Employee stock purchase plans (ESPP) are a convenient way to purchase company stock. In an ESPP’s simplest form, employees contribute money directly from their paychecks into an employer-offered plan. At set intervals established by the company, money contributed is...
I’m Daniel Zajac, CFP®
I write about employee stock options and equity compensation in a way that is easy to understand.
8 Steps To Take With Your Equity Compensation in the New Year
A new year can be an opportune time to review your equity compensation package. Not only does this give you a clean slate to work with, but it also affords you the most time to plan and implement your strategy for the fresh calendar year ahead. When it comes to annual...
How to Determine the Right Time to Sell Restricted Stock Units (and Why Selling Immediately Might Make Sense)
Restricted stock units are often offered as part of a compensation package to attract and retain key employees They are restricted in that certain requirements must be met before the employee can obtain full ownership rights to the value of the units. Receiving your...
How to Use a Cashless Exercise of Incentive Stock Options to Manage Cash Flow
If you have employee stock options, you need to determine what kind you have so you know if a cash or cashless exercise makes sense: incentive stock options (ISO) or non-qualified stock options (NQSO). The differences go far beyond their names. ISOs may provide tax...
New Resources on Equity Compensation, Blog Updates, and More
I'm passionate about using my experience to help people like you understand what to do with employee stock options, RSUs, and other forms of equity compensation. I spend a lot of time developing resources to educate on this topic because I believe it's important that...
ESPP Tax Rules – And How They’re Affected by a Qualifying Disposition
An employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, can provide employees of a company a vehicle through which to purchase that company’s stock. This is usually done through automated payroll deductions, which makes the system convenient, and employers may offer added benefits...
9 Year-End Planning Tips for Your Equity Compensation
You might not give much thought to the equity compensation you receive throughout the year (until you’re forced to take action with it). But even if you do have a long-term plan in mind, it’s smart to pause periodically and review the overall strategy. The end of the...
How Exercising Incentive Stock Options Could Impact Your Cash Flow
Before you do anything with your incentive stock options, you need to get clear on how exercising those ISOs could affect your assets and your cash flow, and what will it cost you in terms of real money. You need to know the cost of exercising your options, for...
What to Do When Your Restricted Stock Units Vest
Restricted stock units (RSUs) might seem relatively easy to manage once they vest, especially when compared to the potential complexity of vested non-qualified and incentive stock options. RSUs look straightforward because your options can seem limited, meaning you...
Understanding the 83(b) Election for Non-Qualified Stock Options
If you have non-qualified stock options, you’ve likely spent time researching when and how you’ll face taxes for them. As a general rule, you will be subject to ordinary income tax on the profit you make when you exercise non-qualified options. Being taxed when you...
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NEW! The Ultimate Guide to Equity Compensation
Understand what you have, what you should consider, and what ultimately matters to you.
Hi, I'm Daniel Zajac, CFP®, EA
I write about equity compensation and employee stock options in a way that is easy to understand.
NEW! The Ultimate Guide to Equity Compensation
Understand what you have, what you should consider, and what ultimately matters to you.
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