One Step Forward, Two Steps Back…Dreams of Perfect Equity Outcomes Can Affect Your Judgement

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Notes on stock options, restricted stock, private company valuations, Code Section 409A.

by John Ludlum

There are a number of well-known stories of equity compensation, often focusing on the tax outcomes for awards where fortunate optionees did everything right.  Some of these stories are actual outcomes, such as when ISOs that were issued early in a company’s history at a very low strike price, were then exercised and held for the required holding periods (two years from grant and one year from exercise), and finally were sold at a greatly appreciated price with the entire gain getting long term capital gains treatment.  While such great outcomes do happen, in most cases optionees don’t meet the holding periods because they don’t foresee the liquidity exit or don’t have the funds to exercise and the resulting disqualifying dispositions are subject to ordinary income rate taxation.  We note that even ordinary income rate taxes are a good thing because they apply to income, which is a good problem to have.  But the desire to optimize the tax treatment can lead some optionees to take risky business decisions like exercising options early with promissory notes or exercising options for shares in a company with an uncertain future. If an executive buys restricted stock with a full recourse promissory note and the value of the shares declines, considering that these promissory notes usually accelerate on termination of employment, the potential for debt forgiveness income if the executive leaves or the potential for company claims to recover the balance of the note can serve as unwanted retention incentives.   Read more

Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind, and You Know Rule 701 Just Crossed My Mind

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By Benjamin Gibbons

This week we’re changing the station on the Benefits Dial to remind private companies who are granting securities to their employees of the importance of complying with Rule 701.  Rule 701 of the Securities Act of 1933 provides a federal securities registration exemption for privately-held companies who are granting securities (including stock options) through written compensatory benefit plans (such as omnibus equity incentive plans) to their employees and contractors (natural persons only).  Absent Rule 701, such securities would generally need to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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If a Tree Falls in the Forest – Employee Benefits in Mergers and Acquisitions Workforce Integration

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by John Ludlum

We are aware of several business studies that conclude that a high percentage, between 70-90%, of corporate acquisitions fail to meet their business objectives. When looking at why the time, effort, and expense invested in a corporate acquisition turn out not to achieve the business synergies and value creation that were expected, it is apparent that workforce integration and commitment after the transaction closes often is a contributing factor to why these acquisitions fail.

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In Our Shangri-La – Terms for Code Section 280G Golden Parachute Taxes in Employment Agreements

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by John Ludlum

Even in the current economic and business disruptions caused by COVID-19, we are still seeing key executive hiring go forward.  Executive employment agreements contain many tax terms, and while some are largely boilerplate (proper and helpful nevertheless), some tax provisions can have a major impact on how the executive is compensated under the agreement.  One such tax provision that often goes “under the radar” relates to the “golden parachute” tax under Code Section 280G.

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Moves Like Jagger … But Is It Deductible? Taxation of Job Search and Moving Expenses

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by Beth Nedrow

Job mobility is a fact. Employees are more mobile than ever – changing jobs multiple times in a career. When an employee transitions between jobs and incurs job search and moving expenses, are those expenses deductible? If the employer pays for them, is it taxable income? Here are a few tips.

Job search expenses like travel for interviews, printing resumes and the like used to be deductible by the employee, at least to some extent. Unfortunately, the 2017 TJCA removed the 2% miscellaneous itemized deduction starting in 2018, so employees can’t deduct these expenses anymore.

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Relief . . . Just a Little Bit – IRS Notice 2020-23: Limited Extensions of Form 5500

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By Kevin Selzer and Lyn Domenick

In the midst of everything going on, we wanted to point out a few “under the radar” implications of IRS Notice 2020-23.  The Notice, issued on April 9th, provides that tax-related deadlines that fall between April 1, 2020 and July 14, 2020 (the “delay period”) are automatically extended to July 15, 2020. 

