Restricted Stock Units

Definition of Restricted Stock Units

Restricted stock units (RSUs) refer to the value granted in a company’s common stocks to the employees by an employer as a part of compensation through a well-defined vesting plan and a schedule of distribution based on the accomplishment of set performance milestones or based on a requirement to serve a minimum number of years with the company. The stock units are not issued at the time of grant; instead, they are given only after the completion of the vesting period.

Explanation

RSUs form part of compensation plans offered by companies. In these plans, an employee is shown an interest in the fixed number of units of the common stocks of the company. However, units are not granted initially at the time of grant of interest. The units are issued only at a future date based on the completion of a specified milestone or completion of a specified tenure by the employee. This means that the units vest in favor of the employees per the company’s vesting schedule. At the vesting date, the employees can get either the units or cash based on the fair market value of the units as on the vesting date. Such compensation is offered to new or highly skilled employees to incentivize them to stay with the company.

Example of Restricted Stock Units

Suppose a company appoints a new employee who is highly skilled and, thus, highly valuable to the company. The company offers the employee 500 units of restricted stock units as part of the compensation plan in addition to the regular salary. The vesting conditions suggest that the employee must stay with the company for five years to qualify for the stock units. The units will be vested after five years, and the employee will get an option to call 500 units of stock or an equivalent cash value based on the stock’s fair market value as of the vesting date. This is an example of a restricted stock unit plan.

How to Tax Restricted Stock Units?

The stock units or cash awarded to the employees at the vested date per the fair market value are considered the employee’s ordinary income for that year. The income is calculated based on the fair market value of the stocks prevailing on the vesting date. The employer must withhold tax on the RSU distributions, and the remaining portion of shares or cash after appropriating taxes is transferred to the employees. An employee can either hold the shares, or they can sell them.

How is Stock Limited on Restricted Stock Units?

Under RSU plans, the employer promises to pay a fixed number of standard stock units to employees or a cash equivalent after the completion of the vesting period. The number of units the company wants to entitle employees to is based on the company’s assessment of their roles and capabilities. There are three ways in which stocks can be restricted in the case of RSUs:

• Time-based restriction: A restriction is placed on the years an employee needs to serve in the company before the right in stocks vests.
• The performance or milestone-based restriction: A restriction may be placed for completing a particular milestone, such as a specific project.
• A combination of the above two restrictions

Advantages

Restricted stock units are advantageous for the employer as well as the employees in the following ways:

• The company can retain talented employees, saving them from the loss they would incur on the early resignation of such employees.
• The company is deferring the payments for the future instead of making an upfront payment, hence saving its cash flows.
• The employee gets ownership interest in the company once the option vests.
• The shares are issued at the prevailing market prices on the vesting date, and the employee also gets an option to get equivalent cash value.

Disadvantages

Some limitations that employers and employees face in the case of restricted stock units are as follows:

• It is not guaranteed that highly talented employees will stay with the company just because of the right of RSUs, as some other companies might offer to compensate them even better based on their high skills.
• The amount at which the employees are to be compensated is unknown to the company at the beginning since the fair market value as of the vesting date is considered.
• It may happen that the value of the stock doesn’t appreciate as expected by the employees.
• If the employees want to leave the company before the vesting period, the employees will have to forego the rights.

Conclusion

Restricted stock units are an excellent option to retain employees with the company. A benefit of RSUs is that the employees don’t have to bear any cost, which is part of their compensation plan.

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