Equity Compensation · 20 min read
AT&T RSUs and Performance Shares: Vesting, Retirement, and the SPDP
AT&T restricted stock units vest one-third a year over three years and are delivered on that schedule even when retirement eligibility vests them early; performance shares pay 0% to 200% of target after a three-year period on adjusted EPS growth and ROIC, prorated by months worked if you retire mid-cycle. The Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan lets about 3,400 managers defer 6% to 30% of pay into deferred share units with a 20% stock match, paid out as shares one to five years later. Payroll withholds a flat 22% at delivery, which is below the 32% to 37% brackets many participants are in.
AT&T pays its long-term incentives in two instruments with different clocks: restricted stock units that vest a third a year, and performance shares that pay out, if at all, after a three-year period. A third program, the Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan, lets about 3,400 managers buy deferred share units from salary and bonus with a 20% stock match. Each has its own rules for retirement, departure, taxes and timing, and the rules live in the plan documents AT&T files with the SEC. This guide reads those documents, states who receives which award, and works through the decisions. Tax figures are 2026 federal figures; confirm your own numbers with a CPA or tax counsel.
Who receives which AT&T award?
Management employees, and the filings only detail the mix for executive officers. The 2026 Incentive Plan, approved by stockholders on May 14, 2026, is open to management employees; about 75,000 are eligible, and AT&T expects participation to be “generally limited to approximately 3,400 mid-level and above managers” (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, Item No. 5, Eligible for Participation). Awards granted before that date sit under the 2018 Incentive Plan, whose terms are close but not identical (AT&T 2018 Incentive Plan, Exhibit 10-a to the 2017 Form 10-K). For the five named executive officers, the target long-term award is 75% performance shares and 25% RSUs (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, 2025 Total Target Compensation and Pay Mix). For other managers, the 10-K says only that “senior and other management employees” have received performance stock units and other nonvested stock units, that RSUs “predominantly vest over a three-year period,” and that restricted stock vests over three to ten years (AT&T 2025 Form 10-K, Note 15, Share-Based Compensation). Your grant notice, not the proxy, sets your mix.
| Program | Who | How it vests or pays | Paid in | Taxed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted stock units | Management employees selected by the committee; 25% of executive-officer long-term target | Three-year restriction period, one-third per year (executive grants); vest at grant for retirement-eligible officers but distribute on schedule | Stock; dividend equivalents quarterly in cash | Ordinary income when shares are delivered |
| Performance shares | Management employees selected by the committee; 75% of executive-officer long-term target | Three-year performance period; 0% to 200% of units, on adjusted EPS growth and ROIC with a relative TSR modifier (2025 grant) | Cash and stock (2023 executive grant: 66% cash, 34% stock) | Ordinary income when paid |
| Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan units | About 3,400 management or highly compensated employees; mid-level managers and above | Bought monthly from 6% to 30% of base pay, up to 95% of a short-term award or 6% to 30% of an annual bonus; 20% stock match plus a makeup match; all matches immediately vested | Stock, in the year elected (one to five years after the account year, deferrable further) | Ordinary income at distribution; unfunded claim on AT&T until then |
How do AT&T RSUs vest?
One-third a year over three years, with the shares delivered on a fixed schedule whether or not vesting came early. The 2025 executive grants “vest and distribute 33-1/3% each year over three years,” pay 100% in stock, and carry dividend equivalents paid quarterly in cash while the units are outstanding (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, 2025 Restricted Stock Unit Grants). The unit itself is a promise, not a share: no voting rights, no dividends, and no transfer until it pays out (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 7.09(a), Annex C to the 2026 proxy).
The detail that separates AT&T from most plans is the split between vesting and distribution. For a retirement-eligible officer, the 2025 RSU grant is “fully vested at grant; however, the award does not distribute until the scheduled distribution date” (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, 2025 Restricted Stock Unit Grants). The plan applies the same logic to anyone who becomes retirement-eligible while holding units: the units vest, but pay out on the original dates (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 7.09(b), Annex C to the 2026 proxy). Vesting early therefore does not put shares in your account early. It changes what happens if you leave, and, as the tax section explains, it can move the Social Security and Medicare tax forward.
How do AT&T performance shares pay out?
