I am not an expert. That said, based on that article, there appears to be a difference between Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and Non-Qualified Stock Options.

I am not an expert. That said, based on that article, there appears to be a difference between Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and Non-Qualified Stock Options. You linked to information on that latter. Here is information on ISOs from Intuit: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Investments-and-Taxes/Incentive-Stock-Options/INF12049.html https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Investments-a... At a glance, ISOs appear to be more favorable, tax-wise, in the US - they trigger AMT but not "direct" income tax.