RESOURCES

Whether you are receiving your first Bean Stock grant or have received grants over the years, you probably have questions. Understanding your Bean Stock helps you get the most out of it.

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Fidelity resources including step-by-step instructions for your account and tax specific information

FIDELITY Resources

As the administrator for our stock plans, Fidelity has a wealth of information to help you understand and manage your Bean Stock.

Step-by-step instructions for your Fidelity account (pdfs)
open your account accept your grant(s) sell shares online

Tax Resources

You are not alone if you find taxation confusing. While we can’t give partners financial or tax advice (everyone’s personal situation is different), here’s a general description of what to expect when your Bean Stock vests.

When your Bean Stock RSUs vest, but before any shares are transferred to you, Starbucks is required to withhold any applicable taxes.

Enough shares will be withheld to cover the taxes due and the net shares (or shares after taxes) are then deposited to your Fidelity account.

EXAMPLE (for illustrative purposes only)

Let’s say you received 10 RSUs, and one year later when the first 50% (5 units) vest, the closing price of Starbucks stock is $75 and your tax rate is 30%*.

Your taxable income: 5 shares x $75 = $375
Your taxes due: $375 (your taxable income) x 30% (your tax rate) = $112.5
2 shares** will be withheld to cover the taxes due and the remaining 3 shares go into your Fidelity account.

* The example shows estimated tax withholding. For your own personal situation, we encourage all partners to consult with their own tax adviser with respect to local tax consequences in regards to taxation of RSUs at the time of vest.

** Shares will be rounded up to the nearest whole share, and any residual amount from the netting of shares will be refunded to you through payroll. In this case, 2 shares x $75 = $150. You would receive $37.50 back through payroll ($150 in taxes paid in shares – $112.50 in actual taxes due = $37.50 to refund to partner through payroll)

Each quarter, Starbucks Board of Directors approves a quarterly cash dividend paid to Starbucks shareholders. As an example, let’s say that you have 10 shares of Starbucks stock that you received when your Bean Stock RSUs vested. If the Board declared a dividend of $.53, you would receive a dividend payment of $5.30 (10 shares x .53). This is taxable income and is subject to U.S. tax withholding even though you are not a U.S. citizen. 

If you received $10 or more in dividends,  the U.S. tax authority will mail Form 1042-S annually in March. 

The tax rate applied to the dividend income will depend on the tax treaty between the U.S. and your home country. And, depending on your country’s tax laws, you may be able to claim a foreign tax credit for the taxes withheld and reported on form 1042-S.

More Information on Form 1042-S:

Form 1042-S is informational only. If you live outside of the U.S. and have received U.S. sourced income subject to tax withholding, the U.S. tax authority (IRS) will send form 1042-S to show how much U.S. sourced income you received, how much you paid in U.S. taxes, and what the income was from. 

You may be wondering, “Isn’t that why I filled out the W-8BEN when I certified (or recertified) my Fidelity account?” Yes, when you certify that you are not a U.S. citizen and are not subject to U.S. taxation, that basically covers your stock grants from Starbucks. However, this certification does not cover income from stock dividends.

If you received form 1042-S and 06 is listed in box 1, you received income from dividends paid by a U.S. corporation. Other dividend codes like 52 (Dividends paid on certain actively traded or publicly offered securities) may be used as well. Box 2 will show the amount of taxable income and box 10 will show the dollar amount withheld (rounded to the nearest dollar).

Log in to your Fidelity NetBenefits account to find your tax forms. From the Stock Plans summary page, click on the Statements/Records tab and then Tax Forms.

1042-S: Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding

This form reports income from a U.S. based source for non-U.S. residents.

You may receive this form if you are not a U.S. resident, but earned U.S. income and paid U.S. taxes. For Starbucks partners, you usually receive this if you received cash dividends and paid U.S. taxes on dividends earned.

Completing W-8BEN does not exclude non-U.S. residents from U.S. taxes on Starbucks dividend payments.

1099-B: Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions

This form reports proceeds from brokers and barter exchanges to the seller and the IRS.

You may receive this form from Fidelity if you sold shares of Starbucks stock.

Partners will be fully responsible for paying taxes on gains from these transactions.

Supplemental Information

This form provides additional information to supplement your 1099-B due to cost basis regulations that no longer permit brokers to include ordinary income.

You may receive this form from Fidelity if you sold shares of Starbucks stock.

Partners will be fully responsible for paying taxes on gains from these transactions.

1099-DIV: Dividends and Distributions

This form is used by brokers and other financial institutions to report dividends and other distributions to taxpayers and to the IRS.

You may receive this form from Fidelity if you were paid cash dividends for Starbucks shares you own.

Partners will be fully responsible for paying taxes on gains from these transactions.

W-8BEN: Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for U.S. Tax Withholding

This form is used by foreign individuals to certify their non-U.S. status.

Partners outside of the U.S. are required to complete this form when they activate their Fidelity account for the first time, and then again after every three calendar years.