Where Ripple Labs sits today
Ripple Labs is a pre-ipo Fintech company headquartered in CA. Rumored IPO; secondary activity tied to XRP regulatory overhang. An active secondary market gives employees a path to partial liquidity before IPO through platforms like Forge, Hiive, EquityZen, or company-run tender offers.
What Florida residency changes
Florida has no state wage income tax. A Ripple Labs liquidity event while you're a Florida resident means federal-only exposure (up to 37% on RSU settlement plus 3.8% NIIT on capital gains). That's a meaningful structural advantage compared with CA or NY residents.
QSBS and Florida
Florida has no state income tax, so QSBS treatment applies only at the federal level. Section 1202 exclusion produces the full benefit here with no state claw-back.
Moves to make before the liquidity event
Adopt a 10b5-1 plan during the last open window before Ripple Labs's S-1 (90-day cooling-off for non-officers, 120 days for officers/directors). Model federal AMT before any ISO exercise. Maximize after-tax 401(k) contributions in the months before IPO, while your ordinary income is still at the pre-IPO baseline. A move into a high-tax state before IPO will cost you meaningfully on the equity vest; stay in Florida through the settlement year if possible.