As a multiple of the units granted, set after a three-year period by two financial goals and a stock-return modifier, with the whole range running from 0% to 200%. For the 2025 to 2027 grant, half of the award is measured on three-year adjusted EPS growth and half on average return on invested capital, each against targets the committee sets at the start and discloses only after the period ends. A relative total-shareholder-return modifier then adds 20 percentage points if AT&T’s return ranks in the top quartile of the S&P 500 and is positive, subtracts 20 points for the bottom quartile, and does nothing in between (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, 2025 Performance Share Grants). The committee may also make discretionary adjustments before payout.
The most recent completed cycle shows the mechanics. For the 2023 to 2025 period the committee found adjusted EPS growth of 0.6%, 290 basis points above target, and ROIC of 9.7%, 40 basis points above target, producing a final payout of 124% with no TSR adjustment because the three-year return ranked in the second quartile of the peer group used for that grant (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, 2023-2025 Long-Term Incentive, Actual Performance, Attainment and Payout). That is a record of one cycle, not a guide to the next; the targets change each year and are not public in advance.
Payout arrives as a single lump sum after the committee certifies results, no later than March 15 following the end of the period (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 8.06(b), Annex C to the 2026 proxy). For the executive grants the 2023 performance shares settled 66% in cash and 34% in stock, so that combined with the RSUs half of the long-term payout arrives as stock (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards, Performance shares granted in 2023). The cash portion is valued at the share price on the day the committee approves the payout. Dividend equivalents on performance shares held by senior managers and above are paid only on the units actually distributed, at distribution (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 8.05, Annex C to the 2026 proxy).
What happens to AT&T awards at retirement or departure?
It depends on which of five exits applies, and on whether you meet the plan’s definition of retirement on the day you leave. The 2026 Incentive Plan defines retirement as leaving for any reason other than death, disability or cause on or after the earlier of age 55 with a 10-year term of employment, or one of these age-and-service combinations: 10 years at 65, 20 years at 55, 25 years at 50, or 30 years at any age (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 2.01(u), Annex C to the 2026 proxy). The 2018 plan, which governs awards granted before May 14, 2026, uses the same table but lets officer-level employees qualify at 55 with five years of service, or ten years if designated an officer on or after October 1, 2015 (AT&T 2018 Incentive Plan, Section 2.01(u)). Term of employment is measured as the AT&T pension plan’s nonbargained program measures it.
| Exit | Unvested RSUs | Performance shares mid-period |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement-eligible on departure | Vest (if not already vested); paid on the original schedule | Prorated by months worked in the period divided by months in the period; paid at the normal time, subject to the goals |
| Voluntary departure, not retirement-eligible | Forfeited | Canceled |
| Surplus termination (force reduction, or declining a relocation of more than 50 miles that lengthens the commute) | Prorated by months worked and vested; paid on the original schedule | Prorated by months worked; paid at the normal time, subject to the goals |
| Severance termination (cash severance under a plan or agreement) | Treated as a surplus termination | Prorated by months worked; paid at the normal time |
| Disability | Vest; paid on the original schedule | Remain outstanding; paid at the normal time, subject to the goals |
| Death | Vest and pay out promptly | Paid in a lump sum as if 100% of the goals were met, valued at the date of death |
| Change in control | No automatic vesting; none of the named executives hold awards that vest automatically | Goals are locked as set before the change and cannot be modified; payout follows attainment |
Two points in that table decide a lot of money. First, the plan prorates performance shares by whole months in which you worked at least one day, so a retirement on the first of a month and one on the last of the prior month differ by a month’s credit. Second, retirement eligibility is tested at the termination date, not the grant date; the day you cross into the table is the day unvested RSUs stop being at risk (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Sections 7.08, 7.09(b) and 8.08, Annex C to the 2026 proxy). Executive-level employees also accept loyalty conditions, including a two-year post-employment noncompete and nonsolicitation, and breaching them lets AT&T cancel or recapture awards (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 10.03, Annex C to the 2026 proxy).
