Equity Compensation
Whether you’re deciding how many options to exercise or a liquidity event is on the calendar, the answer is a number, not a guess. We model it before you act, and a CPA stands behind every figure.
Planning to exercise
Find your crossover point: the most shares you can exercise this year with an estimated $0 of additional tax, and what it costs to get there.
Find your crossover ↓Facing a liquidity event
See the path from gross proceeds to net after-tax cash, and how the choice between selling now and qualifying changes the outcome.
See your after-tax net ↓The Crossover
The IRS computes your taxes under two systems and you pay whichever is higher. Exercising ISOs creates paper income that only the second system, the AMT, counts. You have a cushion before it owes anything, and the crossover is the share count where that cushion runs out. We find yours before you exercise a single share.
15,294 shares
Exercise up to this many shares with the 409A at $19.00and an estimated $0 of additional tax.
Cash to exercise
$30,588
Sold to cover
1,610
Shares kept
13,684
Your crossover is not a recommendation to exercise. It’s one boundary within a larger decision.
The Liquidity Event
If you exercise and sell as part of a tender offer, acquisition, or IPO, the full gain is taxed as ordinary income that year. The analysis maps the path from gross proceeds to net after-tax cash, shows how selling only part of the position can fund the taxes on the rest, and quantifies what holding to qualify would change.
Where We Fit
Exercising ISOs means committing cash to company stock that may rise, fall, or stay illiquid. Waiting preserves flexibility, but it can delay important holding periods and reduce access to favorable tax treatment. We do not tell you whether the company is a good investment. We quantify what exercising now, gradually, or later would mean for your taxes and cash, because those choices have measurable value and expiration dates. Your financial advisor can help you weigh the investment risk, and together you decide with both sides of the picture.
The Deliverable
Every engagement produces a CPA-reviewed report built from your real grants, income, and filing status — crossover, liquidity, or several scenarios side by side, depending on what you’re deciding. Below is a sample of the crossover report, so you can see the format before you share anything real.
Common Questions
Thirteen plain-English answers — from what an ISO actually is, to what happens when you sell, to how we start. No jargon, no judgment.
A 30-minute conversation is enough to know what you actually need. No pressure, no jargon, just a clear read on your situation.
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