Find it yourself
The 83(b) deadline, read from the law.
This is a deadline you don't want to get secondhand. Here's where it's actually written, and which date starts the clock.
the trap isn't remembering the number — it's knowing which date the number counts fromWhy you should read the statute, not a summary.
An 83(b) election is a one-shot tax election: once the window closes, it's gone, and the difference between making it and missing it can be a large tax bill later. That's a situation where a summary — including this one — is the wrong thing to rely on. The rule is written in plain English in the law itself, so the safest reader is the person reading the law.
We're not going to print the number of days. Read it from the source below; that way the number in your head is the current, correct one, straight from the statute.
The source: the statute and the regulation.
The deadline is set by Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the mechanics of making the election are in Treasury Regulation §1.83-2. These are the two documents a tax professional reads, and they are the primary source for the deadline.
What to look for when you read them.
- 01
The election window, stated in days
The statute sets the deadline as a number of days from when the property is transferred to you. It's written plainly — read the number from the law, not from a summary.
- 02
When the clock starts
The window starts on the date you actually receive the shares (the transfer date), not the date you sign the paperwork. This is the detail that trips people up more than the number itself.
- 03
How the election is made
The regulation describes how to make the election — in writing, to the IRS, within the window. The mechanics matter as much as the deadline.
What it depends on in your case.
The deadline is always measured from the same event: the date the shares are transferred to you. If your shares vest over time, whether the election even applies — and what "transfer" means for you — is a question worth putting to a lawyer, because it changes what you're counting from.
An 83(b) election is a personal tax election you make with the IRS, typically alongside your lawyer or accountant — it's not a filing a formation service makes for you. Our 83(b) election explainer covers the decision and records behind the deadline. If you're at the stage of restricted stock and vesting, you're probably at the C-Corp stage too: LLC vs C-Corp covers when that structure makes sense.
Get the entity right before the elections matter.
We form your company correctly from day one — the structure 83(b) elections and stock grants depend on.
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