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Section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code requires companies to provide Forms 3921 and 3922 to employees who exercised incentive stock options or first transferred ESPP shares during 2025, with employee statements due by February 2, 2026. Employers must also file these forms with the IRS by March 2, 2026 (paper) or March 31, 2026 (electronic), with electronic filing mandatory for companies submitting ten or more forms of a given type. Failure to file or furnish the forms on time can result in significant per-form penalties, making timely compliance critical for corporations administering equity plans.

An SMSF generally cannot acquire shares issued under a remuneration-based employee share scheme, except in limited circumstances such as when the shares come from a listed company and meet related-party rules. Experts warn that these arrangements often create compliance risks, including breaches around asset acquisition, valuation at market value, and potential non-arm’s-length income issues if discounts apply. Trustees are urged to assess eligibility and compliance upfront, as problems commonly arise when transactions are completed before proper advice is sought.

OpenAI is reportedly paying employees an average of $1.5 million each in stock-based compensation, making it the most generous major tech startup by far and pushing equity pay to nearly half of projected 2025 revenue. The payouts—driven by fierce competition for elite AI talent, especially from Meta—dwarf pre-IPO compensation at companies like Google and Facebook and are projected to add about $3 billion a year in stock costs through 2030. While the strategy helps OpenAI retain top researchers during the AI arms race, it has also significantly inflated losses and highlights how far the company has moved from its nonprofit origins toward an equity-heavy, hybrid commercial model.

Tesla directors have collectively earned around £2.5bn from long-term stock option awards between 2018 and 2024, far exceeding board payouts at other major tech companies as Tesla’s share price surged. Despite pausing board compensation in 2021 amid criticism, earlier option grants—particularly to figures like Kimbal Musk, Ira Ehrenpreis, and Robyn Denholm—have continued to generate enormous gains, highlighting how Tesla’s option-heavy approach magnifies upside with little downside risk. Compared with the “Magnificent Seven,” Tesla’s board pay is unusually high and controversial, raising governance concerns, though investor confidence in the company has remained largely unaffected.