How Cake handles the $100K ISO limit
Stock options can be granted as Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) or Non-qualified Stock Options (NSOs). ISOs carry potential tax advantages for employees, but only $100,000 worth can vest with ISO treatment per person, per calendar year. Anything above that becomes NSO. Cake splits it automatically, and Pro reporting shows you who has split and by how much.
The automatic split
Cake tracks each person's ISO total across every grant they hold. Once they reach $100,000 for the year, the rest is recorded as NSO. Both portions sit on the same grant record.
The limit resets on 1 January, so capacity starts fresh each year.
Nothing to switch on and nothing to adjust.
Track it as it happens
Go to Compliance → ISO $100K limit for reporting on every option holder, for the tax year you select. Available on Pro.
- A summary bar splits your option holders into Split, Approaching and Within limit. Click a segment to filter the list.
- The table shows how much of each person's $100,000 has been used, and how much has become NSO.
- Use the year picker to report on a previous year.
- Click Export to download the year as a CSV.
Click anyone in the list to open their stakeholder page.
This is the record to hand your accountant or attorney at year end, and the fastest way to answer an employee asking which of their options are ISOs.
Who appears on the list
Only people holding ISO grants. Someone holding NSOs alone never appears, because there's no limit to track.
The page fills in as options vest, so it reports on the year to date rather than projecting forward.
What happens next
The split is reflected on the employee's grant record and visible in their My Cake portal, so they can see which of their options are ISOs and which are NSOs before they exercise.