Previous value: -"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility. Growth and volatility come from two separate cached snapshots, so some symbols resolve only one of the two fields. A symbol not in a given table falls through to a \"required field\" error for exactly the field it could not resolve: pass that field explicitly, or (for the growth/return/sale-price field) pass the string \"market\" for the S&P 500 trailing average; never invent a number. The covered-tickers resource (resources/list) lists which symbols resolve which field."New value: +"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and the implied vol as of the last close for any unsupplied volatility. Growth and vol come from different sources, so some symbols resolve only one, and a vol that is not current resolves as nothing. A field the ticker cannot resolve falls through to a \"required field\" error naming that field: pass it explicitly, or (for the growth/return/sale-price field) pass the string \"market\" for the S&P 500 trailing average; never invent a number. The covered-tickers resource (resources/list) lists which symbols resolve growth."

Previous value: -"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the volatility itself, not a pre-computed drag: the tool derives the horizon-cumulative drag internally, and the correct formula is horizon-dependent. This value must come from the user or from a `ticker` that resolves it from the cached implied-vol table; if neither supplies it, ask the user rather than estimating one."New value: +"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the volatility itself, not a pre-computed drag: the tool derives the horizon-cumulative drag internally, and the correct formula is horizon-dependent. This value must come from the user or from a `ticker` that resolves it as of the last market close; if neither supplies it, ask the user rather than estimating one."

Previous value: -"Current fair market value per share, USD. The bargain element at exercise is shares × (currentPrice − strike)."New value: +"Current fair market value per share, USD. The bargain element at exercise is shares × (currentPrice − strike). Must come from the user."

Previous value: -"Projected $/share at end of holdYears, or the string \"market\" to project currentPrice at the S&P 500 trailing average when the user has no view. Required unless `ticker` resolves it from currentPrice × (1 + trailing CAGR)^holdYears."New value: +"Projected $/share at end of holdYears, or the string \"market\" to project currentPrice at the S&P 500 trailing average when the user has no view. Required unless `ticker` resolves it from currentPrice × (1 + trailing CAGR)^holdYears. This tool has no default for it: a value not stated by the user, not resolved by a covered `ticker`, and not the \"market\" sentinel is outside the input contract."

Previous value: -"Alternative to `volatility`: the multiplicative volatility-drag haircut on expectedSalePrice already computed for the hold. Supply this OR `volatility` (if both are given, haircut wins). Most callers should pass `volatility` and let the tool compute the haircut; the model MUST NOT compute it itself."New value: +"Alternative to `volatility`: the multiplicative volatility-drag haircut on expectedSalePrice already computed for the hold. Supply this OR `volatility` (if both are given, haircut wins). This field is for a haircut figure that already exists from a prior computation; the haircut formula is horizon-dependent, so a figure derived for a different horizon does not carry over. Supplying `volatility` instead lets the tool derive it."

Previous value: -"Years to hold after exercise (minimum 1). At ≥1 year, the appreciation since exercise is LTCG; sub-1-year holds are out of scope."New value: +"Years to hold after exercise (minimum 1). At ≥1 year, the appreciation since exercise is LTCG; sub-1-year holds are out of scope. The user's choice, not a modelling detail, and it changes the answer: use the value they gave, and if they gave none, ask for it rather than assuming one."

Previous value: -"Annual W-2 ordinary income before this exercise, USD. Baseline for the bracket walk on the bargain element."New value: +"Annual ordinary income before this exercise, USD. Baseline for the bracket walk on the bargain element. Must come from the user. This is taxable income after deductions, not gross wages: the engine applies no standard or itemized deduction to it."

Previous value: -"Non-qualified Stock Option (NSO) shares to exercise."New value: +"Non-qualified Stock Option (NSO) shares to exercise. Must come from the user."

Previous value: -"Strike price per share, USD."New value: +"Strike price per share, USD. Must come from the user."

