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  An equity option grant is an award issuance under a stock/equity plan that has certain stipulations concerning the subsequent handling of the said issued equity. Equity option grants may require some form of compliance and reporting, since their gains and subsequent income may be taxable.
  
  

Employee Equity Option Grants

• These are the oldest and most established form of equity option grants. Under this method, the equity option is granted to an organization's management, employees and other relevant stakeholders as part of their compensation. These grants may be linked as awards for exemplary performance in lieu of cash compensation.
  
  

Variant Equity Option Grants

• This type of equity option grant involves issuing both direct common stock as well as equity grants to employees. The biggest difference with these is that they are inactive and cannot be traded or claimed for a specified period after the issuance of the grants.
  
  

Equity Option Grants

• These grants offer concessions to employees in that they are permitted to buy the organization's stock at a particular price and over a certain period of time. Due to the concessions issue, they come with restrictions pertaining to their purchase and disposal.