Stock Options 101: The Beginner’s Guide to Company Equity
Scenario: You just got offered an exciting job at a cool, new startup???? ???? Heck. Yes. It’s a dream job, and you’re stoked to have it. You’ll be responsible for a lot of cool things you haven’t done before, you’ll get a TON of hands-on experience to grow your career, and you get some cool […]
How to Handle: State Taxation of Stock Options After You Move
Every year, without fail, a few of our clients relocate to a new state. It’s usually for work, but even with this, it can (unfortunately) create some unforeseen tax consequences, especially with equity compensation. People often get confused when they receive W-2s for states they no longer live in (and understandably so). Needless to say, […]
Employee Stock Purchase Plans: Getting Started & What You Need to Know
After an IPO, a lot of things change with your stock options and your company equity. You’ll have to deal with things like blackout periods and trading windows, and some companies will start offering an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (or ESPP). What is an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, exactly? In short, it lets you make […]
Top 5 Mistakes With Employee Stock Options & How to Avoid Them
You can see the money now, can’t you? ???? ???? Your company’s hit their IPO, and you finally get to cash in on your stock options. ???????? You’ve received all the exciting emails from HR about what you’ll be able to do and when, and your trading window is about to start. To say […]
How to Use Incentive Stock Options: A Year-by-Year Approach
As a financial planner, ISO (incentive stock options) are my favorite. There are so many ways they can flexibly create wealth, especially when our clients have a combination of stock options that also include NSO (nonqualified stock options) and RSU (restricted stock units). When it comes to tax planning, ISO can be coordinated with […]
How to Avoid AMT on ISO Exercise With Lower Share Prices
It’s no secret at this point: We’re in a bear market, and stock prices are going down for A LOT of companies. ???????? And while we certainly hope there’s no serious long-term damage done to investor portfolios, there is a silver lining for tech employees with ISO (incentive stock options): Because the market has fallen […]
ISO Tax Treatment: a 12-Month Plan for Optimizing Incentive Stock Options
ISO tax treatment can be a headache. ???? Seriously. If you’ve got incentive stock options with your company, you’ll know they come with their own little set of tax rules. Alternative minimum tax? Minimum tax credit? The difference between stocks held more or less than one year? It can be a lot to remember, and […]
Selling Stock Options Strategy When You’re In the Highest Tax Bracket
Something interesting happens to a lot of our clients when their companies IPO: they find themselves stuck in the highest tax bracket, no matter what they do. For at least a year. Maybe even two. ????️ ????️ And that wouldn’t be so bad if the stocks that vested at the IPO and after that did […]
Incentive Stock Options Basics: Everything You Need to Know About ISO, Tax, & Selling
Incentive Stock Options Basics One of the biggest benefits of being a startup tech employee is stock options. It makes sense: the better the company does, the more opportunity you have to grow your personal wealth. As someone helping to grow the company, you have skin in the game, so you, the company’s founders, and […]