Recently my company was acquired by a larger company and all the stock I held with my company was "sold" and I was given a cash payout. (not my choice, but what the company decided for us) I didn't pay any taxes on this money. When I report this income in April's Income Tax filing, what kind of tax rate can I expect this to be taxed at? Is there anyway I can reduce this amount? It's not a lot of money (About $20K) but still a concern. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you