On March 30, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
published an updated standard to simplify some provisions in
share-based compensation accounting. The update — Accounting
Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-09, Compensation —
Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee
Share-Based Payment Accounting — makes it easier for
employers to report the tax deductions for paying employees with
stock options and restricted shares. The update also provides
practical expedients for private companies that offer share-based
compensation.
Accounting for income taxes
Under the updated guidance, the most significant change relates
to how companies will report the tax consequences of share-based
compensation. Under current U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (GAAP), for each share-based payment, employers must
determine whether the difference between the deduction for tax
purposes and the compensation cost recognized for financial
reporting purposes