The Hidden Tax on Sweat Equity (and How to Avoid It)

Shane Bohlender is a CPA and MBA with 30 years of experience advising business owners and executives on complex tax, equity, and ownership decisions. As a Fractional CFO, he partners with business owners to design ownership structures, navigate K-1 reporting and profit interests, and align financial strategy with long-term growth and exit objectives.

Agenda:

You worked for equity instead of a paycheck — so why does the IRS want to tax it like income? Sweat equity attracts talent and partners without burning cash, but they come with serious tax traps most business owners never see coming. In this session, we'll break down how structure these to avoid that upfront tax.   With Shane Bohlender as the presenter.

Here’s the reality: done right, sweat equity attracts talent without draining your bank account. But when done without these techniques, you create a tax event that you’re probably not expecting. 

Put it on your calendar: https://calendar.app.google/Eyuwb9NE2rPYbg357

Direct link to video call: https://meet.google.com/rrw-xdoy-vfo?authuser=0&hs=122

Denver Business Buzz - A weekly touch-base

Wednesdays - 6:00 pm Mountain Time (virtual)

Denver networkers, recruiters, job and gig seekers, business match-makers. Join this weekly short meeting to share new opportunities and insights.
Video call link: https://calendar.app.google/nzZtfkDhodg3GW3E8

More topics are being developed, please send me any specific topics you'd like to see. Please also let me know if you'd like to present a topic by sending me an email at [email protected].

Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey.

Weekday evenings appear to be the best timing. M-F evening was preferred by 60%.

There is interest in live events. The most interest was shown for in-person Monthly Networking Meetings, Annual Events and a Summer Picnic.

The most common challenges faced by respondents are Job Seeking and Contractor Opportunities. Written-in responses include Economic Uncertainty, Business Growth, Scaling a Fractional CFO Business and Staying Abreast of AI.

Several topics you would like to see (AI is a recurring theme):

• AI impact on financial operations. Best practices in financial operations.
• Start-up businesses
• Acting as an advisor to the CEO, board responsibilities, making fundraising connections
• CFO Salaries in Denver by size of company& how vibrant/ active is the local market?
• Applying AI, Networking Best Practices, LinkedIn Best Practices, refinance readiness (what banks really want to see), SBA vs private credit vs ABL (when each makes sense), preparing for a sell-side process (even if we are 2-3 years out), CFO lessons from integrations, pricing discipline & CM visibility, transitioning from full-time CFO to fractional/board work, navigating career moves in a slower exit environment, building a personal brand as a CFO, how to position yourself as a step-up candidate, AI in forecasting and scenario modeling, automating close & reporting without losing control (with AI), practical AI use cases for finance leaders
• Safe space to discuss career challenges, provide a sense of community and outreach
• AI, Finance tech stack, timely and appropriate topics
• Finance, energy, mining, energy transition