Some companies grant stock to their full-time employees as part of their total compensation. Companies can also gift equity in the form of common stock to people who aren’t full-time employees, including their most loyal and valued part-time employees, independent contractors, and even customers.

Robinhood allows companies to gift stock through its Partner Stock Program.

If a company gives you free stock through Robinhood Financial, we’ll email you instructions on how to claim them.

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Log in or sign up for a Robinhood investing account. Make sure to use the same email address used for your invite. If you already use Robinhood with a different email, you’ll need to update it in your account settings to claim the gift.

2. Follow the link in the invite email to view the details of the gift. Make sure to claim your gift before the deadline, which you’ll find in the invite email. You won’t be able to claim the gift after the deadline.

3. Once you claim your gift, you’ll receive the shares in your Robinhood investing account. These free shares are yours to keep or sell.

Generally the fair market value of gifted stock is reportable income if you accept a gift of free shares. You’ll also be responsible for any taxes due on any capital gains resulting from a sale of the shares. The issuing company will send you a W-2 or 1099-NEC so you can report the value of the stock gift received. Robinhood will send you a 1099 for any income or sale proceeds that occur after the stock gift has been accepted.

Robinhood doesn’t provide tax advice. For specific questions, you should consult a tax professional.ap

You can learn more about the company, including the offering, and risks to consider in the company’s prospectus on the gift’s detail page. For companies that have been public for some time, you can find more information on their stock detail page.

This isn’t a recommendation for an issuer, its shares, or participation in any offering. Review the specific information provided by the issuer for further consideration.

All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible.