Understanding ESPP Stock and its Manipulation

An employee stock purchase plan allows the worker to buy stock in their company at a reduced price. It is considered compensation and when the shares are bought, you are not required to report them as compensated income.

What you do with those shares will affect how they are to be reported. For instance, if you give your shares as a gift to someone or if you sell them, you will have to report that manipulation. If you should die Continue article...

The Effects of a Stock Split

The company I work for and invest a small amount in through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan has recently announced that they would be executing a 2-for-1 stock split. A stock split is simply the dividing of a company’s existing stock into multiple shares. A stock split is usually a good indicator that a company’s share price is doing well. However, a stock split doesn’t give you any more value, just twice as many shares.

Employee Stock Purchase Plans

Many large companies offer Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP) that let you buy your employer’s stock at a discount. These plans are offered as an employment incentive, giving you an opportunity to share in the growth potential of your company’s stock (and, by implication, work hard to keep the stock price soaring). Usually, you make contributions to a stock purchase fund for a certain period of time through payroll deductions. At designated points in the year, your employer then Continue article...