If the employee leaves the company, there is typically a 90-day window to exercise the options as ISOs; otherwise, they lose their special tax treatment and convert to non-qualified stock options.

Stock options grant the right to buy or sell a stock ... If you have ESOs, you can exercise them by the expiration date to buy the company’s stock at the strike price. ESOs usually have vesting ...

That money still isn't in your pocket. "When you exercise your options and buy the stock for $1, you get a share certificate that says 'Congrats, you have a share certificate that's worth ...

However, there are also scenarios where you might prefer to let your contracts expire worthless, or even exercise your option to buy or sell the underlying stock. Here's our beginner's guide to ...

A covered stock order could be more favorable than an exercise request. If you were assigned early on a spread and your long leg expires today, the long option will auto-exercise as long as it expires ...

This parallel tax system was designed to ensure that high-income earners pay a minimum level of tax, but it can unexpectedly impact employees who exercise incentive stock options (ISOs).