Finvest

Your guide to equity, the salary in a costume

RSUs, ESPPs, options, the AMT, QSBS, IPOs, and the 90-day window: every instrument decoded, every tax traced, every decision reduced to a rule you can actually follow.

Start reading: Chapter 1

12 chapters · 6 calculators · 2026 rules · www.getfinvest.com

Educational material only. This guide is not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Equity outcomes vary enormously; figures reference 2026 federal rules, with sources throughout.

Part I · The grant

Equity is salary in a costume

Why companies pay in stock, the instrument zoo in one honest table, and the five fields of any grant that matter.

Vesting: the four-year treadmill

Cliffs, refresher ladders, golden handcuffs, and what layoffs and acquisitions do to unvested shares.

Reading an offer: comparing equity like an adult

Public RSUs vs startup options, the four questions to ask any private company, and the red flags.

Part II · The taxes

RSUs end to end

Wages at vest, the 22% withholding gap, the 1099-B double-tax trap, and sell-or-hold as a fresh decision.

ESPP: the 15% machine

The lookback worked in both directions, qualifying vs disqualifying, and why sell-immediately is the default.

NSOs: the straightforward option

Spread equals wages at exercise, cashless mechanics traced, and the use-it-or-lose-it endgame.

ISOs and the AMT

The bargain element, the 2026 AMT math worked in full, the credit recovery, and the March-2000 lesson.

QSBS: the startup jackpot rules

The newly expanded Section 1202: $15 million excluded, tiered at 3, 4, and 5 years. Who qualifies and what breaks it.

Part III · The decisions

Private company equity: paper money

409A vs preferred vs headline, the exercise-cost trap, 83(b) in 30 days, and the 90-day gauntlet.

Concentration: when to sell

Counting your true exposure, the written sell policy, and dollar-cost-out schedules that remove regret.

Equity through life events

Leaving, IPO lockups and the double-trigger avalanche, acquisitions, layoffs, divorce, death. The reference chapter.

The annual equity checkup, decision one-pagers per instrument, a 32-term glossary, and every number sourced.