There are four common methods of granting equity or equity incentives in an LLC: (1) outright membership interest or membership unit grants, (2) LLC incentive units (aka “profit interests”), (3) a phantom or parallel unit plan (aka. synthetic equity), and (4) options to acquire LLC capital interests.
A business can ``give'' equity any time its articles of incorporation or anti-dilution agreements allow. The IRS requires the business to report the fair market value of the gift of equity if it goes to non-employees . If equity goes to employees it is considered compensation and is reported on their w2.
Let's say a company is looking to raise $50,000 in exchange for a 20% stake in its business. Investing $50,000 in that company could entitle you to 20% of that business's profits going forward.
Equity agreements commonly contain the following components: Equity program. This section outlines the details of the investment plan, including its purpose, conditions, and objectives. It also serves as a statement of intention to create a legal relationship between both parties.