Employee stock purchase plans cannot be "underwater" in the traditional sense of having a purchase price greater than the current stock price. With an ESPP, the market price at the beginning of an offering does not...
Companies make some information available voluntarily, while the reporting of other information is mandatory. Section 6039(a) of the Internal Revenue Code requires companies to send an information statement to employees who have exercised incentive stock options or have made purchases in a tax-qualified Section 423 employee stock purchase plan. ISO exercises are reported on IRS Form 3921. ESPP purchases are reported on IRS Form 3922...
Mandatory expensing started in 2006. Companies must recognize an earnings charge unless their ESPPs fit into the discount safe harbor rule. This has led companies to re-examine features of their ESPPs, including...
Because of the accounting rule, companies have taken various approaches to modifying the features of their ESPPs: reducing the discount, shortening the lookback period, or even...
If you have more than one batch of company stock, you are responsible for providing your broker with enough information to identify which shares to sell. If you do not specify...
Although the practice is somewhat uncommon, your company may have a required holding period after purchase to encourage share ownership and prevent the flipping of the stock. As for the tax treatment, this does...
If an IPO company wants to lock in the IPO price as the initial grant-date price of its employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), it can do so for the initial offering period of up to 27 months...
If your company's ESPP is qualified under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Section 16 ramifications of participating in the plan are not as...
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Tax errors can be costly! Don't draw unwanted attention from the IRS. Our Tax Center explains and illustrates the tax rules for sales of company stock, W-2s, withholding, estimated taxes, AMT, and more.
Listen to our podcast on the basics, or watch our videos on the core concepts and benefits, important rules, and tax issues for ESPPs.
Basics
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