Hello @Deepali_B,
ESOPs involve multiple dates, but you don’t need to report them all in your ITR. You only report them when there is a taxable event. Here’s how it works:
1. Grant date: No tax and no reporting in ITR. It’s just an intimation from the company that you’ve been granted stock options.
2. Vesting date: Still no tax and no reporting. Vesting only gives you the right to exercise in the future, but until you actually exercise, nothing is taxable.
3. Exercise date: Taxable event.
- On this date, the difference between the Fair Market Value (FMV) and the Exercise Price is treated as a perquisite (salary income).
- This needs to be shown in your ITR for that financial year under the head “Income from Salary”.
- For foreign company ESOPs, this is reported as perquisite income too, and taxes may be withheld as TDS or payable at filing time.
4. Sell date: Another taxable event.
- When you sell, the difference between the sale price and the FMV on exercise date is taxed as Capital Gains (Short Term or Long Term, depending on holding period).
- This must be reported in your ITR for the year of sale under “Income from Capital Gains”.
Hope this clears up the confusion!