On November 1, 2025, Columbo Company adopted a stock-option plan that granted options to key executives to purchase 30,000 shares of the company’s $10 par value common stock. The options were granted on January 2, 2026, and were exercisable 2 years after the date of grant if the grantee was still an employee of the company. The options expired 6 years from date of grant. The option price was set at $40, and the fair value option-pricing model determines the total compensation expense to be $450,000.

All of the options were exercised during the year 2028: 20,000 on January 3 when the market price was $67, and 10,000 on May 1 when the market price was $77 a share.

Instructions

Prepare journal entries relating to the stock option plan for the years 2026, 2027, and 2028. Assume that the employee performs services equally in 2026 and 2027.