How to Prepare for the Anthropic IPO
How to Prepare for the
Anthropic IPO
A guide for Anthropic employees navigating the S-1, the tender offer tax bill, lock-up periods, ISOs, AMT, and what to actually do right now.
If you work at Anthropic, the past few weeks have probably been a lot to take in. On June 1, 2026, Anthropic confidentially submitted its draft S-1 to the SEC, the first formal step toward going public. Stack that on top of the recent employee tender offer and you have real money in play, real tax consequences already on the books, and a long list of open questions.
We have walked hundreds of clients through an initial public offering at Brooklyn Fi. We have read the documents with them, held their hand on the day the bell rings, and built the trading plans that come after. About 75% of our clients have equity compensation, and every planner on our team has been through a liquidity event. So here is the honest version of what this process looks like, what you can actually do right now, and the mistakes we watch people make.
The IPO TimelineWhere Anthropic Sits Right Now
The typical equity story starts with what we jokingly call "waiting forever." You join a private company, you accumulate equity over years, and nothing is liquid. Then one day there is a tender offer or an IPO on the horizon, and suddenly it all feels urgent.
Anthropic is past the waiting stage. The S-1 is filed, but it is confidential, which means only the SEC has it for now. The share count, the price, the ticker, and the timing are all still open. By the time you read this, the IPO may be announced, it may have already happened, or it may have slipped into 2027. Nobody knows yet, and that uncertainty is exactly why now is the planning window, not later.
Once the public offering happens, most employees run into a lock-up period. There is a ton of excitement and a lot of money on paper, but you usually cannot sell right away. That gap between "rich on paper" and "able to act" is where good planning earns its keep.
Tax ConsequencesYou May Already Have a Major Tax Event This Year
The recent tender offer was a liquidity event, which means if you participated, you may already owe a meaningful tax bill for this year, whether or not the IPO ever happens.
The first thing we do with clients is build a tax projection. What income has hit so far this year? How much has been withheld? What does your potential bill look like? Once we know that, we can see whether there is room to do something smart with the rest of your equity before December 31.
What Anthropic Employees Can Do Right Now
You do not have to wait for the IPO to be announced to make progress. A few moves matter right now, in the summer of 2026.
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1
Understand your equity mix. RSUs, ISOs, and NSOs all behave differently and are taxed differently. Before you can plan, you need a clear picture of what you actually hold and when it vests.
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2
Run a tax projection. This is the foundation for every decision that follows. It tells us how much room you have to exercise options, harvest losses, or shift income.
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3
Decide what you want to keep. If you love the company and you are long on the stock, start with a legacy position. How much do you want to hold for the long term? Then build a plan to diversify out of the rest. That is a very different mindset from "sell everything," and it usually leads to better decisions.
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4
Exercise options early in the year if it fits your plan. With so many unknowns, exercising earlier gives you more flexibility and more time to react if the timeline shifts.
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5
Think beyond this tax year. This is not just a decision for right now. We are planning for exits in 2027, 2028, and beyond.
A Quick Word on AMT and ISOs
If you have ISOs and you are thinking about exercising and holding to get long-term capital gains treatment, the Alternative Minimum Tax is the thing that can quietly nip you. We will spare you the full mechanics here because it gets complicated fast, but the short version is that exercising ISOs can trigger AMT even though you have not sold anything. It is manageable, but only if you plan for it before you click the button.
Exercising ISOs can trigger AMT even if you have not sold a single share. It is manageable with planning, but it can be an expensive surprise if you ignore it. Model this before you act.
The Gotchas Nobody Warns You About
We will be straight with you. Going through an IPO is frustrating. Here is what to brace for.
None of this is a reason to panic. It is a reason to have someone in your corner who has seen it play out many times and knows what normal looks like.
TimingWhen Is the Right Time to Get Advice?
The optimal time is years before an IPO. The realistic time is the moment one appears on the horizon. That moment is now. The work in front of you is real but very doable: build the tax projection, understand your equity, decide what to keep, and plan where the money lands on the other side. Some of it might top off your emergency fund. Some might pay off student loans. Some might go into a portfolio built to keep your tax bill low year after year.
Common QuestionsFrequently Asked Questions
Talk to a Team That Has Done This Before
This is what we do at Brooklyn Fi. We want to be your decision-making partner so you feel good about every outcome of your Anthropic equity, before, during, and after the IPO. Book a call with our team and let's make a plan.
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