What’s New

Users that choose to early-exercise will now be able to submit an 83(b) form automatically to the IRS while exercising. Furthermore, users can now update their SSN, digitally sign the 83(b) form, and review personal information during the exercise request. In addition, users now have an improved UI to access the PDF and tracking number of their 83(b) form on the 83(b) Elections tab  on the Option Grant modal.

Who this affects

Any US-based users with early exercisable option grants, and ACH eligible who choose to early-exercise through Carta. 

How it works

83(b) Automated Submission Option During Exercise Request

The 83(b) Automated Submission option will be available during an exercise submission. Users will be able to choose between performing an Automated 83(b) Submission or a Manual 83(b) submission (if the user selects to submit their 83(b) form manually, they still have the option to utilize the automated submission feature through the Option grant modal as long as the current date has not exceeded 25 days from the exercise date).  

	Figure 1: On the Review Tax page, users now are given the option to automatically submit an 83(b) form or manually submit the form; If the user chooses to submit the automated 83(b) form, they can add/update their SSN directly
	Figure 2: Updated Sign and Submit modal which includes an Automated 83(b) Submission Agreement section signed via digital signature.
	Figure 3: Updated Congratulations page stating that the 83(b) form is being sent to the IRS.
	Figure 4: 83(b) elections tab on the Option Grant modal to view the USPS tracking number and the submitted 83(b) form.

Included Personal Information

To submit an automated 83(b) submission, a Social Security Number (SSN) is required by the IRS to properly verify the identity of the user. If the user’s SSN isn’t filled in the Account settings, users have the ability to add and confirm their SSN when selecting their submission method. Otherwise, when users navigate to the Review Exercise page, the automated submission will pull the user’s Name, SSN, and Address directly from the Account settings.

Digital Signature

On the Sign and Submit modal (Figure 2), users agree to automatically submit the 83(b) form by signing the agreement via digital signature. The digital signature is added directly into the PDF of the 83(b) form.

Status of submission 

The 83(b) form PDF and Tracking number will be provided and displayed in the Option grant modal on the 83(b) Elections tab. The user will be able to track and check the status of their 83(b) Automated Submission.

83(b) Manual Submissions

Manual 83(b) Submissions UI has been improved on the 83(b) Elections tab providing users with an 83(b) form to print and sign which is to be mailed manually by the user. To complete their manual submission, users will be required to upload their signed copy of the form in addition to the date that the 83(b) form was sent to the IRS on Carta. Further, users may choose to submit an automated submission on the 83(b) Elections tab.

FAQ

1. Can I still use the previous workflow for 83(b) Submission?

Yes! If you would prefer to file your 83(b) form manually, you still have the ability to do so! During the exercise workflow, you may select “Submit an 83(b) form later” as your submission method, and you’ll have the option to download and print an 83(b) form from the 83(b) Elections tab on the Option grant modal.

2. What happens if my exercise gets stuck or canceled?

If you select automated submission of your 83(b) election, it will be initiated immediately after you finish submitting your exercise.  If your exercise gets canceled, you should consult with your legal and tax advisors on what to do with your filed 83(b) election form.

3. How will I know that the IRS has received my automated submission? Will I be able to closely follow the progress of the 83(b) submission?

You can navigate to the 83(b) elections tab on the Option grant modal to verify the status of the 83(b) form using the tracking number provided by USPS to follow the progression of your 83(b) submission. Status updates are available as soon as the package is delivered to the USPS.

We highly recommend printing and storing the online USPS confirmation as this information is only available for a limited amount of time. 

Additional Resources

• Support Article: 83(b) Form for Early Exercised Option Grants
• Blog: What is Early Exercising?
• Arcade: 83(b) Automated Submission Walkthrough

What’s new?

We have redesigned the 409A Ledger Page where you come to request and review the 409A Valuations of your company and enter the Fair Market Value (FMV) of your company’s options. The goal of this refresh is to help you navigate the valuation process with ease and access resources quickly whenever you need assistance. 

With this updated design you will quickly and easily identify where you are in the valuation process and what to expect next. Carta is here to help you along the way with curated support articles and a variety of options to get in touch with us if you have questions not covered within the articles.

How it Works

Under Compliance > 409A you will find a number of new features designed to help you navigate the Carta Valuation process with confidence.

Valuation Status Tracker

The Valuation Status Tracker at the top of the page clearly indicates where your company is in the valuation request process. Whether you are in the middle of completing your request, if your draft is ready for review or if you are anywhere in between, the tracker will let you know what your next step is as soon as you land on the 409A Ledger page. Also included are tools and support articles to help answer common questions that you may have based on where you are in the valuation process.

Review and accept your valuation

Once you have received your valuation, you can download it for review directly from the Valuation Tracker on the 409A Ledger page. After you have had a chance to review the report and are ready to accept, you will be directed to the final step in The Valuation Tracker, the acceptance workflow. 

Get in touch with our team

Have a question? Navigate to our Support Module on the page and select the contact method that works best for you, our team of experts will follow up with a response typically within 1 business day.

Viewing your 409A Valuations

Now that you have completed the valuation process, your most recent valuation will be displayed at the top of the table at the bottom of the page along with any previous valuations saved to your Carta account. If you have any questions for our Valuation team in between valuations, simply navigate to the new 409A Ledger Page to access our Support model to get in touch with our team of Valuation Experts.

Who This Affects

Users without a verified secondary email address

What’s New

Additional emails are required to assist users with providing a secondary login credential in case access to their primary email address is lost. As part of our efforts to improve our clients' account security, we are updating the process of adding and verifying your additional email address. 

