Should I accept stock grant?
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Should I accept stock grant?
It may sound complicated, but accepting your stock grant should be a no-brainer for anyone who’s starting at a new company. It’s low-risk and can provide measurable benefits down the road. To get started on the ins and outs of stock options, check out part 1 of our series Equity 101: Startup Employee Stock Options.
How are stock grants taxed?
If you’re granted a restricted stock award, you have two choices: you can pay ordinary income tax on the award when it’s granted and pay long-term capital gains taxes on the gain when you sell, or you can pay ordinary income tax on the whole amount when it vests.
Are grant price and exercise price the same?
When you exercise an option, you purchase shares of the company’s stock directly from the company. The grant price (also commonly referred to as the exercise price) is the amount you pay to the company for each share. This price is set by the company at the time the stock option grant is made (grant date).
Why are stock options limited to 10 years?
Mandated by US tax rules, unexercised employee stock options expire 10 years from date of grant and are absorbed back into the company. Historically, this was never a problem because the incentive stock model familiar to everyone was designed when companies aimed to go public as soon as they viably could.
How do you work out the exercise price of a stock?
To exercise you must pay the strike price times the number of vested options you wish to exercise in exchange for your shares. Taxes are then calculated based on the spread between the current Fair Market Value (FMV) of the stock and your strike price.
Does it cost money to exercise an option?
When you exercise an option, you usually pay a fee to exercise and a second commission to sell the shares. This combination is likely to cost more than simply selling the option, and there is no need to give the broker more money when you gain nothing from the transaction.
What happens if I let a call option expire?
If your call options expire in the money, you end up paying a higher price to purchase the stock than what you would have paid if you had bought the stock outright. You are also out the commission you paid to buy the option and the option’s premium cost.
