Description: Ian on movies, software, ux and everything else
I wrote this for anyone who finds themselves confused by the thought of trying to understand their stock options. Generally, this is for the Silicon Valley startup employee granted ISO’s (Incentive Stock Options) as part of their compensation package and who smiles and nods uncomfortably when someone asks them if they’ve got “stock”. Hello there.
Written by your average Software Engineer, in plain English, I’ll try to cover the very basics and terminology that I believe every startup employee should know. This will not cover tax preparation, specific tax scenarios, nor will it include any specific planning or investment advice. As a necessary disclaimer:
I am not a tax professional, I just find this stuff fascinating. This is merely a brain dump of my personal experience / research on the topic over the last 5-6 years. Take everything I say here with a huge block of Himalayan Salt. I highly encourage the reader to seek professional tax advice in addition to doing their own extensive research.