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Guide Start here
QSBS (Section 1202): the complete guide
Qualified small business stock can erase the federal tax on a startup-stock sale, sometimes the whole thing. This is the full story: which rules apply to your shares, how the exclusion is sized, the holding clock, and the per-issuer cap that decides how much you actually shelter.
Question
Does your state honor the QSBS exclusion
QSBS is a federal break, and states get a vote. California taxes the gain in full while New York generally follows the federal exclusion, so the same sale can split two ways.
Explainer
QSBS and California
California ignores the QSBS exclusion entirely. A gain the IRS lets you exclude in full is taxed at up to 13.3 percent by California, and the only real fix is residency, set up years before you sell.