Taxation of exercised stock options
You have taxable income or deductible loss when you sell the stock you bought by exercising the option. You generally treat this amount as a capital gain or loss. However, if you don't meet special holding period requirements, you'll have to treat income from the sale as ordinary income. Income tax is assessed in the year regular stock options are exercised. The taxable income is the “bargain element”—the difference between the cost to exercise the option and the market value of the acquired stock. The bargain element is taxed as ordinary income and added to the W-2 of the employee.