Previous value: -"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative drag internally. The model MUST NOT compute drag itself; the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number AND no `ticker` resolves it from the cached implied-vol table, ASK them."New value: +"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the volatility itself, not a pre-computed drag: the tool derives the horizon-cumulative drag internally, and the correct formula is horizon-dependent. This value must come from the user or from a `ticker` that resolves it from the cached implied-vol table; if neither supplies it, ask the user rather than estimating one."

Previous value: -"Annual after-tax-proceeds reinvestment rate. Defaults to SPY trailing CAGR for holdYears if omitted."New value: +"Annual after-tax-proceeds reinvestment rate. Defaults to SPY trailing CAGR for holdYears if omitted; the string \"market\" names that same default explicitly."

Previous value: -"number"New value: +[
+  "number",
+  "string"
+]

Previous value: -"Projected $/share at end of holdYears. Required unless `ticker` resolves it from currentPrice × (1 + trailing CAGR)^holdYears."New value: +"Projected $/share at end of holdYears, or the string \"market\" to project currentPrice at the S&P 500 trailing average when the user has no view. Required unless `ticker` resolves it from currentPrice × (1 + trailing CAGR)^holdYears."

Previous value: -"number"New value: +[
+  "number",
+  "string"
+]

Previous value: -"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility. Growth and volatility come from two separate cached snapshots, so some symbols resolve only one of the two fields. A symbol not in a given table falls through to a \"required field\" error for exactly the field it could not resolve, so pass that field explicitly (or use a fully covered symbol) rather than inventing it. The covered-tickers resource (resources/list) lists which symbols resolve which field."New value: +"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility. Growth and volatility come from two separate cached snapshots, so some symbols resolve only one of the two fields. A symbol not in a given table falls through to a \"required field\" error for exactly the field it could not resolve: pass that field explicitly, or (for the growth/return/sale-price field) pass the string \"market\" for the S&P 500 trailing average; never invent a number. The covered-tickers resource (resources/list) lists which symbols resolve which field."

Previous value: -"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility. About 90 large-cap symbols resolve a return; a slightly smaller set (~85) also resolves volatility. A symbol not in a given table falls through to a \"required field\" error for exactly the field it could not resolve, so pass that field explicitly (or use a fully covered symbol) rather than inventing it."New value: +"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility. Growth and volatility come from two separate cached snapshots, so some symbols resolve only one of the two fields. A symbol not in a given table falls through to a \"required field\" error for exactly the field it could not resolve, so pass that field explicitly (or use a fully covered symbol) rather than inventing it. The covered-tickers resource (resources/list) lists which symbols resolve which field."

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Alternative to `volatility`: the multiplicative volatility-drag haircut on expectedSalePrice already computed for the hold. Supply this OR `volatility` (if both are given, haircut wins). Most callers should pass `volatility` and let the tool compute the haircut; the model MUST NOT compute it itself.",
+  "maximum": 1,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "number"
+}

Added value: +5

Added value: +[
+  "AK",
+  "AL",
+  "AR",
+  "AZ",
+  "CA",
+  "CO",
+  "CT",
+  "DC",
+  "DE",
+  "FL",
+  "GA",
+  "HI",
+  "IA",
+  "ID",
+  "IL",
+  "IN",
+  "KS",
+  "KY",
+  "LA",
+  "MA",
+  "MD",
+  "ME",
+  "MI",
+  "MN",
+  "MO",
+  "MS",
+  "MT",
+  "NC",
+  "ND",
+  "NE",
+  "NH",
+  "NJ",
+  "NM",
+  "NV",
+  "NY",
+  "OH",
+  "OK",
+  "OR",
+  "PA",
+  "RI",
+  "SC",
+  "SD",
+  "TN",
+  "TX",
+  "UT",
+  "VA",
+  "VT",
+  "WA",
+  "WI",
+  "WV",
+  "WY"
+]

Removed value: -"^[A-Z]{2}$"

Previous value: -"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field AND a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility, instead of requiring the caller to invent either. Most large-cap public symbols are covered; unknown tickers fall through to \"required field\" errors so the model knows to ask the user."New value: +"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field, and a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility. About 90 large-cap symbols resolve a return; a slightly smaller set (~85) also resolves volatility. A symbol not in a given table falls through to a \"required field\" error for exactly the field it could not resolve, so pass that field explicitly (or use a fully covered symbol) rather than inventing it."

