Nonqualified deferred compensation – Independent appraisals offer protection against 409A challenge

Description

Abstract: Businesses that provide employees with stock options, stock appreciation rights (SARs) and other types of nonqualified deferred compensation have been subject to Internal Revenue Code Section 409A for years. As you can imagine, compliance is particularly challenging in the current economic environment. To avoid Sec. 409A problems, options and SARs must be issued at or above fair market value, so accurate valuations are critical. It’s important to know what Sec. 409A requires and how to establish fair market value. Three “presumptive” valuation methods are discussed.