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Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

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Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#3

I'd be interested to learn more about if or how stock priced exclusively in BTC (i.e., never in USD) affects taxes. Any info you could share would be appreciated :)

I'm assuming you are US-based. If you receive compensation in stock, no matter the currency denominator, it is income and is therefore subject to income tax.

Your employer should produce a W-2, and your share grant will be included.

Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#5
What are some great resources to learn personal taxes and all of the forms, deductions, exemptions, etc?

What are some resources for understanding business taxes? (LLCs)

I have a small single member LLC and want to understand more about how/when I need to file, what I can add to the list for deductions, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#6
post #4

Actually, I'll be joining a startup-ish in about 1.5 months. I am an immigrant and this will be my first job out of school. What do you mean taxes are about to get complicated :eyes:

When you're compensated in private shares, you still owe tax on them.

With public companies you typically "sell to cover" when you vest, but this isn't possible with private shares.

The workaround is the 83(B) election.

Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#7

What are some great resources to learn personal taxes and all of the forms, deductions, exemptions, etc? What are some resources for understanding business taxes? (LLCs) I have a small single member LLC and want to understand more about how/when I need to file, what I can add to the list for deductions, etc.

Great resource: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjkohler/ follow him and learn

Biz tax is a deep topic. Short answer is the LLCs are passthrough, which means you'll receive a k-1 from your accountant that you include in your personal return.

Quick strategy tip: have your accountant apply for S corp status for your LLC. You'll pay less tax right away.

Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#8

What are some great resources to learn personal taxes and all of the forms, deductions, exemptions, etc? What are some resources for understanding business taxes? (LLCs) I have a small single member LLC and want to understand more about how/when I need to file, what I can add to the list for deductions, etc.

Great resource: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjkohler/ follow him and learn Biz tax is a deep topic. Short answer is the LLCs are passthrough, which means you'll receive a k-1 from your accountant that you include in your personal return. Quick strategy tip: have your accountant apply for S corp status for your LLC. You'll pay less tax right away.

Can an S corp be single member? What are the drawbacks to using an S corp as opposed to an LLC?

Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#9
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great resource: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjkohler/ follow him and learn Biz tax is a deep topic. Short answer is the LLCs are passthrough, which means you'll receive a k-1 from your accountant that you include in your personal return. Quick strategy tip: have your accountant apply for S corp status for your LLC. You'll pay less tax right away.

Can an S corp be single member? What are the drawbacks to using an S corp as opposed to an LLC?

S Corp is just a tax filing status. Your legal entity remains an LLC.

The benefit of S Corp tax status is that you pay yourself a dividend in addition to your income. They are taxed differently.

The drawback is you now have a payroll obligation.

An LLC can be single member. An LLC with S Corp tax status cam also be single member.

There's a lot of info about S Corp status online. Hopefully this puts the strategy on your radar for more investigation.

Re: Ask HN: Joined a startup? Your taxes are about to get complicated. Questions?

#10

What are some great resources to learn personal taxes and all of the forms, deductions, exemptions, etc? What are some resources for understanding business taxes? (LLCs) I have a small single member LLC and want to understand more about how/when I need to file, what I can add to the list for deductions, etc.

Great resource: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjkohler/ follow him and learn Biz tax is a deep topic. Short answer is the LLCs are passthrough, which means you'll receive a k-1 from your accountant that you include in your personal return. Quick strategy tip: have your accountant apply for S corp status for your LLC. You'll pay less tax right away.

Note in CA, there are additional reporting requirements. This is not tax advice, but I believe passthrough single-member LLCs (including no-income) must file Form 568 by March 15 and pay a mandatory $800 annual fee by April 15. (Other types/taxation methods could have slightly different requirements.)
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