Plan your Epic Games ISO exercise
Calculator · free · no signup · pre-IPOEpic Games is pre-IPO. Plan your AMT impact at any valuation: current 409A, expected IPO price, or post-IPO scenarios.
Beta · invite-only · AlphaLatitude Inc. · Free Tools
Your grant
Seeded from secondary-market data, as of Jun 16, 2026
Tax inputs
Grant timeline
Net final value at year 3 sale — optimized plan
$1.20M
After-tax dollars at end of year 3, net of all federal + state taxes through the sale.
This year: exercise 329 shares (of 10,000 total).
= gross gain at sale − federal + state LTCG − AMT premium above baseline regular tax (time-valued)
AMT premium for exercising: $1,284,652 (on top of $228,434 regular tax across the horizon)
Optimized plan keeps $83,736 more than lump-sum, $95,832 more than even split.
Federal AMT crossover this year: 158 shares ($57,238 bargain element). Above that, each additional share this year adds federal AMT.
Estimates only. Not financial advice.
Net final value by year
Running tally: NTV from shares exercised through year y, minus AMT premium paid through year y. The last year matches the plan's headline NTV. Hover a year for plan totals.
Optimized exercise schedule
You pay the higher of Regular tax and Tentative AMT per jurisdiction, then subtract Credit recovered. The result is Net tax. Hover any number for the bracket-by-bracket breakdown.
| 1 | 329 | |||
| 2 | 321 | |||
| 3 | 9,350 |
Federal AMT credit
Earned
$1,037,872
Recovered
$0
Remaining
$1,037,872
The AMT credit only recovers in years where regular tax exceeds AMT — typically a year with no ISO exercise. Every year in this schedule has bargain element, so AMT exceeds regular tax in every year and the credit carries forward untouched. Try a longer horizon or fewer total shares to introduce a recovery year.
Plan comparison
Net value at the end of your hold horizon.
Lump-sum
All in Year 1
$1,113,939
−$83,736
Even split
Equal shares each year
$1,101,843
−$95,832
Optimized
Tax-aware schedule
$1,197,675
Highest
Estimates only. Excludes disqualifying dispositions, NSOs, multi-state moves, and AMT preferences other than ISO bargain elements. Long-term capital gains tax assumes a qualifying disposition (ISO held ≥1 yr from exercise and ≥2 yr from grant); state LTCG follows ordinary brackets except where the state grants preferential treatment (HI, ND, SC, WI, AR, NM) or has a dedicated LTCG-only tax (WA). Assumes you are within the $100K ISO limit (any portion of an annual ISO grant whose FMV at grant exceeds $100K is treated as NSO from the start, §422(d)). State AMT figures are 2025 (next-year values published in late 2026). Not financial advice.
QSBS note. If your shares qualify (typically pre-IPO C-corp grants held 5+ years), a federal rule lets you exclude up to $10M of gain on a future sale from federal tax. That single rule shifts exercise-timing math more than AMT does. (This is §1202 “qualified small-business stock”.) Modeled in beta, not here.
You optimized one grant in isolation. The beta optimizes ISOs alongside your RSUs, NSOs, and stock in one plan.
Request beta access →About Epic Games
Epic Games is a privately held Gaming company, incorporated in Maryland and headquartered in Cary, NC.
Last reported secondary-market price: $366.34 per share (as of 2026-06-16). Your own 409A may differ.
Unreal Engine; Fortnite.
Equity grants at Epic Games typically include incentive stock options (ISOs) and non-qualified stock options (NSOs).
Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, Maryland. Following its first commercial video game release, ZZT (1991), the company became Epic MegaGames, Inc. in early 1992 and brought on Mark Rein, who has been its vice president since. After moving the headquarters to Cary in 1999, the studio changed its name to Epic Games.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Tim Sweeney founded the company in 1991 as Potomac Computer Systems, renamed it Epic MegaGames, then settled on Epic Games and relocated to Cary, North Carolina. Fortnite anchors the business as both a battle royale and a creator-driven experiences platform, while Unreal Engine powers games, films, automotive design, and architectural visualization. The Epic Games Store distributes PC titles, and the 2019 Psyonix acquisition brought Rocket League in-house. Tencent holds roughly 40 percent. Judge Gonzalez Rogers found Apple willfully defied her 2021 injunction in April 2025, restoring Fortnite to the US App Store. Secondary markets price the company between 20 and 35 billion dollars after a Fortnite revenue rebound.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · sacra.com · en.wikipedia.org
Equity comp at Epic Games
- Epic Games issues stock options (not RSUs) as the primary equity vehicle for employees, which is atypical for a company of its scale. Options are priced using an annual board-approved 409A valuation (an independent appraisal of fair market value per share, which sets the strike price employees pay to buy shares). Secondary sales require company approval and are managed through Nasdaq Private Market. During both the 2023 and 2026 layoff events, Epic offered affected employees accelerated vesting through a future date plus a two-year exercise-window extension.
Sources: epicgames.com · nasdaqprivatemarket.com
Researched 2026-05-10.
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Epic Games.
The calculator works at any Epic Games valuation: enter your strike, the current 409A FMV, an expected IPO price, or anywhere in between. AMT is triggered on the bargain element (FMV minus strike) when you exercise; the calculator models federal AMT, state AMT, and the multi-year credit-recovery path.
Example: at Epic Games's last reported price of $366.34, exercising 5,000 ISOs with a $109.9 strike creates a $1,282,200 bargain element. Above the 2026 federal AMT exemption ($88,100 single, $137,000 married joint), the 28% AMT rate adds roughly $359,016 on top of regular tax before any state AMT (CA, CO, CT, MN). The credit recovers in later years when your regular tax exceeds AMT. The calculator above runs your exact figures.
All Epic Games tools → · Use the generic AMT + ISO Exercise Calculator for any company.
Epic Games equity questions
- How much alternative minimum tax (AMT) will I owe exercising Epic Games ISOs?
- Exercising incentive stock options (ISOs) does not create regular income tax, but the bargain element (the fair market value at exercise minus your strike price) counts toward the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The amount depends on the bargain element, your other income, your filing status, and your state. The calculator above models federal and state AMT, the AMT crossover point, and how the credit recovers in later years for your exact Epic Games figures.
- Does Epic Games grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Epic Games typically takes the form of incentive stock options (ISOs) and non-qualified stock options (NSOs). Incentive stock options can trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT) when you exercise.
- Are Epic Games shares eligible for QSBS?
- They might be. Qualified small business stock (QSBS) under Internal Revenue Code Section 1202 can exclude federal tax on much of the gain when shares were acquired at original issuance from a C-corporation while its gross assets were under $50 million, and held at least five years. Whether your Epic Games shares qualify turns on when you acquired them and the company's asset size at that time.
One piece of the puzzle.
OptionsAhoy plans your Epic Games equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.