Minimize income and transfer taxes

Taxes can seriously erode your assets-both during your lifetime and after. In keeping with our commitment to serving entrepreneurs, we have developed specialized expertise in the tax issues you face.

Expert advice on stock options
Stock options can be a valuable source of liquidity, although deciding which ones to exercise, and when, can be extremely complex. J.P. Morgan has the expertise and the proprietary analytical resources to help you and your advisors evaluate your options - both nonqualified and incentive stock options - and determine an appropriate exercise strategy.

Advice on smart gifting strategies
Lifetime gifts to your beneficiaries can be an excellent way to remove assets from your taxable estate. We are fully conversant with a wide range of gifting strategies. Depending on the interest rate environment, smart strategies might include intra-family loans, sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts or charitable lead trusts. If your gift consists of ownership shares in a closely-held business, you may be entitled to a valuation discount because of their illiquidity.

If you're even thinking about selling your company, you'll want to consult with experienced professional advisors about your gifting ideas well before proceeding.

You may be able to significantly reduce gift and estate taxes by giving away pieces of the business before its value has been defined in an IPO or sale. Our wealth advisors can go over strategic gifting options you may want to consider.

A creative but conservative approach
Paying unnecessary taxes can erode your wealth, but paying too little can create different, but equally serious, risks. While working to minimize our clients' tax burden, we are also careful to protect them against overly aggressive tax schemes.

While we do not provide tax or legal advice, we are happy to discuss your tax exposure with you and your professional advisors.

Contact a J.P. Morgan Advisor to learn more about strategies that may help reduce your income and estate taxes. Alternatively, you may contact any J.P. Morgan office.