Tax Attorney in San Mateo County

The U.S. Tax Court hears San Mateo County matters at its San Francisco trial sessions at the Phillip Burton Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco CA 94102. A San Mateo County petitioner designates "San Francisco, California" as the place of trial on the petition under Tax Court Rule 140. The Caltrain runs from Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, and Menlo Park to the Civic Center BART or the 4th & King terminus within walking distance of the courthouse. Petitioners may also designate San Jose or Los Angeles where travel and counsel logistics favor it.

The pattern is structural and Meta engineers see it at every level above E4. Federal supplemental withholding on RSU vests defaults to 22 percent (37 percent above $1 million in supplemental wages). California's top bracket is 13.3 percent. The all-in marginal rate on a Menlo Park Meta employee's RSU vest often crosses 50 percent once the Mental Health Services Act 1 percent surtax under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §17043 kicks in above $1 million of taxable income. The shortfall lands on April 15 of the following year. Resolution paths: a federal Installment Agreement under IRC §6159, a FTB Form 3567 payment plan, supplemental withholding elections (W-4 Step 4(c)) for the rest of the current year, and estimated-tax payments under IRC §6654 to break the cycle going forward. Oracle, Gilead, and YouTube employees see the same pattern.

This is the classic Birthplace-of-Biotech tax problem and it is solvable. Several paths: First, a Disqualifying Disposition in the same calendar year as exercise converts AMT preference treatment to regular ordinary income on the smaller post-failure spread, often a much smaller bill. Second, where the share price collapsed after exercise, the loss on sale generates a capital-loss carryforward that combines with the AMT credit under IRC §53 over time as regular tax exceeds tentative minimum tax. Third, payment of the AMT can be structured through an Installment Agreement under IRC §6159 or a Partial Pay IA where the cash side is genuinely constrained. Fourth, reasonable-cause penalty abatement is available where the AMT was unexpected and the underpayment was a good-faith estimate error tied to the Phase 3 timing. Fifth, where the company failed entirely, the worthless-stock deduction under IRC §165(g) may apply against ordinary or capital income depending on the structure. We model each path before recommending.

Likely yes, and §1202 is the central tax planning event for South San Francisco biotech founders. Section 1202 lets a non-corporate shareholder exclude up to the greater of $10 million or 10 times basis on gain from the sale of qualified small-business stock held more than five years. The stock must be issued by a domestic C corporation, the company must have less than $50 million of gross assets at and immediately after issuance, more than 80 percent of assets must be used in a qualified trade or business (biotech research and development qualifies), and the shareholder must have acquired the stock at original issuance. Biotech-specific disqualifiers we screen for: LLC-to-C-corp conversions without proper basis tracking, redemptions that strip out the QSBS character, and exit before the five-year hold. California does not conform — the full gain is California-taxable. When Roche, Gilead, AbbVie, BMS, or Novartis writes the check, plan three to five years before the term sheet lands.

The 30-day window under IRC §83(b) is strict. Late elections are not available under the regulations. The consequence is ordinary-income recognition at each vest at the then-fair-market value rather than at grant. For founders and early employees of fast-appreciating San Mateo County biotechs and software startups, the result is a cumulative income figure that can run into seven figures across the vest cliff. Mitigation paths: structuring the income recognition through a Disqualifying Disposition for stock-option grants, exploring Section 1202 QSBS qualification on the eventual sale despite the §83(b) miss, evaluating tax-deferred structures into a private fund where corporate governance permits, and negotiating a Partial Pay IA across the vest schedule so the cash side does not collapse. We work this in coordination with corporate counsel where the employment agreement is still being negotiated.

Yes, in almost every case. FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) is required of any U.S. person — including H-1B visa holders who are U.S. tax residents under the substantial-presence test — with foreign financial accounts whose aggregate high balance exceeds $10,000 at any single point during the calendar year. Indian NRE, NRO, fixed-deposit, demat, and PPF accounts all count; Singapore brokerage and DBS/UOB savings count; Chinese savings and securities accounts count. The form is filed separately from your 1040, electronically through the BSA E-Filing System, by April 15 with an automatic October 15 extension. Form 8938 under IRC §6038D is an additional layer with higher thresholds. Past non-filing is addressed through Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for non-willful conduct, the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice where willfulness is in play, or the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures where no underlying tax was owed. Penalties for unaddressed FBAR exposure are severe: non-willful penalties run per-account (after Bittner v. United States), and willful penalties reach the greater of $100,000 inflation-adjusted or 50 percent of the high balance per year.

