RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, ESPP: each one is taxed differently, at different times, and the decisions you make are hard to undo. Koinos explains it plainly and helps you get them right.
Most financial advice isn’t built for people with equity compensation. General planners treat it like a bonus. That’s not how it works.
RSUs create taxable income the day they vest, regardless of whether you sell. ISO options can trigger AMT when you exercise. ESPP shares have a holding period that determines how they’re taxed. Each decision (when to sell, how much to hold, whether to exercise early) has tax consequences that compound over time.
These aren’t complicated questions if you understand the rules. Most people just haven’t had anyone explain them in plain English.
The question isn’t whether your equity is worth something. It’s whether you’re keeping as much of it as you should.
How much to sell at vest, how much to hold, and how to handle the withholding so you don’t end up with a surprise tax bill.
Whether to exercise early, when to exercise, AMT exposure, and the holding period required for favorable long-term capital gains treatment.
Timing of exercise to manage ordinary income, and what happens to taxes in the year you exercise.
The qualifying vs. disqualifying disposition rules, and whether to hold or sell immediately after purchase.
Whether to file, the 30-day window you cannot miss, and what happens to your tax picture if the company succeeds or fails.
Illiquid private company stock, secondary market opportunities, and what to do with equity before a liquidity event.
How much of your net worth it’s reasonable to hold in a single company, especially the one that signs your paycheck.
Restricted Stock Units (RSU)
Shares granted to you that vest over time according to a schedule. When they vest, the value is ordinary income, taxed that year, whether you sell or not. After vesting, any additional growth is taxed as capital gains. The main decisions: how much to sell at vest, and what to do with what you hold.
Incentive Stock Options (ISO)
Options to buy shares at a fixed price (the strike price). ISOs get favorable tax treatment, with no ordinary income tax when you exercise, but can trigger AMT. Holding the shares for at least two years from grant and one year from exercise qualifies them for long-term capital gains rates. The timing decisions are consequential and time-sensitive.
Non-Qualified Stock Options (NSO)
Options to buy shares at a fixed price, without the favorable tax treatment of ISOs. The spread between your strike price and the fair market value at exercise is ordinary income in the year you exercise, regardless of whether you sell. Timing exercise to manage income in a given year is the primary planning lever.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
A plan that lets you buy company stock at a discount (typically 15% below market price) through payroll deductions. The tax treatment depends on whether you hold the shares long enough to qualify for preferential rates (a "qualifying disposition") or sell earlier. Many people sell immediately; whether that’s right depends on your situation.
One decision is the right fit if you have a specific, time-sensitive equity question. An option grant vesting soon. An upcoming liquidity event. A vesting schedule you don’t fully understand. One question, taken all the way to a written answer, with the reasoning shown. From $1,000.
The scope is defined in writing before any work begins, and the fee is quoted before you commit to anything. Full details on every engagement type are on the services page.
Ongoing planning makes sense if equity compensation is a substantial part of your financial situation and you want it managed alongside your full situation: taxes, investments, insurance, and everything else. Two reviews a year, a direct line to Mathew in between, and a plan rebuilt annually as your equity and your life change.
Billed as a percentage of assets managed, starting at 1.50% on the first $250K, with no asset minimum to start.
Not always, but RSUs create taxable income the day they vest, whether you sell or not, and the default 22% withholding often falls short of your real marginal rate. If you have a significant vesting event, a single-question engagement with a fee-only advisor can prevent a costly April surprise.
Employers withhold at the IRS supplemental rate of 22%, but your actual marginal rate may be 32–37% or higher. On a $200,000 vesting year, that gap can mean a $20,000–$30,000 underpayment due in April. Planning ahead, through estimated tax payments or adjusting withholding, prevents the surprise.
It depends on the spread between your strike price and the current fair market value, your AMT exposure, how confident you are in the company’s prospects, and whether you can afford the tax if the shares decline after exercise. This is a multi-year tax decision that benefits from a full analysis before you act.
No. The 83(b) election applies to restricted stock (RSAs) and early-exercised stock options, not RSUs. RSUs are taxed at vesting, not at grant, so there is no 83(b) opportunity. This is a common misconception worth clarifying before you look for a form that doesn’t apply to your situation.
Most financial planners suggest holding no more than 5–10% of your total net worth in any single stock, including your employer. If your RSUs, options, and ESPP shares together represent more than that, concentration risk is worth addressing. The fact that your employer also signs your paycheck makes the risk higher, not lower.
The Alternative Minimum Tax is a parallel tax calculation that applies in certain situations. When you exercise ISO options and hold the shares, the spread between your strike price and fair market value becomes an AMT preference item: taxable under AMT even though it isn’t taxable under the regular system. Whether you owe AMT depends on your total income, deductions, and the size of the spread. An ISO exercise without an AMT projection first is a common and expensive mistake.
Micron, Clearwater Analytics, Cradlepoint (now part of Ericsson), Kount (now part of Equifax), HP, Truckstop.com, and Healthwise: Boise has a real technology sector that’s grown substantially over the past decade. The employees at these companies often have meaningful equity compensation as part of their total pay package, and frequently no one to help them think through it.
Most financial advisors in Boise are generalists who manage retirement accounts. Equity compensation, especially ISO options and startup equity, isn’t something they work with regularly. Koinos is built specifically for people in this situation.
The first call is free. Bring the grant letter, the vesting schedule, or just the question you haven’t been able to get a straight answer to.
The first call is thirty minutes and free. You don’t need to prepare anything. If Koinos isn’t the right fit for your equity situation, Mathew will say so and point you somewhere better.