Enhanced Tax Center On myStockOptions.com Can Help Prevent Last-Minute Filing Mistakes

Brookline, MA (PRWEB) April 4, 2008 -- For people with stock compensation, every tax season raises worries about making errors on tax returns that can lead to paying too much tax, penalties from the IRS, or even the ordeal of an IRS review. Moreover, delays and mistakes this year could affect tax rebates. As the filing due date of April 15 draws near, the pressure of the imminent deadline can exacerbate the potential for mistakes.

For these taxpayers, the clear, concise, and informative content at myStockOptions.com (http://mystockoptions.com) can help. The website has all the answers on the filing and reporting of tax returns that involve stock options, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights, and employee stock purchase plans. Among the new content for this tax season are annotated illustrations of Form W-2 and Schedule D for restricted stock units and performances shares, two fast-growing forms of equity compensation. Meanwhile, core articles and FAQs spell out the most common mistakes people make with stock grants on their tax returns--a smart checklist that taxpayers can quickly run through to be sure they are submitting error-free returns.

"The tax reporting for stock compensation is complex," observes Bruce Brumberg, Editor-in-Chief of myStockOptions.com. "Even accountants and tax advisors sometimes make mistakes. The goal of myStockOptions.com is to help employees realize the full potential of their equity grants by educating them about tax rules and helping them prevent costly errors. The last thing taxpayers want is to be floundering in confusion with their returns at 11 p.m. on April 14."

More Than Just The Basics

The content on tax topics covers more than just the nuts and bolts of reporting and filing. The website's award-winning library of content covers the full range of tax topics that stock grant holders may need to be familiar with. These topics include:

- the 2007 income exemption amounts for calculating the alternative minimum tax (AMT)

- the new provisions for using old AMT credits

- the rules for estimated taxes

- the process for netting capital gains and losses

- the effect of the deferred compensation provisions in Tax Code Section 409A on stock grants

- the impact of stock compensation on eligibility to receive the 2008 tax rebate for individuals

Tax Center Makes Sense Of Reporting On Form W-2 And Schedule D

The hub of tax coverage on myStockOptions.com (http://www.mystockoptions.com) is the Tax Center. This part of the site includes FAQs that explain the reporting of stock compensation that employees receive on Form W-2, and that show exactly how to report sales of company stock on Schedule D of IRS Form 1040 (Reporting Company Stock Sales).

"Employees understand concepts much better using the straightforward illustrations provided by myStockOptions.com," says one stock plan manager whose company has licensed the Tax Center to help its employees. "They find the tax information and annotated tax forms extremely helpful in simplifying the tax filing for stock trades. They are thrilled that this makes tax time easy." (For information on corporate services, see the relevant section below.)

Full Coverage For All Types Of Stock Grants

Using clear explanations and easy-to-follow annotated diagrams of the actual IRS form, detailed FAQs show employees, accountants, and tax advisors how to complete Schedule D ("Capital Gains and Losses") for a variety of situations involving sales of stock from:

- nonqualified stock options (NQSOs)

- incentive stock options (ISOs)

- restricted stock

- restricted stock units (RSUs)

- performance shares

- employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs)

- stock appreciation rights (SARs)

Questions And Answers

The section Reporting Company Stock Sales answers questions on a wide variety of reporting for stock sales, from basic to complex. Advanced reporting situations, all fully illustrated, include:

- I exercised NQSOs, held the stock, and now have long-term capital gains on the sale. Do I get any "credit" on my tax return for the income tax I paid for the spread at exercise?

- How am I taxed if I have made a disqualifying disposition of incentive stock option (ISO) shares in a different year than the year I exercised the option?

- When I hold restricted stock and performance shares after vesting and later have capital gains on the sale, will I get any "credit" for the income tax I paid at vesting?

- When my restricted stock units vested, my company automatically withheld shares to cover the tax. Do I need to report these shares on my Schedule D?

- My company's employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) is not tax-qualified under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. How do I report any gain that results from the sale of my ESPP shares on my federal income-tax return?

- How do I report any gain that results from the sale of my stock appreciation rights (SARs) shares on my federal income-tax return?

The answers to these questions are presented in plain English and are clearly illustrated with annotated diagrams of the real IRS form.

Corporate Licensing Available

Like all the content on myStockOptions.com, the Tax Center is ideally suited for licensing by companies for their stock plan participants. A customized version of the website's award-winning content can be seamlessly integrated into companies' HR, benefits, and/or compensation portals. Accessible through any internet browser, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, licensed content from myStockOptions.com lets stock plan participants answer their own questions about their stock grants whenever they need to learn more--saving time for the stock plan staff and costs for the company. For more information, visit http://www.mystockoptions.com, email sales@mystockoptions.com, or call 617-734-1979.

About myStockOptions.com

With exclusive articles, 750 FAQs, the Tax Center, Global Tax Guide, an extensive glossary, and interactive tools, myStockOptions.com is the premier online resource of educational content and tools on stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares, stock appreciation rights, and employee stock purchase plans. The company is managed by leading experts in equity compensation, with a long history of successful newsletters, books, and training videos devoted to equity pay topics.

The influential consumer magazine PC World ranks myStockOptions.com among "the most useful sites ever" that "deliver top-notch information, support, and services." The accounting journal CPA Wealth Provider selected myStockOptions.com among companies "that have taken the lead through innovation, efficiency, initiative, or growth in the financial-planning area." myStockOptions.com has also received extensive favorable coverage in major publications, including BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe, and on CNN/fn, National Public Radio, PBS, Money.com, and CBSMarketWatch.com.

For more information, please contact Bruce Brumberg and Matt Simon at editors(at)mystockoptions.com or 617-734-1979.

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