2 ms·

> They probably only make sense for people working for Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and the like. Having worked at Google, I'm pretty sure that most of us

> They probably only make sense for people working for Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and the like. Having worked at Google, I'm pretty sure that most of us only took stock because that was simply "how it was done"; it saves the company money versus paying you in cash (I guess! not an expert here). There is an infinite amount of paperwork that results from being paid in stock, and while it's obviously worth it for $200,000 a year on top of your base salary and bonus... it is still kind of a hassle. You have to file with the IRS your plan for selling shares (so they know you're not making insider trades), you can only access your money inside trading windows (unless you set up the aforementioned auto-sale or other trading plan), and your taxes become a $700 ordeal with tax professionals every year. Honestly, I just did my taxes myself and I messed them up one year. It takes the IRS 3 or so years to notice, and then one day you have a sternly-worded letter from the government demanding $60,000 immediately because your brokerage sent the IRS incorrect paperwork. Then you pay someone to fix that, then your state says "whoa, the IRS just got $60,000 from you! we want our cut!" and then you say "no no, those papers I mailed you a year ago show that they were wrong", then you wait a year... and get a $30 check in the mail because it turns out they owe YOU money. It's a big pain. My TL;DR is you don't know how much you owe, the government doesn't know how much you owe, and you will have to pay someone to take a guess that the IRS agrees with, and hope they agree. If they don't, be ready to pay even more money to persuade them that they are wrong. I miss the days where I got a W-2 and filed a 1040EZ. It's ultimately worth it to take the stock, of course, but it's kind of a hassle. My advice is to find an accountant your first year at a FAANG and let them handle everything. Don't do it yourself.

ed25519FUUU 6y ago
>My advice is to find an accountant your first year at a FAANG and let them handle everything. Don't do it yourself. If you do go with an accountant, treat it as a learning experience so you can do it yourself or at least go over their work before submitting it. You'll be surprised at how often accountants make mistakes or leave money on the table.

ed25519FUUU 6y ago

>My advice is to find an accountant your first year at a FAANG and let them handle everything. Don't do it yourself. If you do go with an accountant, treat it as a learning experience so you can do it yourself or at least go over their work before submitting it. You'll be surprised at how often accountants make mistakes or leave money on the table.