ISOs
Annotated diagram of Schedule DTax 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.
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ISOs - Taxes Advanced

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Articles

IRS Form 3921 For Incentive Stock Options: What You Need To Know, And How It Can Help You Understand ISO Taxation This is premium content

Incentive stock option (ISO) exercises made during a calendar year must be reported by the company to you and the IRS on Form 3921 by January 31 of the following year. This article explains what you need to know about the information on the form, and how the form can help you better understand the complexities of ISO taxation.

ISOs: Tax-Return Tips And Traps This is premium content

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.

12 Tax-Return Mistakes To Avoid With Stock Options And ESPPs This is premium content

Tax returns involving income from stock options or employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) can be confusing. Recent changes in IRS reporting rules haven't helped. This article explains errors and nasty surprises to avoid.
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VIDEO! Employee Stock Option Taxes: What You Need To Know

To make the most of stock options, you must understand their taxation. In this video, learn the tax basics of nonqualified stock options (NQSOs) and incentive stock options (ISOs) through clear and concise explanations by the editor-in-chief of myStockOptions.com, along with animated examples. Running time: 4:37

ISOs And Wash Sales: A Trap Within A Trap

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

How To Report Sales Of Company Stock On Your Tax Return

Form 8949 and Sch. D diagrams! If you sold shares in 2022 that you acquired from equity compensation or an ESPP, you will need to report the sale on the federal tax return that you file in 2023. Learn here what you must know to avoid expensive mistakes and unwanted IRS attention. Our annotated diagrams of Form 8949 and Schedule D can help you make sense of the reporting rules.

Get The Cost Basis Right To Avoid Overpaying Tax On Stock Sales: Understand IRS Forms 1099-B And 8949 For Tax Returns This is premium content

Video included! The stock-sale information provided by brokers on IRS Form 1099-B has changed. Cost-basis reporting, both for your broker on Form 1099-B and for you on your tax return, is now more complex, confusing, and vulnerable to errors. This article explains the crucial facts you must know to avoid overpaying tax or attracting unwanted IRS attention.

Hedging Your ISO Stock This is premium content

Podcast included! Hedging stock from exercises of incentive stock options (ISOs) is complex, but it is possible in certain situations. Financial engineering can create a floor under the ISO stock while letting the capital gains holding period continue.

Final ISO Regulations Affect Stock Plan Design, Optionholders, And Advisors (Part 1) This is premium content

The final rules clarify and consolidate a tangle of proposed, temporary, and final regulations, as well as other guidance, that governed the taxation of ISOs, including rules for disqualifying dispositions.

Final ISO Regulations Affect Stock Plan Design, Optionholders, And Advisors (Part 2) This is premium content

The final rules clarify and consolidate a tangle of proposed, temporary, and final regulations, as well as other guidance, that governed the taxation of ISOs, including rules for the $100,000 ISO limit.

Early-Exercise ISOs Complicated By Final IRS Regulations This is premium content

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.

How Tax Rate Changes Impact Your Stock Grant Strategies (Part 3): Incentive Stock Options This is premium content

With tax changes in mind, now may be a good time to re-evaluate your current financial-planning strategy. Should you take action with stock options now? Part 3 looks at incentive stock options.

VIDEO! Tax-Return Reporting Of Company Stock Sales: How To Avoid Overpaying Taxes

Learn the rules for reporting stock sales on your tax return, along with costly errors to avoid if the shares you sold came from stock options, restricted stock/RSUs, stock appreciation rights, or an employee stock purchase plan. Among other issues, you must understand your "cost basis" to avoid overpaying your taxes. Running time: 8:05.

Stockbrokers' Secrets: Year-End Planning For ISOs This is premium content

Learn about year-end planning for incentive stock options (ISOs). This article includes guidance on how to take advantage of the special ISO tax treatment and on the alternative minimum tax.

FAQs

What are the biggest mistakes related to stock options I can make on my tax return, and how can I avoid them? This is premium content

It is all too easy to make costly tax-return errors that attract unwanted IRS attention. Learn how to prevent mistakes...

Is there an optimal time during the tax year to exercise incentive stock options? This is premium content

With incentive stock options (ISOs), when you hold the shares for more than one year from exercise and two years from grant, the entire gain at sale over the exercise price is...

What do I need to know about the information on IRS Form 3921 for incentive stock options? This is premium content

Your company is required to file Form 3921 with the IRS and either give you a copy or present the same information on a substitute document by January 31 of the year following the tax year. With this reporting, the IRS now knows more information about your ISO exercises than it did before, particularly with regard to...
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What tax treatment applies after ISOs are converted to NQSOs? This is premium content

To have beneficial tax-qualified status, grants of ISOs must have certain characteristics and must follow...

UPDATES! What happens with taxes on stock options if I live, work, or work remotely in different states during the period between grant and exercise? This is premium content

Generally, each state you live in determines what income is taxable and when. For administrative ease, many companies...

What tax statement will I receive from my broker after a sale of company stock? What key facts should I know about it? This is premium content

Form 1099-B or the equivalent substitute statement is necessary for the accurate completion of your tax return. Five facts you must know about this reporting to avoid tax-return mistakes are...

