Taxes

AMT paid on ISO exercises becomes a credit against future regular tax. Recovery can take one year or ten, depending on your tax profile.

The AMT exemption phases out at 25 cents on the dollar starting at $626,350 single. That creates an effective 35% AMT rate, higher than the headline 28%.

California's Franchise Tax Board audits former residents aggressively when equity income is involved. The 20-factor analysis they apply and how to prepare.

California parallels the federal AMT system with its own 7% rate on ISO preferences. Large exercises can produce six-figure state AMT on top of federal.

Canadian tax rules for RSUs and stock options differ from US rules on timing, deductions, and source. For cross-border employees, the mismatches create planning opportunities and traps.

When RSUs vest during a cross-border career, two countries often claim the right to tax the same income. Treaty rules, sourcing, and foreign tax credits determine who actually collects.

A same-year ISO exercise and sale is a disqualifying disposition that absorbs the AMT preference. Sometimes the disqualifying path costs less.

States use a 20-factor test to determine domicile. For high-income movers, each factor is scrutinized. The documentation and planning required to win an audit.

Two states can claim you as a resident in the same tax year. When that happens, you owe tax to both, and only one provides a credit against the other.

Tax equalization and tax protection clauses keep expats whole against the higher-tax country. The mechanics on equity-comp vesting are where things get expensive for the employer.

US taxpayers with foreign equity-compensation vehicles often trigger Form 8938 (FATCA) and Form 3520 (foreign trust) reporting. Thresholds, penalties, and common filing errors.

Indian nationals on H1B with US-company equity face no totalization agreement, PFIC risks on Indian funds, and trailing Indian tax obligations on US-vested stock if they return home.

Options vesting above $100,000 in a calendar year automatically convert to NSOs under §422(d). The rule catches many early-employee grants.

Leave the company with unexercised ISOs and you typically have 90 days to act. After that, the options expire or convert to NSOs.

Early exercise of unvested ISOs with an 83(b) election can start the §1202 five-year clock and the §422 qualifying clock on the same day.

Two ISO strategies produce very different tax outcomes. Exercise-and-hold targets long-term gain; cashless same-day targets immediate liquidity.

Two clocks determine whether ISO gains are long-term capital gain or ordinary wages. Miss either and the tax picture flips.

Massachusetts's Fair Share Amendment adds a 4% surcharge on income above $1M. For tech employees with lumpy RSU vesting, this hits hard in specific years.

Leaving the US with vested RSUs, options, or stock creates continuing US tax claims on equity income attributable to US work. The trailing obligation can persist for years after departure.

Moving to a no-income-tax state can save 9-13% of equity income. The nine states with no tax and how to establish genuine residency.

State taxation of NSO spread depends on where services were performed during the vesting period, not where you live at exercise.

New York City residents pay state tax plus an additional 3.876% city income tax. On a $2M RSU vest, that's $77K beyond state tax.

Exercising exactly up to the AMT crossover point produces zero AMT liability. The exact number depends on your other income and deductions.

PFIC rules under IRC 1291 tax US holders of foreign pre-IPO funds and non-US mutual funds at punishing ordinary rates with interest charges. The elections to mitigate must be timely.

Non-US citizens working in the US face IRC 83 treatment on equity vesting plus potential home-country taxation. Treaties and the 83(b) election interact in ways that can help or hurt.

ISO exercises generate AMT income at exercise and capital gain at sale. When these events straddle a state move, allocation becomes complex.

Selling pre-IPO shares in a tender offer or private secondary is a taxable event. State sourcing depends on residency at sale, not at grant.

Totalization agreements prevent double social security taxation on cross-border workers. For equity income, the certificate of coverage matters as much as the income tax treaty.

California applies workday allocation to RSUs granted before a move and vesting after. The math can pull millions of dollars back into California tax.

Moving from a UK tech employer's London office to the US parent triggers specific issues: SAYE conversion, EMI option treatment, and restart of ISO holding periods.

Washington's 7% capital gains tax applies above a $270K exclusion (2025) on long-term gains. For Seattle tech employees, the exemptions and planning levers matter.

Cross-border tax treatment of RSUs and options for inbound assignees, outbound expats, and dual-country residents. The rules that actually control your bill.

A plain-language walkthrough of how alternative minimum tax works when you exercise ISOs, with a full worked example and the AMT credit recovery path.

Why California still taxes your RSU vests after you've moved, how the workday apportionment rule works, and the documentation that survives a residency audit.

The three-way decision every ISO holder makes every year, broken down by strike price, spread, AMT exposure, and company stage.

Why your April tax bill is always larger than expected when you have RSUs, and the three ways to close the gap before penalties apply.