A hypothetical retirement with three overlapping cycles
Hypothetical, in round numbers, and not any real person. A senior manager, age 58 with 22 years of service, is retirement-eligible under either plan and retires on June 30, 2027. Each January from 2025 through 2027 she received 1,000 RSUs vesting a third a year and 3,000 performance shares for a three-year period beginning that year. The table shows what remains on the day she leaves, applying the plan’s default proration. Performance-share counts are the adjusted units before any payout percentage, which could be anywhere from 0% to 200%.
| Grant | Status at retirement | What she keeps | When it pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 RSUs (1,000) | Two tranches already distributed; 333 units vested through retirement eligibility | 333 units | January 2028 |
| January 2026 RSUs (1,000) | One tranche distributed; 667 units vested | 667 units | January 2028 and January 2029 |
| January 2027 RSUs (1,000) | Nothing distributed; all 1,000 vested | 1,000 units | January 2028, 2029 and 2030 |
| 2025 to 2027 performance shares (3,000) | 30 of 36 months worked | 2,500 units, times the payout percentage | Early 2028 |
| 2026 to 2028 performance shares (3,000) | 18 of 36 months worked | 1,500 units, times the payout percentage | Early 2029 |
| 2027 to 2029 performance shares (3,000) | 6 of 36 months worked | 500 units, times the payout percentage | Early 2030 |
Had the same person been 52 with twelve years of service and left voluntarily, the 2,000 undistributed RSUs would have been forfeited and all three performance cycles canceled. Had she left on July 31 instead of June 30, each performance cycle would carry one more month of credit. Neither fact argues for a date; both are worth knowing before the date is chosen. Income keeps arriving for three years after she leaves, which matters for Medicare premiums, Social Security taxation and the year she starts withdrawals.
How does the AT&T Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan work?
It converts pay you have not yet received into deferred share units, adds company units on top, and delivers real shares in a year you choose. The plan is offered to a select group of about 3,400 management or highly compensated employees. Mid-level managers and above may defer 6% to 30% of base compensation and 6% to 30% of an annual bonus; vice presidents and officers may defer up to 95% of a short-term incentive award instead (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, Item No. 6, Contributions and Purchase, and Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan (SPDP)). Elections are made each year, generally by the last business day of November, for pay earned the following calendar year, and a newly eligible employee has 30 days from the first day of the quarter after hire or promotion to elect for the rest of that year (AT&T Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan, Section 4.1, Annex D to the 2026 proxy).
Units from salary are priced at the closing price on the last day of each month; units from a short-term award or bonus paid in 2027 or later are priced at the close on the day before the award is paid. Dividends are reinvested in more units. AT&T adds two matches, both immediately vested (AT&T Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan, Sections 4.2, 4.3 and 5.1, Annex D to the 2026 proxy):
- Stock Matching Contribution: 20% of your contributions, except that on a short-term award the match stops at the target amount of the award.
- Makeup Matching Contribution: for contributions from January 1, 2027, the percentage match you are eligible for under the 401(k) plan multiplied by 6% of your contributions to this plan and the Cash Deferral Plan, on up to $500,000 of contributions a year. For contributions before 2027 the formula is instead an 80% match on contributions from the first 6% of salary and bonus, reduced by the 401(k) match you are eligible for, plus a match on pay above the federal 401(k) compensation limit; vice presidents and officers receive no makeup match on short-term awards (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, Item No. 6, and Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan (SPDP)).
Distribution is the decision most people rush. When you elect to contribute, you also elect the calendar year the account pays out, from the first through the fifth year after the account year; with no election, the default is the first year after. Shares are delivered on or about March 10 of that year. You may push a scheduled distribution back by five or more years, but only while still an employee and at least 12 months before the scheduled date, and the new election takes effect 12 months after it is made. Death pays all accounts promptly; a documented unforeseeable emergency can release contributions but not matching units; and a specified employee who leaves may wait six months (AT&T Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan, Article 6, Annex D to the 2026 proxy). The plan is unfunded; until distribution the units are a claim against AT&T, and a 1099-B basis in the shares begins only when they arrive.
Defer or take the cash: a hypothetical
Hypothetical, round numbers, 2026 federal brackets standing in for the distribution year. A manager earning $200,000 elects a 15% deferral for 2027, or $30,000, and directs the account to pay out in 2029. The 401(k) match she is eligible for is 80% on the first 6% of pay, the standard management rate (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, Tax-Qualified 401(k) Plans). The illustration assumes the share price is the same at distribution as at purchase, which is an assumption for arithmetic, not a forecast.
| Line | Take the cash | Defer into the SPDP |
|---|---|---|
| Salary set aside in 2027 | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Stock Matching Contribution (20%) | $0 | $6,000 |
| Makeup Matching Contribution (80% of 6% of $30,000) | $0 | $1,440 |
| Federal income tax in 2027 at 24% | $7,200 | $0 |
| Ordinary income reported in 2029 (shares at an unchanged price) | $0 | $37,440 |
| Federal income tax in 2029 at 24% | $0 | $8,986 |
| After-tax value at distribution, before any price change | $22,800 in 2027 | $28,454 in 2029 |
The $7,440 of matching units is the reason the deferral wins on paper at an unchanged price. What the table cannot show is the cost of that match: two years in which the whole amount rides on one stock, sits behind AT&T’s other creditors, and cannot be reached except through the emergency provision. The distribution year also stacks on whatever else lands that year: a performance-share payout, an RSU tranche, a pension election. The decision is not whether the match is generous; it is how much of your net worth should depend on your employer between now and the year you chose.
