Insights

ISOs vs. NSOs—What’s the Difference?

Incentive and non-qualified stock options (ISOs and NSOs) are two types of equity compensation that companies use to attract, incentivize, and retain top talent. Incentive stock options receive preferential tax treatment but come with limitations that don’t apply to ...

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What You Need to Know About GRATs

Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) have become popular estate planning tools for wealthy families. Implemented properly, a GRAT can provide guaranteed income for the grantor and pass on wealth tax free to beneficiaries. In this article, we’ll look at how GRATs are ...

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Tax Implications of RSU Double-Trigger Acceleration

What are RSUs? Restricted stock units (RSUs) are a type of stock that companies often grant to employees as an incentive to remain with the company and contribute to its growth. Unlike stock options, which grant the right to purchase stock at a specified price, RSUs do ...

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Maximizing Employee Equity: Stripe's Early Liquidity Approach

When you have options or restricted shares in a private company, your equity compensation is in an uncertain state. You might anxiously await news of an anticipated IPO or SPAC acquisition and strategize how to pay the tax bill on your shares when it comes due, since ...

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How Is the Alternative Minimum Tax Calculated?

As a startup employee with options or shares in your company, you may be encountering the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for the first time. Before the AMT, many high-income filers could largely avoid federal income tax liability by taking a variety of deductions and ...

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Can a GRAT Help Me Pass More Wealth to My Heirs?

Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) became popular after a 2000 ruling of the U.S. Tax Court in favor of the Walton family (Audrey J. Walton V. Commissioner of Internal Revenue), which upheld the family’s use of two such trusts to avoid the gift tax. GRATS are now ...

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Zoom—An IPO Done Right?

Outstanding Returns for Pre-IPO Investors The Zoom IPO is an example of a pre-IPO shareholder’s dream. After first announcing an opening share price in the range of $28–$32, the company announced a revised initial offering price of $36 the day before public trading ...

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IPO vs. Direct Listing vs. Tender Offer

If your company is about to undergo a liquidity event, congratulations! While many companies achieve this milestone by going through the IPO process, an IPO isn’t the only way to get there. Your company may reach public equities markets through a SPAC acquisition or ...

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What to Expect when You're Expecting (an IPO)

If you receive equity compensation in your pre-IPO company, you have several important decisions to make before IPO day. In this article, we’ll walk you through various stages of the IPO process and what you need to know at each step to get the most out of your options ...

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Non-IPO Stock Options Liquidity Opportunities

When you acquire stock options from your pre-IPO employer, your liquidity is severely limited. The most common ways executives and employees are able to sell their private company shares is through IPO, SPAC acquisition, or direct listing on a public exchange. However, ...

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