PRISM Equity

    Model the tax impact of equity compensation before you act.

    PRISM models RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, ESPP, vesting, exercise, sale timing, withholding gaps, AMT exposure, and holding-period effects against your current-year tax projection.

    This public Decision Preview shows a modeled position; it does not provide individualized tax advice or create a professional engagement.

    Statutory anchors: ISO §422 · RSU §83 · NSO §83 · ESPP §423 · AMT §55, §56

    Life events that route here

    The equity decision is forming whether or not anyone is modeling it.

    — Equity vested

    — Options exercised

    — RSUs sold

    — AMT exposure appeared

    — Withholding gap appeared

    — A qualifying-window date is approaching


    Position in the PRISM system

    Equity reads against your current-year tax projection.

    The equity tax model adds equity-specific effects to the projected tax year — ordinary income, AMT exposure, capital character, withholding gap, holding period, and federal/state interaction — so the equity decision is modeled inside the actual projected position, not in isolation.


    What PRISM models here

    The equity decision, at the level of the actual drivers.

    Ordinary income
    RSU vest, NSO spread, ESPP disqualifying disposition
    Stacked into the projected federal and state position at the marginal level.
    AMT exposure
    ISO exercise spread, AMT income, AMT credit
    Modeled under §55 / §56 against the projected regular liability.
    Capital character
    Short-term vs long-term, qualifying vs disqualifying
    Holding period and §422 qualifying window tracked per lot.
    Withholding gap
    Supplemental withholding vs projected liability
    Surfaces the safe-harbor gap an equity event opens against the year.
    Holding period
    Lot-level dates and qualifying thresholds
    Visible drivers, not collapsed into a single number.
    State / federal impact
    State sourcing, NIIT, additional Medicare
    Incremental stacking against the no-action baseline.

    What gets preserved

    The Decision Record turns the equity preview into something you own.

    — Modeled inputs and assumptions

    — Selected scenario

    — PRISM Core output

    — Modeled consequences and confidence

    — Statute references (§422, §83, §423, §55, §56)

    — Uncertainty drivers

    — Provenance timestamp

    — Staleness triggers

    The record preserves what was modeled, what changed, what facts drove the position, and what could make it stale. It does not prescribe action.


    From preview to professional review

    Equity decisions can require facts beyond the public model.

    PRISM provides tax planning and projections through a defined client engagement when the decision requires individualized review of grant terms, holding periods, state exposure, withholding, or return-level interactions.



    The equity window closes faster than the year does.

    PRISM models the tax impact before the lot, the strike, or the qualifying window settles the question for you.

    These public tools do not provide individualized tax advice, file returns, represent taxpayers, or author responses. Professional services are engaged separately. What PRISM is and is not →

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