The 83(b) clock starts at transfer, not at vesting

The record

Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code lets a person who receives restricted property for services — typically founder or early-employee stock subject to vesting — choose to be taxed on that property's value at the time of transfer rather than as it later vests. The statutory text gives the core mechanics in one sentence: the election must be made “not later than 30 days after the date of such transfer.” The IRS's own Revenue Procedure 2012-29, effective June 25, 2012, supplies sample election language and walks through the tax consequences of filing it, without requiring that exact wording be used. Current Treasury regulations, as reproduced on the Code of Federal Regulations site, describe where that statement must be filed and what it must contain, as retrieved on 16 September 2026.

What the documents establish

The regulation and the revenue procedure agree on the core mechanics: the election must be filed with the IRS office where the taxpayer's return is filed, no later than 30 days after the transfer date, and a copy must go to whoever the services were performed for. The statement itself must identify the taxpayer, describe the property, state the transfer date and taxable year, describe the restrictions, give the fair market value at transfer (ignoring any restriction that will lapse), and state the amount, if any, paid for the property. Rev. Proc. 2012-29 also told taxpayers in 2012 to attach a copy to that year's income tax return; the current regulatory text at 26 CFR 1.83-2, amended by Treasury Decision 9779 (81 Fed. Reg. 48708, July 26, 2016) for property transferred on or after January 1, 2016, no longer carries that attachment instruction, so the two documents should be read together rather than the older one alone. Once filed, the election cannot be revoked without the Commissioner's consent, and a later forfeiture of the property produces no offsetting deduction.

The operating read

Editorially, the 30-day window is the detail that most often defeats a filer: it runs from the transfer date on the grant paperwork itself, not from any later signing, board ratification, or the date counsel is retained. Because the election cannot be undone except for a narrow mistake-of-fact exception, and because the statute gives no relief for a missed deadline, treating the form as paperwork to finish “sometime this month” is itself a decision — usually the decision to forgo the election and be taxed on vesting instead.

What to check before you decide

Anyone weighing whether and how to file should confirm the following against their own paperwork, counsel, or accountant:

• What date does the grant or purchase agreement list as the transfer date, and has 30 days from that date already passed?
• Does current filing practice, including the 2016 removal of the return-attachment step, match what the company's counsel is recommending?
• Is the fair market value stated on the election supportable if the IRS later asks how it was determined?

None of this is tax advice for a specific grant; it is a description of what the statute, the regulation, and the IRS's own sample-language procedure provide.