What is withheld when AT&T RSUs or performance shares pay out?
A flat 22% for federal income tax on most people, which is less than the tax the payout creates for anyone above the 22% bracket. The value of shares delivered is a supplemental wage, and employers may withhold at a flat 22% on supplemental wages up to $1 million in a year; the mandatory rate is 37% only on the excess over $1 million (IRS Publication 15 (2026), section 7, Supplemental Wages). For 2026 the 32% bracket begins at $201,775 of taxable income for single filers and $403,550 for joint filers, 35% at $256,225 and $512,450, and 37% at $640,600 and $768,700 (IRS, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026). Texas has no personal income tax, and its constitution bars the legislature from imposing one, so for a Texas resident the federal gap is the whole gap (Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a).
AT&T covers withholding by keeping shares: the 10-K reports 232,811 shares acquired in the fourth quarter of 2025 “through the withholding of taxes on the vesting of restricted stock and performance shares” (AT&T 2025 Form 10-K, Item 5, issuer purchases of equity securities). Share withholding at 22% plus Medicare leaves roughly three-quarters of the units as shares and the balance of the income tax as your problem. The cash portion of a performance-share payout has tax withheld from the cash at the same flat rate.
| Line | Joint, $450,000 taxable income (32%) | Single, $300,000 taxable income (35%) |
|---|---|---|
| Value delivered, reported as wages | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Federal income tax withheld at 22% | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Federal income tax at the marginal rate | $9,600 | $10,500 |
| Gap to cover through the year | $3,000 | $3,900 |
| Texas income tax | $0 | $0 |
Medicare tax of 1.45% applies with no wage cap, plus 0.9% withheld on wages above $200,000 in the year regardless of filing status, and Social Security tax of 6.2% applies until wages reach the 2026 base of $184,500 (IRS Topic 560, Additional Medicare Tax; IRS Publication 15 (2026)). There is a timing wrinkle for AT&T specifically. Under the FICA rules for deferred compensation, an amount is counted as wages for Social Security and Medicare on the later of the date the services are performed or the date it is no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, and once counted it is not counted again (Treas. Reg. §31.3121(v)(2)-1(a)(2)). An RSU that vests at grant because you are retirement-eligible, yet distributes over three years, can therefore see its Social Security and Medicare tax taken on the grant-year pay stubs rather than at distribution. The same rule is why SPDP deferrals pay FICA in the deferral year. Ask payroll which year each award hit Box 3 and Box 5 before assuming.
How to close a withholding gap without a penalty, including the 90% and 110% safe harbors and the choice between extra W-4 withholding and an estimated payment timed to the vest, is the subject of our guide to RSU withholding and why 22% falls short.
Where does your basis come from, and why the 1099-B may be wrong
Your basis in RSU shares is the value included in your wages the day they were delivered, because property received as compensation takes a basis equal to the amount paid plus the amount included in income (Treas. Reg. §1.61-2(d)(2)(i)). The same rule gives SPDP shares a basis equal to the ordinary income reported at distribution, and the stock portion of a performance-share payout a basis equal to its value on the payout date. In the withholding example above, the basis is $30 a share and a sale that week produces almost no gain.
The broker’s Form 1099-B will often say otherwise. For equity compensation granted after 2013, brokers are told they “cannot increase initial basis for income recognized upon the exercise of a compensatory option or the vesting or exercise of other equity-based compensation arrangements” (IRS Instructions for Form 1099-B, Initial Basis). The form can therefore show a basis of zero, and a return that copies it taxes the same $30,000 twice: once as wages, once as gain. The fix is on Form 8949: report the broker’s figure, enter code B in column (f), and adjust in column (g) to the correct basis (IRS Instructions for Form 8949, column (f) code B). Keep the year-end pay statement that shows the vest-date value; it is the evidence.
When can you sell AT&T shares once you have them?
