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AND ACCURATELY?
Employees can exercise options using a variety of
methods such as same-day-sale, cash, and sell-to-cover.
The Plan may specify what methods may be used. For
a comparison of the various methods, see Exhibit 6 in
paragraph 1.6.3.
The same-day-sale method is most common. In this
method, the employee exercises the option using the
proceeds from the sale of stock acquired under the
option to pay both the exercise price and tax withholding.
10 The employee pays no out-of-pocket cash to exercise
the option and retains no ownership in company stock
after the transaction. The administrative steps to consummate
a same-day-sale are summarized in Exhibit 9.
An employee using the cash method pays cash to exercise
the option and purchase the shares. The cash paid
equals the exercise price (times the number of shares exercised)
plus the applicable taxes. After the transaction,
the employee owns the number of shares exercised. Care
should be taken to ensure the payment is timely received
(e.g., the check is not returned for insufficient funds).
Late receipt of payment could be construed as a loan.