California uses the domicile test at Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §17014 and FTB Publication 1031, weighing nine factors: physical-presence days, location of family, location of primary residence, driver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration, banking, professional licenses, and business or social ties. Atherton and Hillsborough sellers see the toughest FTB residency exams in the state because the typical fact pattern — sell after an IPO, an acquisition, or a major equity event, and move to Nevada or Texas — lines up exactly with the year the FTB most wants to claim. Retaining a Hillsborough rental, a Lake Tahoe second home with a California address, or a Woodside ranch as a "weekend property" while claiming Nevada residency is the most common reason the audits fail. Sending children to Stanford or to Crystal Springs Uplands while claiming a Reno move is another red flag. The defense is a documented clean break at the time of the move: new driver's license, new voter registration, sale or lease of the California home, transfer of professional licenses, and a careful physical-presence log under the 9-month presumption rule.

FTB suspension under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §23301 happens when an entity fails to pay the $800 minimum franchise tax, fails to file the annual return, or fails to file a Statement of Information with the California Secretary of State. A suspended entity loses the right to sue, defend a lawsuit, or contract in California courts. Contracts signed during suspension are voidable — including subscription agreements with new investors and licensing deals with pharma partners. To revive, file the missing returns, pay the tax plus penalties and interest under §19131 and §19132, and submit FTB Form 3557 (revivor request). The SOS Statement of Information must also be brought current. Once both agencies confirm compliance, the FTB issues a Certificate of Revivor. We have closed this in days when the Series B timeline demanded it.

Airline flight crews based at SFO face a layered analysis. The federal Amtrak Act and parallel rules in 49 USC §40116 say a state may tax a flight crew member's compensation only if that state is the state of residence, or if more than 50 percent of scheduled flight time is performed within that state — rarely the case for a United, American, Delta, or Alaska crew based at SFO with route mix. On the California side, residency under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §17014 still looks at domicile factors: the San Bruno or Millbrae crash-pad versus a Las Vegas, Reno, or Phoenix home, where the family lives, driver's-license state, voter registration, and the 9-month presumption. The FTB sometimes argues that a crew member based at SFO who keeps a San Mateo County rest unit is a California resident regardless of where they sleep most nights. The defense is documented domicile, careful per-diem allocation, and a separate analysis of unreimbursed business expenses (training, uniforms, union dues) under Section 162. We have handled this fact pattern repeatedly.

The IRS San Mateo Taxpayer Assistance Center is at 1900 South Norfolk Street, Suite 350, San Mateo CA 94403, off the El Camino Real corridor. From Redwood City, that is a 10-minute drive up the 101 or a Caltrain stop. From Daly City, San Francisco's TAC at 450 Golden Gate Avenue is also an option. Appointments are required and made through apps.irs.gov/app/office-locator or by calling 844-545-5640. For most resolution work, in-person visits are not required — we represent clients by Form 2848 PoA and route notices directly to counsel.

A Notice of Federal Tax Lien recorded with the San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder at 555 County Center, Redwood City clouds title until released, subordinated, discharged, or withdrawn. For refinance, the typical path is subordination under IRC §6325(d): Form 14134 (Application for Certificate of Subordination of Federal Tax Lien) shows the IRS that the refinance proceeds will pay down the tax debt or that subordination otherwise helps collection. If the underlying liability has been paid, request release on Form 668(Z). If you are on a streamlined IA under $25,000, lien withdrawal under Fresh Start (Form 12277) is available and clears title cleaner than release. The FTB State Tax Lien parallel under Cal. Gov. Code §7174 has its own release and subordination procedures. Hillsborough, Atherton, Woodside, and Portola Valley property values mean substantial equity is often available to satisfy the lien on refinance, which strengthens the subordination case.

Treatment depends on what you sold. Sale of vested ISO or NSO stock held more than one year past exercise (and two years past grant for ISOs) qualifies for long-term capital gain treatment, with the AMT credit carryforward under IRC §53 in play on the ISO side. Sale of RSU-vested shares is similar — basis is the vest-date FMV that was already taxed as ordinary income, so the gain over that basis is capital. Sales of unvested grants through synthetic-secondary structures may be re-characterized as compensation. If the company is a qualifying QSBS issuer and you held more than five years, Section 1202 exclusion applies on the federal side, but California taxes the full gain. The §1202 exclusion is central for South San Francisco biotech equity and shapes the entire model. We map the federal and California positions before quarterly estimates are due so the underpayment penalty under IRC §6654 does not stack.

No. The firm is headquartered at 1100 S. Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, and we represent clients across all 58 California counties. San Mateo County engagements run by phone, secure portal, and email; in-person meetings happen by appointment at the LA office for clients who prefer face-to-face. We appear at the U.S. Tax Court San Francisco trial sessions at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, the IRS San Mateo TAC at 1900 South Norfolk Street, the U.S. District Court at 450 Golden Gate Avenue or 280 South 1st Street in San Jose, the San Mateo County Superior Court at 400 County Center, Redwood City, and the FTB Bay Area field offices as case calendaring requires.