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1-Hour Equity Tax Planning Session

Get answers to your equity questions

A virtual, standalone one hour 1-on-1 with an equity-experienced tax advisor can help you understand how upcoming decisions will affect your taxes and financial goals. $250 for the service.

woman on video call for equity tax advisor session for upcoming IPO
helping equity owners get tailored advice

This service is perfect for...

Early employees

Work with an equity-experienced tax advisor to understand the potential value, tax considerations, and exercising possibilities of your current or upcoming equity compensation, like Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) or Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). You’ll get guidance on your toughest equity questions.

Evaluating job offers

If you have equity grants from your current company, switching jobs often means it’s time to make a decision. Should you exercise your remaining options or let them expire? What would this mean for your taxes? Your tax advisor will provide a framework to think through these decisions during your Equity 1:1 Consultation.

Making plans to sell equity

Prepare for an upcoming liquidity event, like an IPO, acquisition, secondary market sale, or tender offer by running exercise/sell scenarios of possible costs, taxes, and profits. Your advisor will help you define a strategy based on your specific timeline, upcoming goals, and risk tolerance, and introduce you to concepts including an 83(b) Election and Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) Exemption

Pricing & Details

  • Pricing

    $250 for the service (including pre-planning and analysis)

  • Service details

    One time, one hour virtual session.

    Please ensure that you have a working internet connection that is capable of supporting screen share and video conferencing.

  • What you get
    • Tax strategies for exercising
    • Tax strategies for selling
    • Multi-year tax projections

Your questions, answered

What is the best way to prepare?

Great question! Equity Tax Planning Sessions are scheduled at least 4 business days in advance to allow for adequate preparation time for both you and your advisor. Please also ensure that you have a working internet connection that is capable of screen share and video conferencing.

The Harness Tax Concierge will ask you to share a few documents with them within 48 hours of booking your service. This helps ensure your equity session is customized, effective, and efficient. These documents include:

  • Equity documents: Gather your equity holdings and stock option plan info. If you file taxes jointly with your partner, include their documents as well.
  • Tax documents: Have your last year’s tax filings ready to ensure your tax advisor understands your tax picture. Include your partner’s, if filing taxes jointly
  • Pay stubs: Share your most recent paystub with your tax advisor to help give them your full financial picture. Again, include your partner’s most recent pay stub, if applicable.

Your advisor will also send you a short questionnaire to ensure they are aware of your equity questions and goals ahead of time. This will make sure that the strategies and topics you cover in the 1-hour session are specific to you.

What can I expect at the end of my 1:1 session?

During this session, you and your assigned tax advisor will have walked through various exercise/sell scenarios that are specific to your equity grants, tax profile, and near- and long-term goals. For example, you’ll see what you could make in profits and owe in taxes if you exercised today and held long enough to qualify for long term capital gains. Your scenarios would allow you to compare this outcome to other scenarios, like minimizing AMT or selling immediately after you exercise.

The various scenarios that you run with your advisor will help you understand:

  • The potential value of your equity
  • Tax strategies that are available for you based on the type of equity you hold
  • How you can strategize over multiple years to align with your cashflow needs, appetite for investment risk, and financial goals.

How is this different than Tax Planning or Tax Preparation services?

While Tax Planning and Tax Preparation services are ongoing relationships with tax advisors, the 1:1 Equity Tax Planning service is a one-time consultation and does not include any tactical tax filing assistance.

Tax Preparation (AKA Annual tax filing): This service consists of annual personal tax filing with a tax advisor, like a CPA. It includes compiling documents, as well as preparing and filing all tax returns for your household.

Tax Planning: This service includes annual tax filing, quarterly estimated payments and addressing more complicated tax needs including international income, international or multi-state residency, multiple state tax returns, K-1s (tax forms created by partnerships and alternative investments) or planning around complex equity liquidity events.

View all services offered through Harness Wealth here.

Meet with experts that understand your equity

Builders like you need dedicated advice from people that get the complexity of equity. Meet some of the experts working with Harness Tax.

Sam Boehr

JD, LLM Tax Law, 6+ years experience

“I believe providing a high level of service on complex tax planning issues gives clarity and eases anxiety for clients worried about a specific tax event. I really enjoy when a client walks away saying thank you and the session was really helpful for them in understanding their tax situation.”

Kelley Maddox

CPA, 9+ years experience

“I really enjoy helping my clients with their equity questions and creating a personalized tax plan. It’s important to ensure they’re equipped with all the information they need to make choices that support their future goals.”

Doug Waite

CPA, 20+ years experience

“Equity compensation requires the holder to make informed decisions. I enjoy helping clients understand the financial and tax aspects of their equity compensation package so they can make those informed decisions with confidence.”

Cari Manteiga

CPA, 20+ Years of Experience

“Navigating the tax landscape can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to decisions regarding equity compensation. As a trusted advisor, I support my clients with the information they need to plan for a bright financial future.”

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early employee tax planning with ISO grants, early exercise, and changing job

*NerdWallet issued this rating in October 2022, considering the period of August 2022 – October 2022. Harness Wealth compensates NerdWallet when users of our site have clicked through NerdWallet’s website and create an account with us. NerdWallet is not a client, but a paid referral partner which can influence where and how references to Harness Wealth appear on their website. For additional information related to our referral arrangement click here. For additional information on NerdWallet’s rating methodology click here.