If the company does well âŠ
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Whatâs better than earning a salary? How about earning a salary with incentive stock options that pay off if your employer does well (thanks in part to your hard work)? Employers like them, too. Not only do they help to align incentives, but depending on how the options are structured, the employer may not have to dole out cash.
In simple terms, an employee stock option is a contract that allows you to buy shares of company stock in the future at a price determined when the contract is issued. If the company becomes more valuable, you can exercise the option, sell the stock, and lock in a nice profit.
Employers can create employee benefits from several types of options with different tax and legal structures. Each has a different accounting and tax treatment, so the specifics quickly become complicated.
Employee stock options are popular because theyâre easy to set up and give employees the potential to make money if the business grows. Theyâre especially common at start-up companies, which often canât afford to pay high wages but may offer the potential for a big payoff through a merger or initial public offering (IPO).
- Statutory stock options. These options are issued through an incentive compensation program and must have an exercise price that is at least equal to the current market price at the time the option is issued. In most cases, these incentive stock options are not considered taxable income (or a deductible loss) until the recipients sell shares purchased via the options. These options may trigger the alternative minimum tax, so the accounting can get complicated.
- Nonstatutory stock options. Sometimes called nonqualified stock options, nonstatutory options are more common than statutory options. They can be issued to employees, directors, and other stakeholders. The tax treatment depends on whether the companyâs share price can be valued easilyâfor example, if the company shares are publicly traded. If so, the option becomes taxable income when it is issued. If the company is privately held, then its options have no value until after the company has gone public or been acquired by another public company.
Listed call and put options: The other type of stock options
Whatâs the difference between employer-issued stock options and the call and put options that are listed on exchanges? They both give the holder the rightâbut not the obligationâto acquire a position in the underlying stock at a preset price, by a certain date, but thereâs a lot more to the story. Hereâs an introduction to the options market.
Some employers are interested in other types of stock-based employee compensation, especially when designing pay packages for senior executives. These plans have more flexibility than incentive stock options to address particular situations.
- Restricted stock. Some restricted stock plans allow you to buy shares outright. Others allow you to buy the shares at a discount, but with a catch: You canât take full ownership of the shares unless specified restrictions are met. You might be required to stay at the company, or the restrictions may be tied to performance goals. There are a few different tax treatments that come into play under Section 83(b) of the tax code. If you elect to use Section 83(b), the value of the discount offered when the restricted shares were granted (or on the total value if you paid nothing) will be taxed as ordinary income. Without an 83(b) election, youâll pay ordinary income taxes on the difference between the amount paid for the shares and their fair market value when the restrictions lapse, when the shares are likely to be more valuable. The increase in value may result in higher taxes, but if the shares become worthless, the employee will be better off than if the 83(b) election was taken.
- Restricted stock units. These are similar to restricted stock, except that you receive no shares until the requirements are met. There is no 83(b) election available with restricted stock units; they are taxed as ordinary income when they are awarded.
- Phantom stock. Phantom stock gives you the benefits of restricted stock, but not the stock itself. When an employee meets the specified requirements, they receive the cash value of the stock. The gain is taxed as ordinary income.
- Stock appreciation rights. Instead of paying the sharesâ full value when the different requirements are met, a stock appreciation rate gives an employee the value of any increase in the stock price between the grant date and the exercise date. This amount may be paid in cash or stock and is taxed as ordinary income.
Vesting and other considerations
Option plans, restricted stock, and other ownership-based compensation plans often have vesting requirements that stipulate how long you must remain with the company before receiving your options. For example, when you start a new job, you might be offered 10,000 nonstatutory options as a signing bonus with a five-year vesting requirement. In this scenario, you would receive 2,000 shares at each employment anniversary, meaning youâre partially vested, until all 10,000 options are granted, at which point youâre fully vested.
Some option plans allow for backdating, meaning that youâre given an option that has a lower stock price based on an earlier date (rather than the share price at the time the option is issued). If backdated, the option must be treated as a nonstatutory stock option.
To minimize the costs of exercising stock options, you might opt for a net exercise, which allows you to exercise the option and immediately sell enough shares to cover the cost of the transaction.
For example, suppose your companyâs stock is trading at $40 per share, and you own 1,000 options to buy the stock at $20 per share. It would cost you $20,000 to buy them all, but with a net exercise, you could sell 500 of them at $40 apiece, use that $20,000 to cover the cost of the purchase, and essentially own the other 500 shares free and clear. Always be mindful of the tax consequences.
Employee stock options offer employers a way to compensate staff for work that increases the value of the company at a lower cost than a cash bonus. Theyâre great for aligning worker incentives with the business, but they have one major drawback: The accounting and tax treatment can be complicated.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Ann C. LogueThis article was most recently revised and updated by David Schepp
