When you buy an option can you excercise the option before the expiration date?
915804
Yes.  Most options can be exercised before expiration.  However, in many cases, it might be more advantageous to sell your option instead of exercising it, because they'll usually have a "time" premium still baked into the price of the option that you lose when you exercise the option.\n\nFor example, the AAPL Dec $80 call is currently 4.70.  The stock is $82.45 as of close on Wed.\n\nYou can exercise the option and buy the stock for $80, thus netting $2.45 ($82.45-$80), or you can sell the option and receive $4.70.  It's your choice!\n\nHope that helps!
989871
You can, but probably don't know how.  Go to Yahoo.finance and look (on the side-bar) for instructions.
137599
When a stock goes "ex Dividend" it means that it "excludes" the dividend entitlement.\n\nYou must have bought the stock on the trading day BEFORE the ex dividend date to receive the dividend.\n\nThere are other dividend dates (such as payable date - which is when you get paid the dividend) and also the record date (which is the date by which you need to be on the reigster of shareholders).  \n\nIf you buy before the ex date, you'll be on the register by the time the record date comes around.  The record date is more of a "back office" administrative date that shareholders need not worry about.
915130
We'll have to wait and see.  It was supposed to expire for 2006, but there is legislation before Congress to extend it.  Currently, the Schedule A available at irs.gov does not include a line for it.  That does not mean that it is final.
861113
Incentive stock options are not subject to regular income tax on exercise, but do give rise to an item of tax preference.  On the sale of the stock at least one year after exercise and two years after receipt of the option, and satisfaction of a bunch of other requirements, you would have capital gain for federal income tax purposes.  With non-qualified options, you will have income on the exercise of the options.  California follows federal definitions and timing but offers no capital gain preference.  You mentioned that the granting company is a start up, so exercising the options right away probably means no income on exercise and capital gains on sale if you hold for a year.
124713
If you buy a stock on or after the ex-dividend date but before the record date the person you bought the stock from gets the dividend. \n\nSome traders use this as an opportunity (as price usually drops on ex-dividend date depending upon dividend size and market demand) to buy into a bullish stock.
424148
Dividends are given to the shareholders that hold the stock on the record date.  The actual payment may come a month later so you can sell the stock after the record date but before the payments are made and still receive the dividend.  The announcement date is essentially meaningless other than to let you know which dates are the record and payment dates.  Also, the day after the record date the stock is said to have gone "ex-dividend" which means if you buy the stock on this date or later you will not receive the dividend.
656942
You have up to three months to fill it. Once you fill it, it expires one year from that date
985152
Are you still working for the company who granted you the options?  Have they done this before?  If yes, then ask several co-workers who they use.  \n\nUsing a chain preparer is hit and miss when it comes to stock options so ask questions if someone recommends them.
632342
If the options are in-the-money, you should certainly exercise them.  \n\nThe options you have are either qualified or non-qualified options.  If they are nonqualified, then the fact that you are subject to the AMT doesn't matter.  You have to pay ordinary income taxes on the difference between the fair market value and the strike price.  Let's look at an example.  Suppose you can buy the stock at $10 per share and it is trading at $22 per share.  $10 is the strike price and $22 is the fair market value.  You have to pay ordinary income taxes on (22-10) = $12 per share.  $22.00 now becomes your tax basis.  Let's say you hold onto the shares for two years and sell at $40.  You have to pay long-term capital gains taxes on the gain -- and the gain is $40 minus your tax basis of $22 -- so you pay capital gains taxes on a $18 gain per share.\n\nNow let's suppose that they are qualified options (part of an employee option plan open to everyone).  If you weren'r subject to the AMT, then you have no taxable event until you sell the stock.  When you do, you are subject to capital gains tax on the difference between what you sell it at and what you bought it at.\n\nHowever, you are subject to AMT taxes.  This means that when you exercise the options, you have to pay taxes at the AMT rate on the difference between the fair market value and the strike price.  This is just like the non-qualified case -- except that you pay at the 20% AMT rate rather than the higher ordinary tax rate (which could be as high as 39.6%).  The fair market value (price at exercise) becomes your tax bases.  When you eventually sell the stock, any capital gains is taxed at the long or short term capital gains rate where the gain is the difference between the selling price and your tax basis.\n\nHolding onto the stock has risks.  It is possible for the stock to fall below the value of the owed taxes.  This happened to a lot of people during the 2001 burting of the internet bubble.