Previous value: -"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative drag internally. The model MUST NOT compute drag itself — the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number AND no `ticker` resolves it from the cached implied-vol table, ASK them."New value: +"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative drag internally. The model MUST NOT compute drag itself; the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number AND no `ticker` resolves it from the cached implied-vol table, ASK them."

Previous value: -"How the strike cost and exercise tax are funded. 'sell-to-cover' sells enough shares to cover strike + tax (reduces sharesRetained). 'cash' pays from outside the position (full sharesRetained but requires the cashNeededAtExercise field)."New value: +"How the strike cost and exercise tax are funded. 'sell-to-cover' sells enough shares to cover strike + tax (reduces sharesRetained). 'cash' pays strike + tax from outside funds (full sharesRetained); no extra input is needed - the result reports the outside cash required as the output field cashNeededAtExercise."

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "description": "NSO exercise sell-vs-hold result. All dollar amounts are USD.",
+  "properties": {
+    "bracketJump": {
+      "description": "Marginal federal bracket change caused by the new ordinary income; null when the income stays within one bracket.",
+      "properties": {
+        "fromRate": {
+          "description": "Marginal federal rate before the event, as a decimal (0.24 = 24%).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "thresholdAtJump": {
+          "description": "Taxable-income threshold in dollars where the bracket changes.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "toRate": {
+          "description": "Marginal federal rate after the event, as a decimal.",
+          "type": "number"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "fromRate",
+        "toRate",
+        "thresholdAtJump"
+      ],
+      "type": [
+        "object",
+        "null"
+      ]
+    },
+    "exercise": {
+      "description": "Tax bill at exercise on the bargain element (taxed as ordinary W-2 income).",
+      "properties": {
+        "additionalMedicare": {
+          "description": "Additional Medicare (0.9%) tax in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "bargainElement": {
+          "description": "shares x (currentPrice - strike) in dollars, taxed as ordinary income at exercise.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "federal": {
+          "description": "Federal ordinary income tax on the bargain element in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "medicare": {
+          "description": "Medicare tax in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "netCashSellAll": {
+          "description": "bargainElement - total: net cash in dollars if every share is sold at exercise.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "socialSecurity": {
+          "description": "Social Security tax in dollars (0 when not employed or already past the wage base).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "state": {
+          "description": "State income tax on the bargain element in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "total": {
+          "description": "Total tax at exercise in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "bargainElement",
+        "federal",
+        "state",
+        "socialSecurity",
+        "medicare",
+        "additionalMedicare",
+        "total",
+        "netCashSellAll"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "hold": {
+      "description": "Exercise now and hold the shares holdYears for long-term capital gains treatment.",
+      "properties": {
+        "afterTaxProceedsAtSale": {
+          "description": "After-tax sale proceeds in dollars at end of holdYears.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "cashNeededAtExercise": {
+          "description": "Outside cash required at exercise in dollars (strike + tax under cash funding; 0 under sell-to-cover).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "costBasis": {
+          "description": "Cost basis per share in dollars (the FMV at exercise).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "effectiveSalePrice": {
+          "description": "Projected sale price per share in dollars at end of holdYears, after the volatility haircut.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "expectedGain": {
+          "description": "Expected capital gain in dollars on the retained shares at sale.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "funding": {
+          "description": "How strike cost and exercise tax are funded (echo of holdFunding).",
+          "enum": [
+            "sell-to-cover",
+            "cash"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "ltcgFederal": {
+          "description": "Federal long-term capital gains tax (including NIIT) on the gain in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "ltcgState": {
+          "description": "State capital gains tax on the gain in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "ltcgTotal": {
+          "description": "Total capital gains tax at sale in dollars.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "netAtYearN": {
+          "description": "Net after-tax value of the hold strategy in dollars at end of holdYears (after subtracting forgone market growth).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "sharesRetained": {
