You may have some stock options from your company or from a former company you used to work for. Stock options are a right to buy a stock at a certain price. There are many things to be aware of with stock options. Such as, you want to be aware of the expiration date and to accept the stock options within the time frame available to you.
The other thing to be aware of is the tax implications of stock options.
Do you understand what it means when a stock option is statutory?
Basically, there are two types of stock options: statutory (qualified) or non-statutory (non-qualified). When statutory stock options are exercised, the profits are taxed as capital gains, which is currently at a rate of only 15 percent. When a non-statutory stock option is exercised, the profits are taxed as ordinary income, which is often much higher rates.
So make sure you are aware of what type of stock options you are exercising because the tax implications and differences could be great.