Delayed 5500s.  Most plan sponsors hoping for Form 5500 relief will have to wait for additional guidance since only a small group of plans have Form 5500 deadlines fall during the delay period.  For example, the regular Form 5500 due date for calendar year plans (July 31st) falls just outside of the delay period.  We note that the DOL has authority under the CARES Act to provide additional Form 5500 relief.

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I Come From Down in the Valley, Where the Options Are Now Underwater: Companies Look to Modify Incentives as Declining Markets Hurt Employee Stock Options

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by John Ludlum

This is the 3rd major economic upheaval we have had in 20 some years, and once again we have a climate of widespread business uncertainty, employment instability, and economic suffering.  Most of our clients have experienced a decline in company stock values, but we are expecting that as the uncertain business environment stabilizes, companies will start to consider changes to their equity awards to maintain incentives because many stock options are “underwater” where the exercise price is higher than the current fair market value.  There are several approaches that companies can use to either reprice or exchange underwater stock options, and each has advantages and disadvantages.

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Take a Bow For the New Revolution, and don’t let the same tax mistakes fool you again

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by John Ludlum

As we enjoy the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit 2020, it has been great to catch up with executives, investors, and entrepreneurs working to build the next technology ideas into successful companies.  It is interesting to think that we don’t quantify the economic benefits that one great company, which brings together a talented team of founders and executives, finds a successful exit, and then comes back together to do it again at another company, has on an area.  There are many legendary technology companies that have had this effect, creating places like Silicon Valley and other areas in the country known for incubating technology companies and ideas.

One great thing about knowing and working with the seasoned investors and entrepreneurs is their ability to help the new generation see how to solve problems that these companies encounter, and how to avoid the mistakes that some people have made.  In my small part of this world, the conversations in 2001-2002 with employees and executives who were too optimistic in the first internet bubble will never be forgotten.  Yes, you can exercise equity awards like an incentive stock option (ISO) with a promissory note, second mortgage, or personal bank loan, and if the stock price goes up from there and the company achieves liquidity in an IPO or acquisition, you could win big with large gains all taxed at the long-term capital gains rate.  I know a number of people who had this great outcome.  However, the other side is that if the price does not go up, or if the company does not achieve liquidity, then there can be tax problems.  Exercising an ISO will result in an alternative minimum tax (AMT) adjustment in the year of exercise for the spread on the date of exercise.  If an optionee is subject to the AMT, then this tax is due to the IRS based on the value at the date of exercise.  There is no consideration for the fact that the shares are not liquid and have not been sold at the time of or at the value of the corresponding tax obligation, meaning the optionee is gambling that the value the shares will continue to go up and that there will be liquidity.

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The Long and Winding Road… of 401(k) plan compensation definitions

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by Ben Gibbons

A plan’s definition of “compensation” tends to be one of the trickier aspects of 401(k) administration.  Having been asked multiple times in the past 12-months whether deferrals to a nonqualified deferred compensation plan need to be deducted before determining eligible compensation for 401(k) deferrals (spoiler: they do), it seems a blog post on the subject is in order.

The vast majority of 401(k) plan documents define compensation by starting with one of the following base definitions: W-2 (Box 1) compensation; Section 3401(a) compensation; or Section 415 compensation (the specifics of these base definitions are beyond the scope of this post).  Each definition has its nuances with respect to whether certain types of compensation should be either included or excluded from the base definition (e.g., fringe benefits or amounts realized from the exercise of stock options).

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[Don’t] Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies … or the SEC will charge you with fraud

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by John Ludlum

Many private companies assume that if valid federal and state exemptions from registration are available for private company securities that there is little risk of problems with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).  While it is rare for the SEC to take an interest in private company transactions, many SEC Rules apply to private company securities and transactions.

In one example, Stiefel Labs (Company) maintained an Employee Stock Bonus Plan (Plan) with Company contributions funded, at least in part, by shares of Company stock.  As a private company, repurchases by the Company were the only way for employees to receive liquid funds for their shares.  The Company engaged independent accountants to perform fiscal year end valuations and made this valuation information available to Plan participants and used this value for repurchases for the next year. 

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