Leaving Washington? Track Your Days. An App Beats Your Memory.
Moving from WA to NV with time in CA? Day counts can decide a residency fight. Contemporaneous app logs beat memory. Which apps to consider.
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The Startup Law Blog
Practical legal guidance on QSBS (Section 1202), equity compensation, startup formation, financing, and Washington State tax issues for founders, investors, and startup employees.
Latest posts
I-645: What We Should Take From the Vote
Early I-645 returns favor keeping Washington’s income tax. What the vote tells us, what it leaves to the courts, and why planning still matters.
What to Put on Your Section 351 Statement When Nobody Knows What the Company Is Worth
How not to screw up your 10x basis, which could be worth far more than the $15 million cap.
Seattle's Payroll Taxes Give the Sonics a Reason to Practice Outside the City
In one illustration, an NBA team practicing in Seattle owes about $6.5M a year in city payroll taxes on player pay; practicing outside, about $2.2M.
What the I-645 School-Funding Warning Leaves Out
The ballot says I-645 would decrease funding for schools, universities, and healthcare. It doesn't say when the money would arrive, or what the decrease is measured against.
Washington’s Income Tax Is the Wrong Answer
Washington can make its tax system fairer without accepting every argument for an income tax. A falling spending-to-income ratio is not a needs assessment, and more revenue is not a substitute for budget discipline.
Washington's Income Tax Has No Prior-Year Safe Harbor for First-Time Filers
Washington's new income tax has no prior-year estimated-tax safe harbor for first-time filers. A founder or early employee in an exit year can pay the entire tax with a timely filed return and still face a penalty.
A K-1 Is Not a Check: Washington’s Income Tax and Undistributed Business Profits
A K-1 is not a check. Starting with 2028 income, Washington’s 9.9% tax can reach profits owners never receive in cash. Here is the two-owner example.
My 2026 Washington Supreme Court Endorsements
My five Washington Supreme Court endorsements, and the constitutional reasoning, votes, and judicial experience behind them.
Why I Support Initiative 645
Opinion • October 3, 2026 I support Initiative 645. The way a startup employee’s restricted stock units can turn years of work into one year of taxable wages is one reason why. Imagine an employee…