409A safe harbor: 409A Safe Harbor Rules
The 409A Safe Harbor Rules carries 8 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 30 to 90 day, read 8 November 2026.
- 430 to 40
- 40 to 50
- 50 to 60
- 60 to 70
- 70 to 80
- 480 to 90
Bands
| Bucket | Value |
|---|---|
| 30 to 40 | 4 figures |
| 40 to 50 | 0 figures |
| 50 to 60 | 0 figures |
| 60 to 70 | 0 figures |
| 70 to 80 | 0 figures |
| 80 to 90 | 4 figures |
5 of the 15 named sources read in full publish a figure; 10 publish none, read 8 November 2026.
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Read |
|---|---|---|
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 90 day | 2026-11-07 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-3, permissible payments | 90 day | 2026-11-07 |
| IRS, Notice 2010-6, correction of document failures | 90 day | 2026-11-08 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 90 day | 2026-11-07 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-2, deferral elections | 30 day | 2026-11-07 |
| IRS, Notice 2008-113, correction of operational failures | 30 day | 2026-11-08 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 30 day | 2026-11-07 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 30 day | 2026-11-07 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 12 month | 2026-11-07 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 10 year | 2026-11-07 |
| eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans | 5 year | 2026-11-07 |
The sentence each figure was read from (11)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
Organizational or individual performance criteria are considered preestablished if established in writing by not later than 90 days after the commencement of the period of service to which the criteria relates, provided that the outcome is substantially uncertain at the time the criteria are established.
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-3, permissible payments, read 2026-11-07:
Where a plan provides for a period of more than one day following a payment event during which a payment may be made, such as within 90 days following the date of the event, the payment date for purposes of the subsequent deferral rules under § 1.409A-2(b) is treated as the first possible date upon which a payment could be made under the terms of the plan.
- IRS, Notice 2010-6, correction of document failures, read 2026-11-08:
a period not exceeding 90 days and the service provider does not have a right to
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
valuation is applied, that the service recipient will undergo a change in control event as described in § 1.409A-3(i)(5)(v) or § 1.409A-3(i)(5)(vii) within the 90 days following the action to which the valuation is applied, or make a public offering of securities within the 180 days following the action to which the valuation
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-2, deferral elections, read 2026-11-07:
In the case of the first year in which a service provider becomes eligible to participate in a plan, the service provider may make an initial deferral election within 30 days after the date the service provider becomes eligible to participate in such plan, with respect to compensation paid for services to be performed after the election.
- IRS, Notice 2008-113, correction of operational failures, read 2026-11-08:
more than 30 days before such later due date, or an amount of nonqualified deferred
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
The determination of fair market value also may be determined using an average selling price during a specified period that is within 30 days before or 30 days after the applicable valuation date, provided that the program under which the stock right is granted, including a program with a single part
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
ith such applicable foreign law will be treated as meeting the requirements of this paragraph (b)(5)(iv)(A), provided that the averaging period does not exceed 30 days.
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
rporation (for example, the resolution of material litigation or the issuance of a patent) or the value was calculated with respect to a date that is more than 12 months earlier than the date for which the valuation is being used.
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
orporation means service recipient stock of a corporation that has no material trade or business that it or any predecessor to it has conducted for a period of 10 years or more and has no class of equity securities that are traded on an established securities market (as defined in paragraph (k) of this section), where such sto
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans, read 2026-11-07:
For this purpose, significant experience generally means at least five years of relevant experience in business valuation or appraisal, financial accounting, investment banking, private equity, secured lending, or other comparable experience in the line of business or industry in which the service recipient operates.
Read in full, publishes no figure
10 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-0, table of contents, read 2026-11-07: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-4, calculation of amounts includible in income, read 2026-11-07: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-6, application and effective dates, read 2026-11-07: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Cornell LII, 26 U.S.C. 409A, read 2026-09-19: every candidate on the page was refused
- Cornell LII, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, read 2026-10-03: every candidate on the page was refused
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2007-19 (TD 9321, the final section 409A regulations), read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-51 (Notice 2008-113, operational failures), read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2010-03 (Notice 2010-6, document failures), read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- IRS, Publication 5528, nonqualified deferred compensation audit technique guide, read 2026-09-20: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- govinfo, final section 409A regulations (TD 9321, 72 FR 19234), read 2026-09-19: every candidate on the page was refused
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
5 of the 15 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 10 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source in day (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences), so N counts sources, never sentences; 231 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per rule with its citation and effective date: each of the three valuation presumptions and its conditions, the twelve-month and material-event limit on how long a valuation holds, the consequence of a failure (income inclusion, the additional tax, the premium interest) and the two correction notices with what each one can and cannot fix.
The derivation is the CHANGE LOG - what the regulation said on each date the estate has read it - because the one thing an adviser's summary cannot give a founder is whether the rule they are reading is the rule that applied when the option was granted.
231 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (15)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-1, definitions and covered plans(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-0, table of contents(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-2, deferral elections(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-3, permissible payments(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-4, calculation of amounts includible in income(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR, 26 CFR 1.409A-6, application and effective dates(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Cornell LII, 26 U.S.C. 409A(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Cornell LII, 26 CFR 1.409A-1(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2007-19 (TD 9321, the final section 409A regulations)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-51 (Notice 2008-113, operational failures)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2010-03 (Notice 2010-6, document failures)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS, Publication 5528, nonqualified deferred compensation audit technique guide(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS, Notice 2008-113, correction of operational failures(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS, Notice 2010-6, correction of document failures(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- govinfo, final section 409A regulations (TD 9321, 72 FR 19234)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The 409A Safe Harbor Rules carries 8 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 30 to 90 day, read 8 November 2026.
5 of the 15 named sources read in full publish a figure; 10 publish none, read 8 November 2026.
Cite as: "409acost.com 409A Safe Harbor Rules", updated 2026-11-09, https://409acost.com/datasets/409a-safe-harbor-rules/.
Download the CSV (11 rows, computed 2026-11-09)
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Questions this data answers
What makes a 409A valuation safe-harbour, how long does it hold, and what is the tax if it fails?
The 409A Safe Harbor Rules carries 8 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 30 to 90 day, read 8 November 2026.
Where do the figures in the 409A Safe Harbor Rules come from?
Every figure is quoted from its source's own page and dated (last read 8 Nov 2026). 15 named sources were read and 5 publish a figure; the 10 that publish none are recorded as not published, never estimated.