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A California early-stage investor with a $15M QSBS gain pays $0 in federal tax but ~$2M to the state. That gap is not an edge case. It is the default outcome for those who reach a liquidity event without having built the proper structure first. Part II of our Strategic Tax Planning for HNWIs series walks through CRUTs, QOFs, charitable vehicles, and 10b5-1 sequencing—what each one solves, and why it has to exist before the lockup expires.

How do you legally pay 0% federal tax when your startup is acquired? For early-stage founders and venture investors, the answer often comes down to decisions made long before an exit. The latest installment in our Strategic Tax Planning series explores Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS)—one of the most powerful yet underutilized tax provisions available to startup founders and investors.

Major RSU/PSU vesting events often create unexpected tax exposure due to insufficient withholding, rapidly escalating AGI and pushing clients into top marginal brackets. This paper examines the strategic use of Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) and Private Foundations (PFs), which can serve both as short term tax shields and long term estate planning tools. If you have any questions, please email us at tax@unityinvestments.com.

At Unity Tax, we are firm believers in maximizing post-tax income. To that point, we will publish a series of memos on the most-relevant, high-impact tax issues. Below is our first memo on the Portfolio Interest Exemption. If you have any questions, please email us at tax@unityinvestments.com Read our article by clicking the PDF below.