In this third and final part to our series on the taxation of stock options and restricted stock units (RSUs), we'll outline some strategies you can use to achieve better tax consequences. There is unlimited potential loss to the downside once the stock price passes the lower break-even point. The best options trading strategy will not keep you glued to the screen all day, you only have to know when the stock markets open. It reveals a concrete options strategy, based on authors experience, market cycles theory and work of (and I like concrete strategies in opposite to http://www.crimescenejournal.com/ prolixity).

Mildly bearish trading strategies are options strategies that make money as long as the underlying stock price does not go up by the options expiration date. The position eliminates your fear of volatility and can change the way you trade your options. A profit is earned if the share price of the underlying stock, at expiry, is less than $31.72 or greater than $40.28.

Bull call spreads can be implemented by buying an at-the-money call option while simultaneously writing a higher striking out-of-the-money call option of the same underlying and the same expiration month. A long put option is a bearish strategy, but unlike a short stock trade , you generally have to be right about more than just the direction of the underlying stock in order to be profitable.

Estimate the impact - before exercising incentive stock options available to you, work with a tax professional to calculate the projected impact for AMT. This increase in the put option's value allows you to sell the put option for more than you paid, netting a profit.

Price movement reductions - You may find price movement is limited by the time value element of your options premium. If the stock increases in price, the call option's price may increase as well, allowing you to profit. When buying call options you need to be right on the direction of the trade as well as the time allotted for it to move.

Only very qualified stock investors are allowed to engage in short selling stocks. Alter when you purchase the options, or the strike prices, to completely reduce the loss. As is noted in Daily Capital's Equity Compensation Primer , vesting criteria restrict your ability to cash in on your options until you meet certain pre-specified thresholds - typically based on time spent at a company or on performance.

You will need a margin account to sell an option without owning the underlying asset. Hopefully, by now you have learned that you can take either a bullish or bearish position on an underlying instrument (stock, exchange-traded fund ETF or an index) using either calls or puts.

The important word in a statement is "correct" stock option trading strategies. It can be difficult to resist the urge to throw your hat into the ring early on. However, getting to grips with stock options strategies with a demo account first is often a wise decision.

Typically we trade options for short term movement and not because there is strong or weak fundamentals. Market volatility, volume and system availability may delay account access and trade executions. We've re-done the tables showing Tom and Jane selling a portion of their shares to cover the exercise cost (who can just pony up $225,000 in cash, anyway?) in December 1998 and March 1999, and waiting to sell the remainder in March 2000.

With KMX currently trading just below $62, the graph shows that we should end up with a gain if the stock ends up at any price between $59 and $67 on Friday, April 6th. The call is exercised, and the stock is sold at the price that you agreed upon in the contract (the strike price).