Employee stock purchase plan

Last updated

In the United States, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) is a means by which employees of a corporation can purchase the corporation's capital stock, or stock in the corporation's parent company, [1] often at a discount up to 15%. [2] Employees contribute to the plan through payroll deductions, which accumulate between the offering date and the purchase date. On the purchase date, the company uses the accumulated funds to purchase shares in the company on behalf of the participating employees. The amount of the discount depends on the specific plan but can be around 15% lower than the market price. [3] [4] ESPPs can also be subject to a vesting schedule, or length of time before the stock is available to the employees, which is typically one or two years of service.

Contents

These stocks are not taxed until they are sold. [5] If the holding is tax-qualified, then the employee may get a discount. [6] Depending on when the employee sells the shares, the disposition will be classified as either qualified or not qualified. If the position is sold two years after the offering date and at least one year after the purchase date, the shares will fall under a qualified disposition. If the shares are sold within two years of the offering date or within one year after the purchase date the disposition will not be qualified. [7] The majority of publicly disclosed ESPPs in the United States are tax-qualified plans that follow the rules of Section 423 of the IRC. [8]

ESPPs differs from other types of employee stock ownership, such as Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) in how the stocks are bought, access to the stocks (either after vesting or upon retirement), taxation for the employees, and how much these plans cost to implement for the company.[ citation needed ]

In the United States, the participation rate for ESPPs is around 30%. [3] Many employees do not exercise their stock options for various reasons, including lack of cash flow. [9] [10]

In 1975, the Tax Reduction Act granted employers tax benefits on contributions to employee stock purchase plans. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodic employee contributions come directly out of their paychecks, and may be matched by the employer. This pre-tax option is what makes 401(k) plans attractive to employees, and many employers offer this option to their (full-time) workers. 401(k) payable is a general ledger account that contains the amount of 401(k) plan pension payments that an employer has an obligation to remit to a pension plan administrator. This account is classified as a payroll liability, since the amount owed should be paid within one year.

Capital gain is an economic concept defined as the profit earned on the sale of an asset which has increased in value over the holding period. An asset may include tangible property, a car, a business, or intangible property such as shares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Employee stock option</span> Complex call option on the common stock of a company, granted by the company to an employee

Employee stock options (ESO) is a label that refers to compensation contracts between an employer and an employee that carries some characteristics of financial options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Share (finance)</span> Unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation

In financial markets, a share is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation, and can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Share capital refers to all of the shares of an enterprise. The owner of shares in a company is a shareholder of the corporation. A share is an indivisible unit of capital, expressing the ownership relationship between the company and the shareholder. The denominated value of a share is its face value, and the total of the face value of issued shares represent the capital of a company, which may not reflect the market value of those shares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retirement plans in the United States</span>

A retirement plan is a financial arrangement designed to replace employment income upon retirement. These plans may be set up by employers, insurance companies, trade unions, the government, or other institutions. Congress has expressed a desire to encourage responsible retirement planning by granting favorable tax treatment to a wide variety of plans. Federal tax aspects of retirement plans in the United States are based on provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the plans are regulated by the Department of Labor under the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Employee stock ownership</span> System giving employees stake in a companys ownership

Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company. US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Employee Share Purchase Plans are common, wherein deductions are made from an employee's salary to purchase shares over time. In Australia it is common to have all employee plans that provide employees with $1,000 worth of shares on a tax free basis. Such plans may be selective or all-employee plans. Selective plans are typically only made available to senior executives. All-employee plans offer participation to all employees.

A rights issue or rights offer is a dividend of subscription rights to buy additional securities in a company made to the company's existing security holders. When the rights are for equity securities, such as shares, in a public company, it can be a non-dilutive pro rata way to raise capital. Rights issues are typically sold via a prospectus or prospectus supplement. With the issued rights, existing security-holders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new securities from the issuer at a specified price within a subscription period. In a public company, a rights issue is a form of public offering.

Business valuation is a process and a set of procedures used to estimate the economic value of an owner's interest in a business. Here various valuation techniques are used by financial market participants to determine the price they are willing to pay or receive to effect a sale of the business. In addition to estimating the selling price of a business, the same valuation tools are often used by business appraisers to resolve disputes related to estate and gift taxation, divorce litigation, allocate business purchase price among business assets, establish a formula for estimating the value of partners' ownership interest for buy-sell agreements, and many other business and legal purposes such as in shareholders deadlock, divorce litigation and estate contest.

Incentive stock options (ISOs), are a type of employee stock option that can be granted only to employees and confer a U.S. tax benefit. ISOs are also sometimes referred to as statutory stock options by the IRS. ISOs have a strike price, which is the price a holder must pay to purchase one share of the stock. ISOs may be issued both by public companies and private companies, with ISOs being common as a form of executive compensation for public companies, and common as a form of equity compensation in private start-up companies.

Deferred compensation is an arrangement in which a portion of an employee's income is paid out at a later date after which the income was earned. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options. The primary benefit of most deferred compensation is the deferral of tax to the date(s) at which the employee receives the income.