Only when your window is open, and for some managers the January distributions arrive while it is shut. AT&T’s insider trading policy expects directors, officers, vice presidents, senior managers in external reporting, investor relations and the controllers organization, and other employees with access to company-wide financial information to refrain from trading “from the first day of the 3rd month of every quarter until one full trading day after AT&T’s earnings are publicly reported” (AT&T Insider Trading Policy, Exhibit 19 to the 2024 Form 10-K, Blackout Periods). That blackout starts December 1 and runs until the day after fourth-quarter results, which AT&T reported on January 28, 2026 (AT&T Form 8-K, Item 2.02, January 28, 2026), so a covered employee whose RSU tranche distributes in January may have to wait to sell. The policy also prohibits short sales and derivatives on AT&T stock for insiders, tells employees subject to the blackout not to hold AT&T securities in margin accounts, and requires directors and officers to pre-clear trades, including moves in and out of the 401(k) stock fund. Executive officers are separately prohibited from hedging their AT&T stock or awards (AT&T 2026 proxy statement, Hedging Policy). The filed policy does not describe Rule 10b5-1 plans; the Corporate Securities Group is the place to ask.
Across RSUs, performance shares, SPDP units and 401(k) matching shares, an AT&T manager can accumulate a large position without buying a share. The choices for reducing it, their costs, risks and eligibility limits, and the ways employer policies constrain them, are set out in our guide to diversifying concentrated stock.
Does the move to Plano change any of this?
Only at the margins, and only on planned dates. AT&T said on January 5, 2026 that it will build a campus at 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano, on 54 acres, to “consolidate all Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex administrative space,” targeting the second half of 2028 (CBS News Texas, January 5, 2026). Its agreements with the city, approved February 24, 2026, require occupancy by December 31, 2029 and set job thresholds of 4,000, 8,000 by the end of 2034 and 10,000 by the end of 2039 (Community Impact, February 24, 2026). For award purposes, the incentive plan treats declining a relocation as a surplus termination only when the new location is more than 50 miles from your current one and lengthens your commute (AT&T 2026 Incentive Plan, Section 2.01(y), Annex C to the 2026 proxy). The campus is within the same metropolitan area, so most transfers would not qualify, but anyone assigned from a distant site should check the plan definition against their own facts before assuming. For a retirement date, the relevant fact is that a longer or shorter commute does not move the vesting or payout schedule by a day. Our planning pages for Dallas and Plano households cover the local side.
How we approach AT&T equity in a plan
We start with a grant-by-grant inventory: each RSU tranche with its distribution date, each performance cycle with its end date and months worked, each SPDP account with its elected year. That produces a calendar of taxable events for the next three to five years, which is the input to every other decision: the retirement date, the SPDP distribution years, how much to withhold, and whether the year of a performance payout is also the year of a Roth conversion or a pension election. The tax side connects to our tax planning process and to our work on equity compensation and concentrated stock, and we coordinate the details with the household’s CPA.
Questions worth answering before you elect or leave
- Which plan governs each of my grants, the 2018 plan or the 2026 plan, and under which definition am I retirement-eligible, and on what date?
- For each performance cycle, how many months of credit would a departure on my intended date carry, and would a month later change it?
- Which of my RSUs already vested through retirement eligibility, and in which year did payroll take Social Security and Medicare tax on them?
- What will 2026 and 2027 wages look like with every scheduled distribution, and is withholding covering the marginal rate?
- For the SPDP, which distribution year did I elect for each account, and does any of them coincide with a performance payout or my first year of retirement income?
- Am I inside the blackout when my January tranche lands, and what does that mean for the cash I planned to raise?
- What share of our net worth is AT&T stock across RSUs, performance shares, SPDP units, the 401(k) and any brokerage account?
- Do I have the pay statements needed to correct basis on next year’s Form 8949?
What this does not mean
Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold AT&T stock, or to defer into the SPDP, or to retire on any date. The illustrations use invented units, an unchanged share price and 2026 brackets, and they exist to show mechanics, not outcomes. The plan terms quoted are defaults that open with “unless otherwise provided by the Committee,” and your award agreement, grant notice and the plan administrator’s records control. Performance-share targets are set privately and disclosed only after the period ends; no payout can be inferred from a prior cycle. Tax figures reflect 2026 federal law and can change.
Frequently asked questions
How do AT&T RSUs vest?
