# 409A Cost

> 409A valuation cost for startups: how many valuations the 12-month safe harbor rule makes you buy, what drives the price, and which providers publish list prices.

## Key facts

- The 409A regulation gives a presumption of reasonableness to an independent appraisal dated no more than 12 months before the grant it is used for, which is why an annual refresh is the baseline rather than an upsell.
- A startup raising twice in three years should budget for five 409A valuations, one per year plus one per material event, which at an assumed $2,000 a report is $10,000 over the period.
- Where a plan fails section 409A, the statute adds premium interest plus an amount equal to 20 percent of the compensation required to be included in gross income, and that additional tax falls on the option holder.

## Key pages

- [What does a 409A valuation cost?](https://409acost.com/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [409A valuation cost: published prices and price drivers](https://409acost.com/409a-valuation-cost/): 8 of the 44 providers' pages we read on 12 October 2026 publish a 409A price; one valuation lists at $499 to $1,800, median $1,499. What moves a quote.
- [409A valuation requirements: what section 409A asks of a startup](https://409acost.com/409a-valuation-requirements/): 409A valuation requirements in plain terms: a reasonable valuation method, the three safe harbor presumptions, the 12-month limit, and the 20 percent additional tax.
- [When do you need a new 409A valuation?](https://409acost.com/when-do-you-need-a-new-409a/): Two triggers matter: the 12-month age limit on the safe harbor appraisal, and any material event that makes an earlier calculation unreliable. What counts as material.
- [409A valuation example: what a report contains, and why no calculator](https://409acost.com/409a-valuation-example/): What an appraisal actually works through, why the regulation asks for a method rather than a formula, and why no 409A calculator can produce a defensible number.
- [409A valuation budget by funding scenario](https://409acost.com/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-15.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://409acost.com/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- 409A valuation budget by funding scenario. Methodology: Every row is this page's own calculator: one valuation per year of the horizon, to stay inside the 12-month window the presumption of reasonableness in Treas. Reg. 1.409A-1(b)(5)(iv)(B)(2)(i) requires, plus one after each material event, because the same regulation treats a previously calculated value as unreasonable if it fails to reflect later information materially affecting value. The $2,000 unit price is an assumption chosen inside the range of list prices providers publish today, not a published rate; no government body sets 409A fees. Counts are an upper bound, since an event-driven valuation also restarts the 12-month clock.
- Last updated: 2026-08-15. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: Treas. Reg. 1.409A-1, definitions and the stock valuation rules, eCFR: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/section-1.409A-1
- Source: 26 U.S.C. 409A, inclusion in gross income of deferred compensation (Cornell LII): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/409A
- Source: IRS. Internal Revenue Bulletin 2007-19, T.D. 9321, final section 409A regulations: https://www.irs.gov/irb/2007-19_IRB
- Source: IRS Notice 2005-1, first guidance under section 409A: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-05-01.pdf
- Source: Eqvista pricing page (list prices checked 15 August 2026): https://eqvista.com/pricing/
- Source: Cake Equity pricing page (list prices checked 15 August 2026): https://www.cakeequity.com/pricing
- Source: Pulley pricing page (list prices checked 15 August 2026): https://pulley.com/pricing

## Citation

Cite as: "409A valuation budget by funding scenario", 409A Cost, https://409acost.com/ (updated 2026-08-15).

## About

- 409A Cost is an information site. It is not affiliated with the IRS, the US Treasury, or any valuation provider named on this site, and nothing here is tax, legal or accounting advice. Provider prices are the list prices those providers published on their own pages on the date shown; they are market prices, not published rates, and they change without notice. Confirm your own position with your counsel and your accountant.
- Operated by 409acost.com. Contact: hello@409acost.com