239776
You can't buy options in that short a time frame, assuming that I understand your question correctly... and what strike price are you looking for?
633448
monthly installment? (sales price - deposit)/(%number.of.mths) which could be 12/18/24 +++
155802
If you have stock options, you have the right to purchase stock at a set price. The price you'll pay is set by the Board of Directors (usually). If the company is pre-IPO, the price may be quite low. The hope is that when the company goes public, your stock will be worth more than the option price.\n\nThe vesting schedule sets forth the time and amount of stock you can purchase.
1056153
They will issue a warrant if you just let the date go by.  You need to contact them and tell them that you won't have the money by that date, most will extend the time or make some type of payment arrangements.
714168
There is no “regular” tax implication when exercising stock options.  The regular tax kicks in when you sell the stock.\n\nIf the stock is sold more than 1 year after it was exercised AND more than 2 years after it was granted, then the gain from the grant date to the sell date is all capital gains.\n\nIf the stock is sold 1 year or less after it was exercised OR 2 years or less after it was granted, then the gain from the grant price to the Fair Market Value (FMV) when it was exercised is considered ordinary income not subject to FICA.  The remaining gain/loss is capital gain.  It is long term if the stock was held more than one year after it was exercised.\n\nAMT:\n\nAlternative Minimum Tax is different in that the exercise event DOES trigger tax.  The built-in gain from the grant date to the FMV at the exercise date is added to your AMT income.  When the stock is eventually sold, you will do two Schedule Ds...one for Regular Tax with the basis equal to the grant date price, and one for AMT with the basis equal to the FMV price.  Your regular gain will be larger than your AMT gain because your AMT basis will be larger.....you've already paid tax on some of your AMT gain whereas you didn't pay any regular tax on this gain.  Confusing, isn't it.\n\nWill you definitely have AMT when you exercise ISO stock?  Not necessarily.  Your AMT will be affected, but will it grow to the point where it will be higher than your regular tax?  It depends on other items on your return.  To get an idea of how much you can absorb, go back to your 2005 tax return and figure out your AMT and see how far it was below your regular tax.  This is an estimate of 2006, not a guarantee.\n\nIf ISO exercise does cause your AMT to be larger than your regular tax, of course, you will have to add the difference to your regular tax as you expect.  However, unlike other things that trigger AMT, ISO exercising is refundable.  What?  You get a credit for whatever additional tax you have to pay due to ISO exercising.  This credit carries forward to next year and, if not used up, carries forward to the next year.  It keeps doing this until it is used up.  This credit goes against regular tax until it drops to your AMT tax.\n\nComprehensive example:\n\n2006: Your normal regular tax is $20,000.  Your AMT is $16,000.  You exercise 10,000 shares with a FMV of $10/share with a grant price of $4/share.  You have to add 10,000 x (10 - 4) = 60,000 to your AMT income causing, let's say, $15,600 of additional AMT tax.  AMT is now $31,600 which is $11,600 more than your regular tax.  So, for 2006, your tax liability is $31,600, however, you get a credit of $11,600.\n\nIf in 2007, your regular tax is still $20,000 and your AMT is still $16,000, your tax is $16,000.  $4,000 of credit was used to lower your regular tax down to your AMT.  Your credit now drops to $7,600.\n\nIf in 2008 you sell the stock for $20, your regular gain is 10,000 x ($20 - $4) = $160,000.  Your AMT is 10,000 x ($20 - $10) = $100,000.  Again, you figure out your regular tax and AMT and if the AMT is lower than your regular tax, you get to use the carry-over credit until it is used up.\n\nOf course, part of your basis is your brokerage fees, but to keep things simple, I ignored these.  If you sell at a regular loss or even at an AMT loss, the rules still apply, but you can only get $3,000 per year of loss to use against other income.\n\nHope this helps  :)
510550
When trading in in futures, an option is a contract which gives its holder the right to buy or sell an asset at some predetermined price within a specific period. \n\nif you have 100 shares of compnay XYZ, and u sell someone the right to buy ur shares at a certain price within 3 months, that person has the right to 'CALL' your shares at the price. these are called call options. I hope it makes sence.
213342
You might be thinking of LEAPS. They are long term option like creations. All options/warrants/leaps lose value over time. The longer the time until they expire usually means they have a greater premium.\n\nIt is not something I would personally do.