Get answers to your equity questions

Great question! Equity Tax Planning Sessions are scheduled at least 4 business days in advance to allow for adequate preparation time for both you and your advisor. Please also ensure that you have a working internet connection that is capable of screen share and video conferencing.

The Harness Tax Concierge will ask you to share a few documents with them within 48 hours of booking your service. This helps ensure your equity session is customized, effective, and efficient. These documents include:

• Equity documents: Gather your equity holdings and stock option plan info. If you file taxes jointly with your partner, include their documents as well.
• Tax documents: Have your last year’s tax filings ready to ensure your tax advisor understands your tax picture. Include your partner’s, if filing taxes jointly
• Pay stubs: Share your most recent paystub with your tax advisor to help give them your full financial picture. Again, include your partner’s most recent pay stub, if applicable.

Your advisor will also send you a short questionnaire to ensure they are aware of your equity questions and goals ahead of time. This will make sure that the strategies and topics you cover in the 1-hour session are specific to you.

During this session, you and your assigned tax advisor will have walked through various exercise/sell scenarios that are specific to your equity grants, tax profile, and near- and long-term goals. For example, you’ll see what you could make in profits and owe in taxes if you exercised today and held long enough to qualify for long term capital gains. Your scenarios would allow you to compare this outcome to other scenarios, like minimizing AMT or selling immediately after you exercise.

The various scenarios that you run with your advisor will help you understand:

• The potential value of your equity
• Tax strategies that are available for you based on the type of equity you hold
• How you can strategize over multiple years to align with your cashflow needs, appetite for investment risk, and financial goals.

While Tax Planning and Tax Preparation services are ongoing relationships with tax advisors, the 1:1 Equity Tax Planning service is a one-time consultation and does not include any tactical tax filing assistance.

Tax Preparation (AKA Annual tax filing): This service consists of annual personal tax filing with a tax advisor, like a CPA. It includes compiling documents, as well as preparing and filing all tax returns for your household.

Tax Planning: This service includes annual tax filing, quarterly estimated payments and addressing more complicated tax needs including international income, international or multi-state residency, multiple state tax returns, K-1s (tax forms created by partnerships and alternative investments) or planning around complex equity liquidity events.

View all services offered through Harness Wealth here.