← InsightsAugust 12, 2026
Barbara HeatonFounder & Managing Partner · Bay Area
Twelve months before you sell the company
The decisions that move the tax bill most are made before the letter of intent, not after.
Barbara HeatonFounder & Managing Partner · Bay AreaMost founders start planning the sale when the banker calls. By then the biggest levers are already set.
What is still open a year out
- Entity structure and whether QSBS applies
- Whether a portion of the equity should be gifted to trusts before the valuation jumps
- State residency, if a move is on the table
- Charitable intent, which is far cheaper to express with pre-sale stock than with post-sale cash
None of these are exotic. All of them are time-bound. If a sale is plausible in the next two years, the planning conversation should happen now.
One conversation is enough to know whether we can help.
No charge, no obligation, and no pitch.