ISOs

NEW! Need a financial, tax, or legal advisor?
Search AdvisorFind from myStockOptions.com

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.

ISOs › AMT Advanced

Test your knowledge with our NEW! ISOs quiz and interactive answer key!

Test your knowledge with our Stock Options quiz and interactive answer key!

Listen to our podcast on the basics of stock options, or watch our videos on core concepts and ISO taxes.

Articles

The Alternative Minimum Tax Sweet Spot: Planning Opportunities

Tom Davison and William Whitaker

If you must pay the alternative minimum tax (AMT), the best move may be to increase income and pay even more AMT! Find out why by reading this surprising analysis.

The ISO Tax Trap And The AMT Credit Myth: What To Do Before Exercise And At Year-End

Alan Ungar

The tax reductions of the past few years have brought both good and bad news for holders of incentive stock options. While you may have lower capital gains rates when you hold the shares long enough after exercise, it is harder to avoid the risks of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and to fully recover any AMT credit.

ISOs: Tax-Return Tips And Traps

myStockOptions Editorial Team & Contributors

Tax reporting with incentive stock options (ISOs) can be tricky. Learn what you need to report on your return at each stage of your ISO's life cycle.

Show More Articles (4 more)

Early-Exercise ISOs Complicated By Final IRS Regulations

Michael Frank

Featuring reverse vesting, early-exercise stock options are usually granted only by pre-IPO companies. The IRS regulations on ISOs increase risk in early-exercise options, making it crucial that you understand the tax treatment.

ISOs And Wash Sales: A Trap Within A Trap

Kaye Thomas

A trap awaits those who, after selling shares from exercised ISOs to avoid AMT, want to buy back the stock.

UPDATES! 12 Tax-Return Mistakes To Avoid With Stock Options And ESPPs

Bruce Brumberg and Lynnette Khalfani

Tax returns involving income from stock options or ESPPs can be confusing. The potential for mistakes is increased by new IRS reporting forms and rules for the 2019 tax season. This article explains errors to avoid when reporting stock compensation and stock sales on your tax return.

Stockbrokers' Secrets: Year-End Planning For ISOs

John P. Barringer

Learn about year-end planning for incentive stock options. This article includes ideas related to the alternative minimum tax.

FAQs

What ISO strategies can help minimize AMT liability?

Experts suggest several strategies for you to consider when you exercise ISOs and are concerned about triggering the alternative minimum tax. For example, near year-end or at the beginning of the year, you can...

I know that my ISO exercises will trigger the AMT for me this year or next. Are there planning strategies related to other tax payments and income?

When you are intermittently subject to the AMT, tax advisors suggest different planning ideas on shifting income and deductions. You have much less flexibility in your planning when you project paying AMT for the next several tax years. A basic plan is to...

I have paid AMT, so do I get an adjustment when I sell the ISO shares to get all the taxes back?

It's not that simple. AMT requires you to account separately for ISO shares not only at exercise but also when the shares are sold. If you paid AMT as a result of exercising ISOs, your sale of the ISO shares provides an opportunity for you to recover...

Show More FAQs (17 more)

Are there any AMT strategies when I also have NQSOs?

Yes. The AMT from your ISO exercises might be so high this year that you can also exercise NQSOs and essentially not pay any tax on the spread...

Earlier in the year, I exercised ISOs, held the stock, and had a big spread from the market price that will trigger AMT. But my company's stock price has dropped below my exercise price. Can I eliminate AMT and even claim a tax loss?

As long as you sell the shares on or before December 31, you will...

I exercised ISOs early last year. The stock price has dropped, and I want to sell my shares before the one-year anniversary of the exercise date. Is this considered a disqualifying disposition that would cause the spread at exercise not to be a preference item for AMT?

It would be a disqualifying disposition, but you still have an AMT preference item for your...

UPDATES! If I exercise ISOs and hold the stock (triggering AMT for the spread) or sell the stock in a disqualifying disposition, will I need to make estimated tax payments?

You need to pay enough tax during the year through withholding or estimated tax payments to avoid penalties and interest. The tax that has to be paid includes any AMT attributable to the exercise of ISOs or any ordinary income from a disqualifying disposition. In these ISO situations, your employer does not...

After I have paid the AMT on my ISO exercise-and-hold income, what are some mistakes that I must avoid on my tax return?

Whether you still hold the ISO stock or you sold it in the past year, once you have paid AMT your tax returns get complex. The AMT is basically a prepayment of the tax on ISOs. You will get a credit for it in subsequent years, even when you have not sold the ISO stock. This means, for example, that you still need to...

What should I do if I forgot to report the ISO exercise/hold on my tax return but now realize I may owe AMT?

Generally, if you find a tax-return error and the statute of limitations period has not yet ended, you are required to file...

What is the tax basis of my ISO stock that I use to calculate the sale gain for AMT purposes?

When you trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT) from an ISO exercise, you create dual-basis stock. This means that for the purposes of calculating your AMT gain and adjustment, the basis of the shares will be calculated differently for the regular tax and for AMT. For your regular tax, the basis is...

Are qualified dividends included in the AMT calculation?

Qualified dividends do receive special tax treatment when they are part of your net capital gain. The amount of AMT is capped by the...

When I hold ISO stock, how far must the stock price drop from the market price at exercise for AMT to exceed what my ordinary income tax would be if I sold the shares this year?

Assume that the ISO exercise/hold or other parts of the AMT calculation will trigger AMT. A rule of thumb is...

My company's stock price has dropped substantially since I acquired shares from my stock grants, leaving me with a ruinous tax bill much larger than my gains. Is there anything I can do to reduce or eliminate the ordinary income or AMT that I owe?

To eliminate the tax, you would have had to sell the stock in the calendar year of your exercise. While some general approaches to this situation exist, only with ISO stock is there a possible escape hatch. Fortunately...

My company allows me to exercise my ISOs early and receive stock subject to a company repurchase right during the vesting schedule. Does my early exercise before vesting affect the calculations for AMT or disqualifying dispositions?

Generally, stock options are exercisable when they vest. However, some pre-IPO companies grant ISOs that allow employees to exercise early into stock that is subject to a...

What is a wash sale?

If you sell company shares for a loss and buy more company shares within 30 calendar days before or after the loss transaction, the federal tax code will...

How does the wash sale rule apply if I sell ISO stock to avoid AMT and then quickly repurchase the stock at current market prices?

The wash sale rule disallows the loss on a sale of stock if the same stock...

If I gift or donate stock from an incentive stock option exercise/hold that triggered AMT, do I get an adjustment for it on my AMT return? What happens to my AMT credit?

Unlike with a stock sale, gifting ISO stock does not result in an AMT adjustment for the difference...

What would happen to my AMT credit at death, or to an AMT credit created by my estate?

Some experts take the position that an AMT credit transfer, at least in a community property state...

I have a large unused AMT credit. Is there still a refundable AMT credit to help me use it faster?

The refundable AMT credit provision expired after 2012. It is not available. The history of the provision and its workings are detailed in this FAQ...

UPDATES! At year-end, is there any general way to determine how many ISOs I can exercise and hold before triggering the AMT?

One strategy for minimizing AMT is to spread out the exercise of ISOs over...