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Sell or hold your vested RSUs?

There isn't one answer from the outside. This worksheet separates the tax timeline from the portfolio questions so you can make your own call without a sales pitch.

Updated

Selling or holding does not change the wage income created when standard stock-settled RSU shares transfer at vest or settlement. It changes what happens after you own them.

First, separate the two tax events

Your grant, vest, settlement, and sale can fall on different dates. Keep them separate before comparing the portfolio choices.

  1. 1. Grant date

    An RSU grant is a promise of shares or cash later. You do not own the shares yet, and the capital-gain holding period does not start at grant.

  2. 2. Vest and settlement

    Check your plan records for both dates. For a standard stock-settled RSU, the fair market value when the shares transfer becomes ordinary wage income and is included on Form W-2. If your vest and settlement dates differ, use the transfer date and fair market value your employer reports.

  3. 3. An immediate sale

    The wage income remains. If the sale price is close to the fair market value used at transfer, the capital gain or loss is near zero because little price movement happened after you acquired the shares. Fees and other adjustments can keep it from being exactly zero.

  4. 4. A later sale

    The capital gain or loss measures movement after the transfer date used by your plan. A holding period of one year or less is short term; more than one year is long term. For a standard RSU, count from the day after the shares transfer at vest or settlement, not from the grant date. See the RSU cost-basis guide before reporting the sale.

A no-recommendation worksheet

Write down the answers before deciding. This page deliberately supplies no score and no cutoff that turns the result into a recommendation.

Employer stock as a share of liquid net worth

Add the current value of all vested employer shares, then compare it with assets you could reasonably use or rebalance. Use the same date for both values. There is no universal concentration percentage on this page.

Would you buy the same amount today?

Imagine the vested shares arrived as cash instead. Write down how much of this employer stock you would choose to buy now, if any, and what you would do with the rest.

Near-term cash needs

List the cash you expect to need and when you expect to need it. Mark which needs are covered from other assets and which depend on these shares.

Blackout dates and trading-window constraints

Check the company trading policy, the current window, any preclearance requirement, and any trading plan before treating a sale as available. Your plan administrator or legal team can confirm what applies to you.

Diversification alternatives

List what you would hold instead, including cash for a known need or a broader mix of investments. Compare each real alternative with keeping the employer shares. A sale without a destination leaves part of the decision unanswered.

What this worksheet does not decide

It does not turn any one answer into “sell” or “hold.” Tax treatment, concentration, access to cash, and trading restrictions can point in different directions. A qualified professional can weigh them against your full finances and plan documents if you want personal advice.

Keep the rest of the vest organized

Sources

Educational information only. Not tax, legal, or investment advice.