The widely used exact Coulomb-wedge stress solution presented by F. A. Dahlen contains an approximation in dealing with pore fluid pressure ratios within the wedge and in the basal fault. We discuss the theoretical and practical ramifications of the approximation and propose simple modifications to make the solution exact. We illustrate that errors caused by the approximation are negligible for taper angles less than about 10¿ but become significant for larger tapers.