What are some major issues to be aware of when reporting stock sales on my tax return? Why have these issues arisen?

Major changes have occurred in tax-return reporting in recent years, making accurate tax-return reporting more complex and difficult...

In the cost basis I use to report sales of company stock on my tax return, what part comprises the W-2 income from stock compensation or an ESPP? This is premium content

When your W-2 income is added to the price you paid for the stock, this is your cost basis on your tax return. The table below presents the compensation portion of your tax basis for all types of stock grants and ESPPs...

How have IRS Form 1099-B and cost-basis reporting changed for sales of stock acquired from my stock options, restricted stock, or ESPP? What do I need to do differently? This is premium content

If you sold shares during the calendar year, your brokerage firm will issue IRS Form 1099-B by mid-February of the following year. This is an important document that you must have to complete your tax return for the year of sale...

What if the wrong cost basis is reported on my 1099-B? How do I report the right cost basis on Form 8949 of my tax return? This is premium content

From our interpretation of the forms and their instructions, myStockOptions.com recommends the following reporting steps to avoid overpaying taxes...

Form 8949 and Sch. D diagrams How am I taxed if I have made a disqualifying disposition (e.g. sale) of ISO shares in a different year than the year I exercised the option? How do I report this? This is premium content

With ISOs, it is always the sale that triggers taxes. The rules are similar to those that apply to sales of ISO shares made in the same year as exercise; the difference is that...

Form 8949 and Sch. D diagrams How do I report a sale of shares in an ISO sell-to-cover exercise? Is there ISO-related AMT? This is premium content

To report the sale of shares in a sell-to-cover exercise, you complete Form 8949 along with Schedule D for the year of...

Form 8949 and Sch. D diagrams After I have met the ISO holding periods, how do I report a sale on my tax return? This is premium content

After you have held the stock more than two years from grant and one year from exercise, the spread between the exercise price and the sale price is...

How will my broker know which shares to sell? Should I identify them in some way? This is premium content

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...

How do I use stock that I own in a stock-swap exercise? What is the tax treatment? This is premium content

A "stock swap" or "stock for stock" exercise is a stock option exercise in which the exercise price is paid with shares of company stock you own...

In what ways can I pay my taxes if I don't have the money to pay them with my tax return?

If you simply lack the funds to pay your income tax, you may want to apply for a payment agreement on the...

When I take an international assignment, can taxes on my stock compensation be equalized? This is premium content

At some companies, international assignments are often accompanied by what is commonly called an "equalization package." To give you an incentive to accept the international assignment, the company agrees to...

What is the tax treatment of ISOs after death? This is premium content

For estate-tax purposes, unexercised incentive stock options (ISOs) are treated like NQSOs. But ISOs receive more favorable tax treatment at exercise than NQSOs do. Your heirs or estate get...

Even though no withholding is required for ISOs, can I still pay the federal and state taxes when I make a cashless exercise? This is premium content

While some companies might permit this if asked, the IRS may not allow the practice. The situation is far from clear, as the tax code...

What is the tax impact on me if my company modifies outstanding stock options or SARs, such as by extending the option term? This is premium content

With approval from the board, and perhaps also shareholders, your company can modify outstanding grants in a way that is consistent with its stock plan. However, it should avoid tax pitfalls for you and the company, such as...

Is the gifting or donation of stock that I acquired from an ISO exercise or ESPP purchase a disqualifying disposition? What is the tax treatment? This is premium content

A disqualifying disposition occurs if you sell, transfer, exchange, gift, or donate the stock that you acquired without...

Is writing call options on, or buying put options for, my ISO stock a disqualifying disposition? This is premium content

The put options you buy give you the right to sell the stock at a price you choose. With call options you are selling the right to someone else to "call away" the stock you own. The IRS ruled that the...

I'm a US citizen living and working outside the United States. Do I pay US taxes on income from stock compensation and stock sales? Can I avoid double taxation? This is premium content

The United States taxes the worldwide income of all US citizens, regardless of where they live. This means that when you live abroad you must file a US tax return that includes your worldwide income. In addition, the foreign country where you live may also tax your income. But the US has tax treaties with certain nations to help taxpayers avoid double taxation...

Does the accelerated vesting of my stock options, restricted stock, and/or performance shares in a change of control or termination have any tax impact on me, such as for ISOs and golden parachute payments? This is premium content

With stock grants of normal size, you face no tax impact beyond the standard tax treatment. ISOs may be converted to NQSOs should any acceleration of vesting cause...

Is my company's tax deduction limited for the value of my restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares, or stock options if my compensation exceeds $1 million? This is premium content

Section 162(m) of the tax code limits a public company's deduction for each "covered employee" in the year of income recognition to $1 million. In 2018, the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) eliminated...

Can the IRS seize stock options or restricted stock under a tax lien? This is premium content

The IRS can seize your stock options if it applies a federal tax lien to you for unpaid taxes. After seizing your stock options, the IRS can also...

My company's stock is now essentially worthless because of securities fraud by senior executives. Can I claim a casualty or theft loss on my tax return? This is premium content

A casualty or theft loss would allow you to deduct the lost amount against your ordinary income, subject to some limits. However, Treasury regulations and court rulings would probably stand in your way. Nevertheless, what you can do is...
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