GTN Mobility Tax Blog

Equity income is a key compensation component as organizations seek to attract, motivate, and retain talent. Stock options, restricted stock units, and other equity-based awards are designed to align employee interests with long-term business performance and are increasingly offered to a broad range of roles and geographies.

At the same time, the way (and where) employees work has changed. Remote and hybrid arrangements, short-term business travel, and cross-border assignments mean that equity awards are often no longer easily attributable to a single location. This creates employer and employee challenges.

Business travel is on the rise, and it’s putting C-suites at risk of tax violations. According to the Global Business Travel Association, 71 percent of travel buyers say business travel increased at their company in the last year. What many corporate leaders don’t realize is that, as business travel ramps up, they may not be reporting taxes for equity compensation correctly.

This article outlines why equity compensation compliance is so challenging for traveling C-suite executives and what your team can do to help protect both your employees and the company from tax headaches.

Managing mobility tax obligations is rarely straightforward, especially as workforce models grow more flexible and companies support a variety of cross-border employee scenarios.

That’s why GTN and AIRINC teamed up for a three-part webinar series, offering clear, practical guidance on key mobility tax topics. Whether you're focused on day-to-day program management or big-picture planning, these sessions were designed to help HR, mobility, and tax professionals navigate today’s most common mobility challenges with greater confidence.

Managing a mobile workforce, especially at a time when business travel is high, presents unique challenges for equity compensation programs. When employees work across multiple jurisdictions, the complexity of tax reporting and withholding requirements increases exponentially. Success depends on effective collaboration between your equity, HR, and payroll teams.

Attracting and retaining skilled workers in today’s tight labor market takes more than a competitive salary. Many companies find they can meet their employment needs and their employees’ incentive preferences by offering a portion of their compensation as equity.

You likely know by now that employees who receive equity-based compensation, and who relocate—domestically or internationally—during the life of the award, create tax withholding and reporting obligations.

Still, when it comes to equity reporting and withholding, companies do not always address the risk with their mobile workforce. Often this comes down to a lack of manpower, information, or technology. 

So, how do you move from the stage of recognizing the problem to finding and implementing a solution?