[fortran77]

No. The worst outcome is you make no money AND you have to pay AMT on gains you never were able to realize.

[psanford]

You can claim the AMT credit in the future tax years.

[buck4roo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall this AMT overpayment credit could only be used up at rate of $3k/year and only in years where you also owed AMT?

[psanford]

Here's the relevant code. It sounds like your understanding doesn't match the current rules (consult a tax professional): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/53

[dilyevsky]

Is amt really an issue if you’re high income swe? (especially if double high income). Seems like since trump’s “tax cuts” your normal rate will always be higher than (base + options * strike price)*.28 unless you really get a ton of options and there’s huge fmv growth.

[benmanns]

It’s not options * strike price, it’s options * (fair market value - strike price), which is usually 0 at issue and is $$$ if you exercise and sell after an IPO (or after subsequent funding rounds/revenue growth which bumps up FMV).

[dilyevsky]

Er botched the formula you’re correct