5 Lessons Learned from Missing Cost Basis
How do you calculate missing cost basis? What lessons can you learn? What might you want to do differently in the future? This post will answer those questions and more. What is cost basis? Cost basis is the total price you paid to buy an investment. You calculate your capital gain or loss by subtracting […]
QSBS Stacking, Packing, and Rollovers: Choose the right fit for you
If you were around when a corporation was still small but it’s become large (like as a founder or one of the first employees), you may have stock that qualifies for the Section 1202 exemption… which basically means you don’t pay capital gain taxes upon the sale of those shares. These shares are known as […]
How are Stock Appreciation Rights Taxed?
In the past, simply having RSUs or an ESPP might have made you all starry-eyed for an employer, but in many circles, those are becoming par for the course. So… what are more innovative companies doing? SARs. Stock appreciation rights. The key now is to understand what SARs are and how stock appreciation rights are […]
ISO Disqualifying Disposition: How You Can Minimize Your Taxes
Though you may not realize it, tech employees have wealth-building tools at their fingertips. If used strategically, these tools can help professionals achieve some of their loftiest financial goals. Incentive stock options (ISO) are just one avenue you can take advantage of, however they don’t come without a learning curve and mistakes with ISO disqualifying […]
QSBS Stock Options: Qualified Small Business Stock and 100% Tax Exclusions
We know the IRS loves to make sure they get their fair share of taxes… So is it ~really~ true that they’d allow 100% tax exclusions on QSBS stock options? Believe it or not… yes! Owners of qualified small business stock (QSBS) can be eligible for tax-free capital gains on their federal taxes for up […]
ISO AMT Tax: What You Need to Know
ISO AMT tax is a real doozy. In fact, a lot of people are still confused about what it all means. We’re seasoned with working with tech employees who are frequently affected by things like ISO AMT tax, so we wanted to help you understand how these tax laws will affect you if you choose […]
When to Sell Stock Options: Learn Stock Option Type & Time to Sell
It feels good when you’ve got different stock options, RSU, and ESPP to work with to grow your wealth. What doesn’t feel good is when you don’t know when to sell stock options, or what moves to make based on their different types. After all… taxes? (Some stock options are taxed differently than others.) Return […]
How to Avoid IRS and California Tax Underpayment Penalty on RSU and Stock Options
Contrary to your standard worker, tech employees have SO MANY types of income. (Well, maybe not SO MANY, but there are more than a few… which is significantly more than most people who just have to count their paychecks.) Especially after an IPO. And that’s great, because it means you’ve got more than one way to expand […]
ISO AMT and Cost Basis: What You Need to Know
If I had $1 for every time I had a conversation with smart-but-frazzled startup employees trying to understand the financial jargon around their ISO AMT, I could, well…. buy my wife and I a really nice dinner. 🥗 💑 🥂 Yeah, I know it’s not exactly millionaire lifestyle from that $1 per conversation, but it […]