+          "description": "Shares still held after funding the exercise.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "sharesSoldToCover": {
+          "description": "Shares sold at exercise to cover strike + tax (sell-to-cover only; 0 in cash mode).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "strikeCost": {
+          "description": "Total strike cost in dollars: shares x strike.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "y0OutflowForgoneNet": {
+          "description": "After-tax market growth forgone in dollars by spending cash at exercise: y0OutflowGain - y0OutflowLtcgTotal.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "y0OutflowGain": {
+          "description": "Opportunity-cost gain in dollars the year-0 cash outflow would have earned at the market rate (cash funding only; 0 for sell-to-cover).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "y0OutflowLtcgFederal": {
+          "description": "Federal capital gains tax in dollars on the forgone market gain (cash funding only).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "y0OutflowLtcgState": {
+          "description": "State capital gains tax in dollars on the forgone market gain (cash funding only).",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "y0OutflowLtcgTotal": {
+          "description": "Total capital gains tax in dollars on the forgone market gain (cash funding only).",
+          "type": "number"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "funding",
+        "costBasis",
+        "strikeCost",
+        "cashNeededAtExercise",
+        "sharesSoldToCover",
+        "sharesRetained",
+        "effectiveSalePrice",
+        "expectedGain",
+        "ltcgFederal",
+        "ltcgState",
+        "ltcgTotal",
+        "afterTaxProceedsAtSale",
+        "y0OutflowGain",
+        "y0OutflowLtcgFederal",
+        "y0OutflowLtcgState",
+        "y0OutflowLtcgTotal",
+        "y0OutflowForgoneNet",
+        "netAtYearN"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "holdMinusCashless": {
+      "description": "hold.netAtYearN - sellNowInvest.netAtYearN in dollars. Positive favors holding the shares; negative favors selling at exercise and reinvesting.",
+      "type": "number"
+    },
+    "sellNowInvest": {
+      "description": "Counterfactual: sell every share at exercise and reinvest the net cash at expectedMarketReturn for holdYears.",
+      "properties": {
+        "ltcgFederal": {
+          "description": "Federal capital gains tax (including NIIT) in dollars on the market gain at the horizon.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "ltcgState": {
+          "description": "State capital gains tax in dollars on the market gain.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "ltcgTotal": {
+          "description": "Total capital gains tax in dollars on the market gain.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "marketGain": {
+          "description": "Market growth in dollars on the reinvested cash over holdYears.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "netAtYearN": {
+          "description": "Net after-tax value of sell-now-and-invest in dollars at end of holdYears.",
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "netCashAtY0": {
+          "description": "Net cash in dollars after exercise tax, available to reinvest.",
+          "type": "number"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "netCashAtY0",
+        "marketGain",
+        "ltcgFederal",
+        "ltcgState",
+        "ltcgTotal",
+        "netAtYearN"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "exercise",
+    "bracketJump",
+    "hold",
+    "sellNowInvest",
+    "holdMinusCashless"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

Previous value: -"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes the ticker's trailing CAGR for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field instead of requiring the caller to invent one. ~90 symbols covered; unknown tickers fall through to \"required field\" errors so the model knows to ask the user."New value: +"Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes a cached trailing return for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field AND a cached implied vol for any unsupplied volatility, instead of requiring the caller to invent either. Most large-cap public symbols are covered; unknown tickers fall through to \"required field\" errors so the model knows to ask the user."

Previous value: -"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative drag internally. The model MUST NOT compute drag itself — the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number, ASK them."New value: +"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative drag internally. The model MUST NOT compute drag itself — the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number AND no `ticker` resolves it from the cached implied-vol table, ASK them."

Previous value: -"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative haircut internally. The model MUST NOT compute the haircut itself — the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number, ASK them."New value: +"Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative drag internally. The model MUST NOT compute drag itself — the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number, ASK them."