Executive-officer RSU grants vest and distribute one-third each year over three years, are paid in stock, and carry quarterly cash dividend equivalents. If you are retirement-eligible, the units vest at grant or on the day you become eligible, but the shares still arrive on the original schedule. The 10-K describes RSUs for management employees generally as vesting predominantly over three years; your grant notice sets your terms.
What happens to AT&T RSUs and performance shares when I retire?
If you meet the plan’s retirement definition on your termination date, unvested RSUs vest and pay out on their original dates, and each performance-share award is prorated by the months you worked in its three-year period and paid at the normal time, subject to the performance goals. If you leave voluntarily before you are eligible, unvested RSUs are forfeited and open performance cycles are canceled, unless the committee provides otherwise.
Who is retirement-eligible under the AT&T incentive plans?
Under the 2026 Incentive Plan, anyone leaving other than for death, disability or cause at age 55 with ten years of service, or with 10 years at 65, 20 years at 55, 25 years at 50 or 30 years at any age. The 2018 plan, which governs grants made before May 14, 2026, uses the same table but allows officer-level employees to qualify at 55 with five years, or ten years if designated an officer on or after October 1, 2015.
How are AT&T performance shares paid?
After the three-year period ends, in a lump sum by March 15, as a percentage of the units granted from 0% to 200%. The 2025 grant is measured half on adjusted EPS growth and half on average ROIC, then adjusted up or down by 20 points for top- or bottom-quartile total shareholder return against the S&P 500. Executive grants have settled partly in cash and partly in stock; the 2023 cycle paid 124% of target.
How much can I defer into the AT&T Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan, and what is the match?
From 6% to 30% of base pay, and either up to 95% of a short-term incentive award (vice presidents and officers) or 6% to 30% of an annual bonus. AT&T adds a 20% stock match, limited to the target amount on short-term awards, plus a makeup match that from 2027 equals your 401(k) match percentage times 6% of your contributions, on up to $500,000 of contributions a year. Both matches vest immediately. The plan is unfunded, and shares are taxed as ordinary income in the year they are distributed.
When are SPDP shares distributed, and can I change the date?
On or about March 10 of the year you elected when you enrolled, which can be the first through the fifth calendar year after the account year; without an election, the first year after. You can push the date back by five or more years if you are still an employee and make the election at least 12 months before the scheduled date. Death accelerates all accounts, and a documented unforeseeable emergency can release your own contributions but not the matching units.
Sources and further reading
- AT&T Inc., 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A, filed March 23, 2026): Item No. 5 (2026 Incentive Plan), Item No. 6 (Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan), Compensation Discussion and Analysis, Nonqualified Deferred Compensation, Hedging Policy, Annex C (2026 Incentive Plan) and Annex D (Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan as amended effective January 1, 2027)
- AT&T Inc., Form 8-K, Item 5.07, May 20, 2026: stockholder approval of the 2026 Incentive Plan and the amended Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan at the May 14, 2026 annual meeting
- AT&T Inc., Form S-8, May 29, 2026: registration of shares under the 2026 Incentive Plan and the Stock Purchase and Deferral Plan
- AT&T Inc., 2018 Incentive Plan, Exhibit 10-a to the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017: retirement definition, Sections 7.09, 7.10, 8.07 and 8.08
- AT&T Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025: Item 5 (shares withheld for taxes on vesting) and Note 15, Share-Based Compensation
- AT&T Inc., Form 8-K, Item 2.02, January 28, 2026: fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results
- AT&T Inc., Insider Trading Policy, Exhibit 19 to the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, updated November 15, 2024
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), section 7, supplemental wages; Social Security wage base and Medicare rates
- IRS, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, including amendments from the One Big Beautiful Bill: 2026 marginal rate brackets
- IRS Topic No. 560, Additional Medicare Tax
- 26 CFR 31.3121(v)(2)-1(a)(2), special timing and nonduplication rules for FICA on nonqualified deferred compensation
- 26 CFR 1.61-2(d)(2)(i), basis of property received as compensation
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1099-B, initial basis for equity compensation granted after 2013
- IRS, Instructions for Form 8949, column (f) code B, incorrect basis on Form 1099-B
- Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a, individual income tax prohibited (Texas Legislative Council edition)
- CBS News Texas, January 5, 2026: AT&T confirms headquarters move to 5400 Legacy Drive, Plano
- Community Impact, February 24, 2026: Plano approves $20 million in incentives for the AT&T headquarters
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