Typical comp shape
Brand designers usually earn isos or rsu. Common employers include Linear, Notion, Figma, Airbnb. Brand designers at early startups often hold ISO grants where 83(b) and early exercise decisions set up QSBS eligibility.
What Minnesota changes
In Minnesota, every RSU vest, NSO exercise, and ESPP purchase carries 9.85% state tax on top of federal. For a senior brand designer with $300k+ of equity income, the state layer routinely adds $25-45k to the annual bill.
State AMT for ISO holders
If your brand designer role grants ISOs (common at pre-IPO startups, uncommon at post-IPO mega-caps), be aware that Minnesota runs its own AMT calculation. An ISO exercise-and-hold here generates AMT at two layers, not one.
Planning cadence
For a brand designer in Minnesota, the three planning windows are: after each RSU vest (withholding check and sell-vs-hold), before any ISO exercise (AMT model at both federal and state), and in Q4 (estimated tax top-up to clear the safe harbor).