How many ISOs can you exercise before AMT kicks in?
The 2026 AMT exemption phases out twice as fast, from $500,000. Drop in your option grants and income and Amtally shows the AMT-free spread left this year, the shares per grant, and the AMT and cash if you exercise more — before December 31, in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How it works
- Copy your grants from your equity portal (Carta, Shareworks, E*TRADE, Pulley) into the template, or drop an export that has shares and strike price columns, or try the sample.
- Enter your 2026 income, filing status and the current 409A price.
- See your AMT-free spread and shares per grant — then confirm with Form 6251 or your CPA and exercise before December 31.
Why Amtally
For startup and tech employees holding incentive stock options who want to exercise before December 31 without a surprise AMT bill. The 2026 AMT exemption now phases out from $500,000 ($1,000,000 joint) at 50 cents per dollar — twice as fast as before — so last year's number is wrong. Amtally finds this year's.
Your grants
Copy your grants from Carta, Shareworks or E*TRADE into the template — shares, strike, FMV, grant and expiration dates — or drop any CSV or Excel export with shares and strike price columns.
The AMT-free number
The largest ISO spread you can add this year while your tentative minimum tax stays under your regular tax (Form 6251 logic, 2026 brackets).
Shares per grant
The room is filled with the grants that have the lowest spread per share first, so you exercise the most shares for no AMT.
Cash needed
Strike cost plus AMT for three choices: the AMT-free amount, every ISO now, or nothing this year.
409A what-if
How many shares fit, and the AMT on all of them, if the next 409A price is 10–50% lower or higher.
Flags
NSOs, underwater grants, expirations, the $100,000 ISO limit, holding periods, the phaseout zone and the AMT credit.
Simple pricing
Free for your AMT-free number. Pro for the plan by grant, the full 409A what-if and the exports.
Free
- Any number of grants
- Your 2026 AMT-free ISO spread and the three-way comparison
- 3 FMV what-ifs, the plan for 2 grants, 12 grants shown, print with a footer
- No signup, nothing uploaded
7-day pass
- 7 days of Pro, no subscription
- Full 409A what-if sweep
- The plan for every grant, print without footer
- Excel workbook and plan, what-if and grants CSVs
Pro Monthly
- Everything in Pro
- Re-check after each 409A or bonus
- All exports
- Cancel anytime
Pro Yearly Best value
- Everything in Pro
- Every exercise window for 12 months
- Costs less than 6 months of monthly
Prices in USD. Secure checkout by Polar, our merchant of record (its checkout shows our seller name, Launchtools). Sales tax is added at checkout in the US, Canada and India; elsewhere VAT/GST is included. Already bought? Enter your license key.
Tools & guides
- ISO AMT calculator: how much will exercising cost?
- Find your AMT crossover point
- Exercising ISOs before year-end
- The 2026 AMT Phaseout Change and ISOs
- Getting AMT Back: the Minimum Tax Credit
- ISO Holding Periods and Disqualifying Dispositions
- An EquityTax alternative for the ISO AMT question
- Before you pay a CPA $1,500 for an ISO plan
FAQ
Is my data uploaded?
No. Your files are read by JavaScript in your browser tab and never sent to us or anyone else. Grants aren't stored, so closing the tab clears them. Settings can be saved in this browser if you ask.
What does Amtally do?
It reads your option grants, works out your 2026 regular federal tax and tentative minimum tax, and finds the largest ISO bargain element (FMV minus strike, times shares) you can exercise this year with no alternative minimum tax. Then it splits that room across your ISO grants and shows the strike cost, and the AMT and cash needed if you exercise everything instead.
How is AMT worked out?
AMT income is your taxable income plus the standard deduction (or the state and local taxes you itemized) plus the ISO spread. Subtract the 2026 exemption — $90,100 single, $140,200 joint, reduced 50 cents per dollar above $500,000 / $1,000,000 — then tax 26% up to $244,500 and 28% above. AMT is the amount by which that beats your regular tax (IRC §55; Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
What changed for 2026?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) cut the exemption phaseout start from $626,350 to $500,000 for single filers (and from $1,252,700 to $1,000,000 joint) and doubled the phaseout rate to 50%. High earners and big exercises reach AMT sooner, so the AMT-free amount you used in 2025 may be too high.
Is AMT money lost?
Usually not. AMT caused by ISO exercises becomes a minimum tax credit (Form 8801) you can use in later years when your regular tax is above your tentative minimum tax, for example the year you sell. But you pay it in cash now.
What's free?
Importing any number of grants, the AMT-free number, the three-way comparison, every flag, 3 FMV what-ifs, the plan for the first 2 grants and 12 grants in the table on screen and in print (with a footer). Pro shows everything and adds the Excel workbook and CSV exports.
What isn't covered?
State AMT (California's is 7%), long-term capital gains and qualified dividends at preferential rates, the net investment income tax, credits, NSO wage income from the same year, early exercise with an 83(b) election, and selling ISO shares in the same year (a disqualifying disposition).
Is this tax advice?
No. Amtally applies the rules it describes to the numbers you provide. It is an estimate to plan with — confirm with Form 6251 or a CPA before you exercise. It is not affiliated with the IRS, Carta or any equity platform.