If you work at Microsoft, you may be eligible to enroll in the employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). To help you make the most of this opportunity, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to all the ins and outs of this program, from how it works to how you enroll.
If you’d like to learn more about how ESPPs work in general, be sure to read our blog about an overview of employee stock purchase plans.
Make More Money from your ESPP with Benny’s New Program
Benny 2.0 automatically manages your Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) to make you more money without disrupting your take-home pay.
Here’s a quick rundown of how Microsoft’s ESPP works.
- You can buy Microsoft stock at a 10% discount.
- You can enroll 4 times a year:
- Dec 15th
- Mar 15th
- Jun 14th
- Sep 14th
- You can contribute up to 15% of your salary with a maximum of $22,500 per year.
Should You Participate In Microsoft’s ESPP?
When you enroll in Microsoft’s ESPP, you have the opportunity to purchase shares of your company stock at a discounted price through automatic payroll deductions.
The benefits of participating in an ESPP are clear – you can make gains and build wealth. In fact, Microsoft employees can gain $2,500 or even more annually through their ESPP.
Microsoft’s ESPP Discount
Microsoft offers employees an opportunity to buy Microsoft stock at a 10% discount.
Microsoft’s ESPP Enrollment Periods
You can enroll in Microsoft’s ESPP 4 times a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. You can enroll by the following dates:
- Dec 15th
- Mar 15th
- Jun 14th
- Sep 14th
Microsoft’s ESPP Contribution Limits
The first thing you need to do is decide how much you want to contribute. You can contribute up to 15% of your salary, with a limit of $22,500 per year.
Microsoft’s ESPP Offering Period
The offering period is the time that employees can purchase the stock. Microsoft’s employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) has four 3-month offering periods every year.
When you’re participating in Microsoft’s ESPP, you set aside money from each paycheck from the beginning of a purchase period through the end. At the end of this purchase period, the money that has been set aside is used to purchase company stock at a discount.
If you are interested in Microsoft’s ESPP, here are some key dates to keep in mind.
The offering periods are
- Jan 1st – Mar 31st
- Apr 1st – Jun 30th
- Jul 1st – Sep 30th
- Oct 1st – Dec 31st
The stock purchase dates are the last trading day before the end of each period.
Selling Your ESPP Shares
Once Microsoft purchases the shares on your behalf, they will be deposited into your brokerage account. From there, you can do what you want with them…sell immediately (as long as it’s during the open trading windows), hold for a short time, hold for an extended time, etc.
How does Benny help me make the most of Microsoft’s ESPP?
Benny makes it easy to participate in Microsoft’s employee stock purchase plan by giving you cash to match your ESPP paycheck deduction so you can get the benefits of your ESPP without impacting your take-home pay.
For example, if you’re contributing $350 per paycheck to Microsoft’s ESPP, Benny will deposit $350 in your bank account before each paycheck’s pay date.
Use our ESPP calculator to see how much you can earn with Microsoft’s ESPP.
Make More Money from your ESPP with Benny’s New Program
Benny 2.0 automatically manages your Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) to make you more money without disrupting your take-home pay.