The NASPP Blog

The impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on stock compensation continues to be a focus here at the NASPP. My understanding is that the bill is supposed to come out of committee in the House possibly as early as today and that we might also see the Senate version of the bill today.

Here are a few updates based on what we know so far.

ISOs and ESPPs Exempt

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) report on the bill clarifies that ISOs and ESPPs are intended to be exempt from the definition of NQDC. That’s good news for those of you who, like myself, are big fans of qualified ESPPs. It also could mean that I wasn’t completely off base on Monday when I suggested this bill might lead to a resurgence of ISOs.

At-the-Money Options NOT Exempt

I know some folks were holding out hope that the failure to exclude at-the-money options from the definition of NQDC was a drafting error but that doesn’t appear to be the case. The JCT report says:

The proposal applies to all stock options and SARs (and similar arrangements involving noncorporate entities), regardless of how the exercise price compares to the value of the related stock on the date the option or SAR is granted. It is intended that no exceptions are to be provided in regulations or other administrative guidance.

So that seems pretty clear. Sounds like someone was annoyed about the exception included in the 409A regs for at-the-money options.

Performance Conditions Don’t Count

An oddity in the proposed legislation is that vesting tied to performance conditions doesn’t count as a substantial risk for forfeiture. For public companies, I think most performance awards are tied to both a service and a performance condition, so this might not be a significant concern (although it probably will be necessary to make sure the service condition extends through the date that the comp committee certifies performance, otherwise the awards would be taxable before performance has been certified). But it’s going to be a significant problem for private companies that want to make vesting in awards contingent on an IPO or CIC.

Retirement Provisions Will be a Problem

The requirement to tax NQSOs and RSUs upon vest will also put a wrinkle in retirement provisions. As you all know, when grants provide for accelerated or continued vesting upon retirement, there’s no longer a substantial risk of forfeiture once an employee is eligible to retire. Thus, under the tax bill, both NQSOs and RSUs that provide for payment upon retirement would be fully taxable for both FIT and FICA purposes when employees are eligible to retire (and restricted stock paid out at retirement is already fully taxable upon retirement eligibility).

Relief for Private Companies

The bill has been amended to include a provision that would allow employees in private companies to make an election upon exercise of stock options or vesting of RSUs that would defer taxation for five years (in the case of stock options, it’s not entirely clear when the five-year period would start). This is nice, but I’m not sure it’s enough. How many private companies are on a five-year trajectory to IPO or can accurately predict when they are five years out from IPO?

– Barbara