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It's usually in the underlying option plan I believe. I think the challenge with changing the 90 day window is that you run the risk of the option not qualifyi

by freddyc 10y ago

It's usually in the underlying option plan I believe. I think the challenge with changing the 90 day window is that you run the risk of the option not qualifying as an ISO. If that's the case, it would instead be classified as a non-qualified stock option and the holder would lose the capital gains benefits and be subject to ordinary income tax (IANAL though, so could be way off base).

stanleydrew 10y ago
This is roughly correct. The 90-day exercise window isn't just something made up out of thin air to handcuff employees and keep them from leaving. It's explicitly written into the tax code that an option must be exercised within 90 days of leaving a company if the option is to be treated as an ISO. ISOs are arguably more advantageous than NSOs, which is why this is the default.
- randominternets 10y ago
  That sounds suspect to me. The company I work for gives 90 days + 1 month for every 1 month over a year you work there (so work there 2 years and you have 1 year, 90 days to exercise after leaving). Is this arrangement just a loophole?
  - phamilton 10y ago
    Do they keep you employed for that month? It's fairly common to extend your termination date for health insurance and visa reasons. If you aren't actually terminated, the 90 days wouldn't have started.
    - naedish 10y ago
      The sentence was slightly hard to parse so you may have missed that you get an extra month for each month you are employed over 1 year. So the stated example of a 2 year tenure gives 1 year and 90 days to purchase the options.
      - phamilton 10y ago
        Indeed, I parsed it incorrectly.
  - hkmurakami 10y ago
    You likely have a clause where they become NSOs after 90 days.
- dlubarov 10y ago
  A workaround is to convert ISOs to NSOs after 90 days. Quora adopted that policy a while ago and a lot of companies followed suit (Square and Pintrest to name a few). Sam A now recommends that approach - http://blog.samaltman.com/employee-equity http://blog.samaltman.com/employee-equity

by freddyc 10y ago

stanleydrew 10y ago

This is roughly correct. The 90-day exercise window isn't just something made up out of thin air to handcuff employees and keep them from leaving. It's explicitly written into the tax code that an option must be exercised within 90 days of leaving a company if the option is to be treated as an ISO. ISOs are arguably more advantageous than NSOs, which is why this is the default.

randominternets 10y ago
That sounds suspect to me. The company I work for gives 90 days + 1 month for every 1 month over a year you work there (so work there 2 years and you have 1 year, 90 days to exercise after leaving). Is this arrangement just a loophole?
- phamilton 10y ago
  Do they keep you employed for that month? It's fairly common to extend your termination date for health insurance and visa reasons. If you aren't actually terminated, the 90 days wouldn't have started.
  - naedish 10y ago
    The sentence was slightly hard to parse so you may have missed that you get an extra month for each month you are employed over 1 year. So the stated example of a 2 year tenure gives 1 year and 90 days to purchase the options.
    - phamilton 10y ago
      Indeed, I parsed it incorrectly.
- hkmurakami 10y ago
  You likely have a clause where they become NSOs after 90 days.
dlubarov 10y ago
A workaround is to convert ISOs to NSOs after 90 days. Quora adopted that policy a while ago and a lot of companies followed suit (Square and Pintrest to name a few). Sam A now recommends that approach - http://blog.samaltman.com/employee-equity http://blog.samaltman.com/employee-equity