Your company is going public: Navigating complex equity decisions

Tony Molina, CPA for Range

Your company is going public: Navigating complex equity decisions

Let's say you have worked at a tech company for seven years and are now facing a potential initial public offering. You have a mix of nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, and restricted stock units, and are wondering how to approach your equity compensation decisions. You left the company recently and had to exercise some ISOs, triggering alternative minimum tax for the first time. Now, with the IPO on the horizon, you’re considering using the proceeds for a home purchase in an expensive market like Westchester, New York.

This scenario raises numerous questions about timing, taxes, and strategy. Range explores how someone in this position might think through these complex decis