Previous value: -[
-  "shares",
-  "strike",
-  "currentPrice",
-  "ordinaryIncome",
-  "filingStatus",
-  "stateCode",
-  "stillEmployed",
-  "holdYears",
-  "volatility",
-  "holdFunding"
-]New value: +[
+  "shares",
+  "strike",
+  "currentPrice",
+  "ordinaryIncome",
+  "filingStatus",
+  "stateCode",
+  "stillEmployed",
+  "holdYears",
+  "holdFunding"
+]

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Multiplicative haircut on expectedSalePrice (0..1) capturing volatility drag at the hold horizon. 0.20 = 20% haircut.",
-  "maximum": 1,
-  "minimum": 0,
-  "type": "number"
-}

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Annualized volatility (sigma) of the stock as a decimal (0.72 = 72%). Pass the user-supplied volatility directly; the tool computes the horizon-cumulative haircut internally. The model MUST NOT compute the haircut itself — the correct formula is horizon-dependent and most models get it wrong. If the user does not supply a volatility number, ASK them.",
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "number"
+}

Previous value: -[
-  "shares",
-  "strike",
-  "currentPrice",
-  "ordinaryIncome",
-  "filingStatus",
-  "stateCode",
-  "stillEmployed",
-  "holdYears",
-  "haircut",
-  "holdFunding"
-]New value: +[
+  "shares",
+  "strike",
+  "currentPrice",
+  "ordinaryIncome",
+  "filingStatus",
+  "stateCode",
+  "stillEmployed",
+  "holdYears",
+  "volatility",
+  "holdFunding"
+]

Added value: +"Current fair market value per share, USD. The bargain element at exercise is shares × (currentPrice − strike)."

Added value: +"Federal filing status. Drives ordinary brackets and LTCG brackets used at the hold horizon."

Added value: +"Multiplicative haircut on expectedSalePrice (0..1) capturing volatility drag at the hold horizon. 0.20 = 20% haircut."

Added value: +"How the strike cost and exercise tax are funded. 'sell-to-cover' sells enough shares to cover strike + tax (reduces sharesRetained). 'cash' pays from outside the position (full sharesRetained but requires the cashNeededAtExercise field)."

Added value: +"Years to hold after exercise (minimum 1). At ≥1 year, the appreciation since exercise is LTCG; sub-1-year holds are out of scope."

Added value: +"Annual W-2 ordinary income before this exercise, USD. Baseline for the bracket walk on the bargain element."

Added value: +"Non-qualified Stock Option (NSO) shares to exercise."

Added value: +"Two-letter US state code. Drives state ordinary and LTCG treatment."

Added value: +"True if still employed at exercise. FICA (Social Security + Medicare + Additional Medicare) applies only when true."

Added value: +"Strike price per share, USD."

Added value: +"Annual after-tax-proceeds reinvestment rate. Defaults to SPY trailing CAGR for holdYears if omitted."

Added value: +"Projected $/share at end of holdYears. Required unless `ticker` resolves it from currentPrice × (1 + trailing CAGR)^holdYears."

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Optional public-stock symbol (e.g. \"NVDA\", \"AAPL\"). When set, the tool substitutes the ticker's trailing CAGR for any unsupplied expected-return / sale-price field instead of requiring the caller to invent one. ~90 symbols covered; unknown tickers fall through to \"required field\" errors so the model knows to ask the user.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Previous value: -[
-  "shares",
-  "strike",
-  "currentPrice",
-  "ordinaryIncome",
-  "filingStatus",
-  "stateCode",
-  "stillEmployed",
-  "holdYears",
-  "expectedSalePrice",
-  "haircut",
-  "expectedMarketReturn",
-  "holdFunding"
-]New value: +[
+  "shares",
+  "strike",
+  "currentPrice",
+  "ordinaryIncome",
+  "filingStatus",
+  "stateCode",
+  "stillEmployed",
+  "holdYears",
+  "haircut",
+  "holdFunding"
+]