Stock appreciation rights (SAR) is a method for companies to give their management or employees a bonus if the company performs well financially. Such a method is called a 'plan'. SARs resemble employee stock options in that the holder/employee benefits from an increase in stock price. They differ from options in that the holder/employee does not have to purchase anything to receive the proceeds. They are not required to pay the (options') exercise price, but just receive the amount of the increase in cash or stock.

A wash sale is a sale of a security at a loss and repurchase of the same or substantially identical security shortly before or after. Losses from such sales are not deductible in most cases under the Internal Revenue Code in the United States. Wash sale regulations disallow an investor who holds an unrealized loss from accelerating a tax deduction into the current tax year, unless the investor is out of the position for some significant length of time. A wash sale can take place at any time during the year, or across year boundaries.

Phantom stock is a contractual agreement between a corporation and recipients of phantom shares that bestow upon the grantee the right to a cash payment at a designated time or in association with a designated event in the future, which payment is to be in an amount tied to the market value of an equivalent number of shares of the corporation's stock. Thus, the amount of the payout will increase as the stock price rises, and decrease if the stock falls, but without the recipient (grantee) actually receiving any stock. Like other forms of stock-based compensation plans, phantom stock broadly serves to align the interests of recipients and shareholders, incentivize contribution to share value, and encourage the retention or continued participation of contributors. Recipients (grantees) are typically employees, but may also be directors, third-party vendors, or others. Business owners may offer phantom stocks as a way to reward and retain employees, however employees can only own phantom stock during the duration of their employment with the company.

Section 409A of the United States Internal Revenue Code regulates nonqualified deferred compensation paid by a "service recipient" to a "service provider" by generally imposing a 20% excise tax when certain design or operational rules contained in the section are violated. Service recipients are generally employers, but those who hire independent contractors are also service recipients. Service providers include executives, general employees, some independent contractors and board members, as well as entities that provide services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stock</span> Shares into which ownership of the corporation is divided

Stocks consist of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to the total number of shares. This typically entitles the shareholder (stockholder) to that fraction of the company's earnings, proceeds from liquidation of assets, or voting power, often dividing these up in proportion to the amount of money each stockholder has invested. Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued, for example, without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with a certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders.

Sharesave, also known as Save As You Earn, SAYE, or the Savings Related Share Option Scheme, is a British savings scheme designed to encourage employees to buy stakes in the companies for which they work. It was introduced by the British government in 1980, with HM Revenue & Customs approval, according to a model set by the Treasury. From 6 April 2014, HMRC approval will no longer be required for a SAYE plan to obtain tax benefits, instead an employer is required to self-certify that the SAYE meets the requirements of the relevant legislation. Accordingly, from 6 April 2014, a SAYE plan should no longer be referred to as an HMRC approved plan.

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in the United States is a defined contribution plan, a form of retirement plan as defined by 4975(e)(7)of IRS codes, which became a qualified retirement plan in 1974. It is one of the methods of employee participation in corporate ownership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Employee compensation in the United States</span>

Employer compensation in the United States refers to the cash compensation and benefits that an employee receives in exchange for the service they perform for their employer. Approximately 93% of the working population in the United States are employees earning a salary or wage.

Employee share schemes are part of the remuneration packages offered to some employees in the United Kingdom.

In the United States, there is a widespread practice of employee stock ownership. It began with industrial companies and today is particularly common in the technology sector but also companies in other industries, such as Whole Foods and Starbucks.

References

  1. U. S. Master Tax Guide 2009. CCH. November 2008. ISBN   978-0-8080-1903-9.
  2. Dore, Kate (August 1, 2022). "Employee Stock Purchase Plans Can Carry 'A Big Risk,' Says Advisor. What to Know before Buying In". CNBC.
  3. 1 2 Babenko, Ilona; Sen, Rik (March 14, 2014). "Money Left on the Table: An Analysis of Participation in Employee Stock Purchase Plans". Review of Financial Studies. 27 (12): 2. doi:10.1093/rfs/hhu050. SSRN   2166012.
  4. CFP, Kate Dore (August 1, 2022). "Employee stock purchase plans can carry 'a big risk,' says advisor. What to know before buying in". CNBC.
  5. Pender, Kathleen. "How to avoid getting double-taxed on employee stock purchase plan". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. CFP®, Kate Dore (August 1, 2022). "Employee stock purchase plans can carry 'a big risk,' says advisor. What to know before buying in". CNBC.
  7. Pender, Kathleen. "How to avoid getting double-taxed on employee stock purchase plan". San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. Baker, Alisa (2012). The Stock Options Book (13th ed.). Oakland, California: National Center for Employee Ownership. pp. 67–87. ISBN   978-1-932924-91-6.
  9. Engelhardt, Gary V.; Madrian, Brigitte C. (June 2, 2004). "Employee Stock Purchase Plans". National Tax Journal. 57 (2.2): 385–406. doi:10.17310/ntj.2004.2S.02. ISSN   0028-0283.
  10. Anderson, Tom (December 16, 2016). "Workers missing the point on employee stock purchase plans". CNBC. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  11. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.