QSBS calculator for founders/early startup employees and investors
Hi y'all! Wanted to quick share something I built out for my own startup (Signed).
Strangely don't think enough people look in to QSBS (even on /r/taxadvice there's only a couple mentions of QSBS at all). It's... kind of a crazy giveaway? I mean, that's the point, of course: it's the federal government focusing on increasing investment into small, innovative companies.
QSBS, at its core, means that all of your returns from a particular investment — even if that investment is sweat equity, through exercised stock options — is fully tax-free up until certain thresholds. Kind of nuts.
Like most things, though, there's a ton of caveats: state tax is not exempt for a handful of states, the laws just changed last year so all the thresholds have changed (and are changing), and you still have to have specific company thresholds to fit under in order for it to qualify.
I built a calculator to help out with all those questions... no signup, nothing saved, it's free, etc etc, all those normal disclaimers. I'm just a nerd who loves tax tooling apparently, ha. https://signed.com/tools/qsbs-calculator
And I really think more people should take advantage of QSBS, as well as just know about it in general- even those who might never find themselves in this position. It's important to know what others might be taking advantage of from a political/economic standpoint as well.