Company: DLX
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000027996-25-000107
Chunk: 69

Company: DELUXE CORP
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 69
---
 whether vested or not, in exchange for an amount of cash and/or other property equal to the amount that would have been attained upon exercise of the award or the realization of the participant’s vested rights under the award, or without payment if the Committee or board determines that no amount is realizable under the award as of the time of the transaction;

• replacement of any award with other rights or property selected by the Committee or the board, in its sole discretion;

• the assumption of any award by the successor or survivor entity (or its parent or subsidiary) or the arrangement for the substitution for similar awards covering the stock of such successor entity with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of shares and prices;

• require that any award shall become exercisable or payable or fully vested, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the applicable award agreement; or

• require that the award cannot vest, be exercised or become payable until after a future date, which may be the effective date of the corporate transaction.

#### Federal Tax Consequences
Grant of Options and SARs . The grant of a stock option or SAR is not expected to result in any taxable income to the recipient.

Exercise of Options and SARs . Upon exercising a non-qualified stock option, the optionee must recognize ordinary income equal to the excess of the fair market value of the shares of our common stock acquired on the date of exercise over the exercise price, and we generally will be entitled at that time to an income tax deduction for the same amount. The holder of an ISO generally will have no taxable income upon exercising the option (except that an alternative minimum tax liability may arise), and we will not be entitled to an income tax deduction. Upon exercising a SAR, the amount of any cash received and the fair market value on the exercise date of any shares of our common stock received are taxable to the recipient as ordinary income and generally are deductible by us.

Disposition of Shares Acquired Upon Exercise of Options and SARs . The tax consequence upon a disposition of shares acquired through the exercise of an option or SAR will depend on how long the shares have been held and whether the shares were acquired by exercising an ISO or by exercising a non-qualified stock option or SAR. Generally, there will be no tax consequence to us in connection with the disposition of shares acquired under an option or SAR, except that we may be entitled to an income tax deduction in the case of the disposition of shares acquired under an ISO, if the disposition occurs before the applicable ISO holding periods set forth in the Internal Revenue Code have been