Quote:
Originally Posted by stomachmonkey
According to MRM's link it seems to not matter a whole bunch. A restricted stock grant is considered a form of compensation and is pretty much taxed as straight income at whatever bracket the additional income it puts you in.
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This.
Technically, grants of stock and/or options to employees (or contractors) are supposed to be taxed to the recipient at the time they vest, meaning the recipient has the ability to cash them out. Employers should include the fair value in the employee's W-2 (or 1099-MISC in the case of independent contractor) at the date of vesting (or exercise in the case of options). The valuation is relatively simple in the case of a publicly traded company...not so much in the case of a private closely held company. Whatever was included in your W-2 or 1099-MISC becomes your basis in the stock if its held and sold at a later date.