Selling shares · Carta

How to sell your Carta stock

Carta — the cap-table company — is itself private, and had a hard 2024: a data controversy, an exit from the secondary-trading business, and a valuation cut from about $7.4 billion to around $2 billion. If you hold Carta equity, here’s what it’s really worth now, and the tax.

Status Privately held · Reviewed November 2026

Carta is a private US software company (cap-table and fund administration) — still private as of November 2026. After a January 2024 controversy over customer data it exited the secondary-trading business, and a 2024 secondary cut its valuation from about $7.4 billion toward $2 billion. This guide is for the Carta holder.

Independent guide. PrivateTechShares is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Carta. This is general educational information for people who already hold Carta equity. We don’t recommend or endorse any transaction — whether to buy or sell, and on what terms, is entirely your own decision based on your own due diligence. What we do: help you prepare — a clear picture of what you hold, what it may be worth, and the paperwork.

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What you actually hold at Carta

Carta equity is typically stock options and RSUs. Options you exercise into shares; RSUs settle on a liquidity event or set date. The hard part at Carta is the reset valuation: if you joined when it was marked near $7–8 billion, your grant’s real value today is likely much lower. Check your grant for vested amount, strike and settlement terms.

Carta at a glance — the dates that matter to holders

2021
Carta valued at about $7.4 billion.
Jan 2024
Controversy over use of customer cap-table data; Carta exits the secondary-trading business and pauses related outreach.
2024
A secondary sale cuts the valuation toward about $2 billion.

Figures as publicly reported (TechCrunch on the secondaries exit and the valuation cut; Fortune on the data controversy). Confirm current status before relying on them.

How Carta equity turns into cash

Carta is private, with no open market, and — after 2024 — it no longer runs its own secondary-trading marketplace. Liquidity for Carta’s own employees would come through any company tender/buyback or a private secondary subject to Carta’s transfer rules. Don’t assume a standing market.

Where holders actually find buyers → A plain-English map of every route — buybacks, tenders, company secondaries, platforms and investor networks.

The decision you’re probably facing

Mark to today’s ~$2bn reset, not the 2021 number. If your grant dates from Carta’s higher marks, your options could be close to underwater and your RSUs worth far less than the headline you remember. Before exercising and owing tax, check where you actually stand against the reset valuation.

The practical steps: value your vested equity at the current ~$2 billion mark, compare it to your strike, and model the tax of exercising or settling.

The tax reality (US)

Most US startup equity is taxed one of two ways. RSUs are ordinary income when they settle (on a liquidity event or set date), with employer withholding that can fall short at higher incomes; later gains are capital gains. Options cost the strike to exercise and, for ISOs, can trigger AMT — use the ISO/AMT calculator. Selling in a tender or secondary is a capital-gains event on any rise since you acquired the shares. Full method in our methodology.

What to expect on price

A tender has a set price; a private secondary to an outside buyer usually happens at a discount to the last headline valuation — because the buyer takes an illiquid minority stake, and you likely hold common shares worth less than investors’ preferred. See what discount is fair.

For holders

Holding Carta equity? Get the occasional, no-noise update when something changes that could affect your position — we watch the private market so you don’t have to.

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Work out your Carta position

Get the numbers straight at today’s reset mark: what your equity is worth, how it compares to your strike, and the tax of exercising or settling. Free tools give you the pieces; the report runs them on your grant.

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valuation estimator · ISO/AMT calculator · US toolkit — $39

Questions people ask

Can I sell my Carta shares?

Carta is private and, since 2024, no longer runs its own secondary marketplace. Liquidity for its employees would come through any company tender/buyback or a private secondary subject to Carta’s transfer rules.

How much are my Carta shares or options worth?

Value them at Carta’s current mark (around $2 billion after the 2024 reset), not the 2021 figure of about $7.4 billion. Adjust for your share class and strike. If you joined at a higher mark, check your spread carefully. Use our estimator as a starting point.

Why is Carta worth so much less than before?

After a January 2024 controversy over customer data, Carta exited the secondary-trading business, and a 2024 secondary cut its valuation from about $7.4 billion toward $2 billion. For holders, that reset is the number that matters.

Sources

We re-verify this page’s facts monthly — they can change between updates. Figures are as reported (November 2026); confirm current status before you rely on them.

More about Carta: carta.com ↗ (official site) · funding & valuation data ↗.