Your wealth, fully managed for tech employees
A flat-fee CPA and financial planner team that gives you personalized, holistic advice across your taxes and financial plan. We plan your RSU vests, option exercises and ESPP sales, and file your return with the cost basis corrected.
What we handle for tech employees
Your salary pays the bills. Your stock adds decisions about timing, taxes and how much to keep in one company.
- 01
The RSU withholding gap
Employers usually withhold 22% on vests. A $100,000 vest in the 35% bracket owes about $35,000 of federal tax against $22,000 withheld, a $13,000 shortfall before state tax.
- 02
ISO exercises and AMT
An ISO exercise owes no regular tax, but the spread counts toward AMT. We model it first and spread exercises across years to keep more under the exemption. See equity compensation planning.
- 03
ESPP sales
A qualifying ESPP sale, more than two years after the offering and one year after purchase, limits ordinary income to the discount. We plan which lots to sell and when.
- 04
Cost basis on your return
Brokers often report RSU and ESPP basis without the income already on your W-2, which taxes it twice. Your CPA corrects it on Form 8949.
- 05
A job change
Many plans give you 90 days to exercise after you leave, and ISOs exercised more than three months later are taxed as NSOs. Two employers in one year can also leave withholding short.
- 06
How much company stock to keep
Your salary, unvested grants and vested shares all depend on one company. We set a selling plan before a vest, not after a drop.
How Nino helps tech employees
Equity decisions land on a vest schedule, not at tax time. On an Advisor plan your CPA and financial planner plan ahead of each vest and exercise from the same picture of your grants and accounts, and file the return that follows. See how we plan equity compensation.
Book a free consultation-
A plan in your first two weeks
Your CPA and financial planner build your tax and financial plan around your grants, vest calendar and goals, then update it before each large vest and every quarter.
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A return with the basis fixed
Your CPA prepares your federal and state returns, corrects broker-reported basis, and files nothing until you approve it.
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Grants in the software
Enter RSU and option grants in Nino’s grant form and ask the AI what a vest, exercise or sale would do to your taxes. Brokerage and bank accounts connect read-only.
What should you decide before the next vest?
Four decisions that are easier a few weeks early than a few days late.
Sell at vest or hold
Selling at vest adds little or no tax, because your basis is the vest value. Holding is the same decision as buying your employer’s stock with that cash.
Close the gap before year-end
Extra withholding late in the year counts as if paid evenly, so a W-4 change can cover an RSU gap without a penalty. The RSU tax calculator estimates yours.
Exercise now or later
An early exercise can start the holding period at a small spread; waiting keeps your cash. Model the AMT and the cash you would need either way. See when to exercise.
How much is too much
No tax rule defines a concentrated position. A practical test: if a 40% drop in the stock would make you miss a goal you have a date for, you hold too much.
Pick your plan
Every Advisor plan includes a CPA and financial planner team, federal and state tax filing, and our Ultra software.
Essential
- Everything in Ultra software, plus:
- A dedicated CPA and Financial Planner team for you
- Single-filer return, quarterly taxes included
- Retirement & equity planning
- Quarterly advisor access
- Rentals
- 0
- K-1s
- 0
- States
- 1
- Brokerage
- 3
Plus
Most Popular- Everything in Essential, plus:
- A dedicated CPA and Financial Planner team for you and your spouse
- Married filing jointly return, international coverage included
- One coordinated plan for both of you
- Quarterly and ad hoc advisor access
- Rentals
- 2
- K-1s
- 5
- States
- 3
- Brokerage
- 5
Premier
- Everything in Plus, plus:
- Business bookkeeping and tax filings, priced by complexity
- Joint or single return, complex international coverage
- Advanced equity & estate planning
- Priority advisor access
- Rentals
- 5
- K-1s
- 10
- States
- 5
- Brokerage
- 10
Software plans starting from $20 a month
Our AI financial assistant on its own, with a 7-day free trial.
Guides for tech employees
Read up on these decisions, or run your own numbers.
RSU Tax Planning
Project every vest for the year, model a few stock prices, and compare employer withholding to your household's tax before each vest, not in April.
Read guideRSU Tax Withholding
RSUs are taxed like salary. Here is why a vest loses so many shares to withholding, why it can still leave you owing in April, and how sell-to-cover works.
Read guideHow ESPP Is Taxed
ESPP shares are taxed when you sell, and the holding period decides how much is ordinary income. See the math, Form 3922, and the 1099-B basis fix.
Read guideISO vs. NSO
ISOs can create AMT before a sale; NSOs usually create compensation income at exercise. Compare the cash cost and holding-period tradeoffs.
Read guideRSU Tax Calculator
Compare estimated RSU tax with a simplified federal withholding calculation.
Open calculatorStock Options Calculator
Estimate ISO or NSO exercise costs and explore how an ISO exercise could affect AMT.
Open calculator