The other disadvantage of options are if you end up converting...

The other disadvantage of options are if you end up converting them to fully paid shares the 12 month clock for 50 % capital gains tax relief starts from the time of conversion and not from the time the options were purchased. Hence often you may elect to sell the options at a slight discount rather than convert the options to fully paid shares if you have held those options for more than 12 months . This also depends upon what type of entity the options are purchased in eg individuals name , family trust or superfund. The difference in the case of the superfund is only 15% compared to 10 % tax ( if greater than 12 months held )