Baker Tax Law

Let’s say it’s February 2026 and you have some stock options you would like to grant members of your team.  You’ve heard that you can rely on a tax code Section 409A valuation for up to 12 months.  You received a valuation of $0.30 per share effective as of December...

Myth: You must grant stock options with a fair market value exercise price. Truth: A nonstatutory stock option can be granted with a discount exercise price if: The stock option is fixed-exercise; or The stock option meets the independent contractor exception. Most...

Occasionally a company calls me and asks me about granting a stock award to a service provider in a foreign country.  That can be done, though it often involves drafting an international form of stock award agreement, sometimes involves adopting a sub-plan to be...

It's 1099 season. For those of you who paid a law firm for legal services this year, here are three tips: 1. Payment for legal services goes in box 1 of Form 1099-NEC. Do not use Form 1099-MISC. Form 1099-MISC box 10 "Gross proceeds paid to any attorney" is for when...

Updated. Originally posted September 14, 2019. Once there was a beautiful tech incubator named Y Combinator. In a dream one night she saw herself curing every start-up’s funding woes with a magical new creature called a SAFE. When she woke up, she got to work creating...

“You filed your Section 83(b) election, right?” Silence. “Right?” I gave a presentation years ago on how to fix a missed tax code Section 83(b) election. My phone started ringing the moment I returned to my office. Turns out, these get missed. Apparently, founders...