As part of this release, we will be notifying all users without a verified additional email address to add or verify the email they have listed. This subset of users will be receiving an email notification, as well as an outstanding task in their Carta account’s task manager. 

Timing

• This update is available to 25% of randomly selected Carta users
• General availability for all users by the end of Q2

General partners now have the ability to view and track capital calls from the Carta Android app. Investment firms can now track the progress of on-going and completed calls along with investor details, on the go, straight from the Carta mobile app.

Who this affects

• Fund administration clients

Supported platforms

• Android (Previously available on iOS)

What's new

Fund Administration clients can now access their capital call details and investor information from the Carta Android app.

• The home screen now provides a summary of active capital calls with the ability to view individual call details.
• Navigating to a capital call allows you to view further call and investor details along with a full investor list which can be filtered by Paid and Unpaid calls.
• The Fund Details page now also provides a capital summary and the ability to view a list of Active, Drafted, and Completed calls.

Carta users will now be able to perform a Cashless Hold Exercise and Cashless Sell Exercise on the mobile app. 

Who this affects

• Public Markets Users

Supported Platforms

• iOS and Android

What’s new

Users with holdings in public companies on Carta will now be able to exercise and sell their shares via a Cashless Hold or Cashless Sell transaction while on-the-go through the Carta mobile app. These features were previously available to users via desktop, and this launch closes the previously existing gap in functionality between the Carta web experience and the Carta mobile app. 

Carta mobile app users will now be able to login using a web-browser on iOS and Android. Web-login gives us the benefits of browser-based authentication, and better security, without disrupting the user experience.

Who this affects

Employees and Investors

Supported Platforms

iOS & Android

What’s New

In an effort to bring login and authentication together across all Carta platforms, we are launching browser-based login on mobile. The web-login experience will use Safari on iOS and a default browser on Android.

Employees registering their account on Carta for the first time can now provide their personal information as part of the onboarding process to complete their user profile. 

With an objective to provide insightful experiences, we’ve revamped the employee onboarding process to allow users to complete their user profile. Every employee registering with Carta for the first time to accept their first RSU or ISO/NSO option grant will now have the ability to provide the following information:

• Personal details such as name, date of birth and country of citizenship 
• Tax ID 
• Address

Capturing these details upfront allows employees to be transaction ready for events such as exercising.

 

After successfully completing their user profile details, users will be directed to the Tasks page where they can accept their security.  

Timing

• Available now to 20% of randomly selected Carta customers 
• General availability for all Carta customers coming by the end of Q2

What’s new

Private companies can now report the complete list of all ISO dispositions and see exactly which dispositions qualify for tax incentives and which ones do not, along with Ordinary Income value and other information.

How it works

Under Capitalization > Reports, find the Disqualifying Disposition Report (ISO):

Select the reporting date range, acknowledge the report’s use of in-platform securities and transactions, and then export the report to Excel:

When the report finishes generating, it will be available in the Downloads menu:

The report shows info on Disposition Type, Ordinary Income, FMV and more. In order to be completely transparent, Excel formulas are used for Disposition Type, Ordinary income, First Qualifying Disposition Date, and Disqualifying Reason fields to show how they are calculated:

Who this affects

Private companies with tender offers or secondary ISO transactions captured in Carta.

Timing

Available now for all Private market customers (the Public market Disqualifying Disposition Report is available at request as part of the Early Access release).

Additional resources

For more information around the Disqualifying Disposition Report and underlying data, please refer to this support article.

What’s New

Users with holdings in companies identified as Qualified Small Businesses (QSB) will now be notified of the potential tax benefit. Carta determines QSB eligibility when performing a 409A valuation and email notifications will be sent to all users associated with the company once the valuation is accepted. In addition, vesting emails will include information about the qualified small business stock (QSBS) tax benefit.

Furthermore, users can now find a banner in the company overview page within their portfolio that informs them about QSBS eligibility, linking to a blog post to learn more. Finally, users will be notified if their exercise qualifies for QSBS once they submit an exercise request.

Who this affects

US Companies using Carta for 409A valuations that are QSBS eligible and all their stakeholders, prioritizing “Vested” option holders. 

How it works

Email notifications

Emails are sent to all users associated with a company that qualifies as a QSB. If Carta determines the company is a qualified small business, emails are sent once the 409A valuation is accepted. Extra emails are sent to all users each time the company’s valuation includes eligibility. 

Vesting emails

Vesting emails will now include information about QSBS eligibility to help make a more informed decision about exercising. 

Company’s overview page

A banner informing users of the QSBS Eligibility Tax Benefit can be found next to the company’s name in their portfolio. This banner appears for companies identified as qualified small businesses, including information about the potential tax benefit from exercising and the expected timeframe of the company’s eligibility. 

Exercise submission message

Upon submitting an exercise request, the Congratulations page will inform users that the shares are QSBS-eligible. It summarizes the conditions and links to an Equity Education article to learn more (highlighted in red).

Timing

• General availability for all 409A customers by the end of Q1

Additional Resources

• Support Article: Defining QSBS
• Blog: QSBS & Carta Support for QSBS

Soon, Carta customers will start seeing an expanded set of Roles to help you reflect the different individuals who are handling different aspects of Cap Table management.

For now, users assigned to new roles will serve as point of contact for their areas. Over time, these individuals will see updated experiences and be guided to relevant Carta tools.

To see this experience, Navigate to "Company > Permissions and Roles > Roles"