Your RSUs just vested. Now what?
A VP sees a big vest land and starts treating the shares like cash. What actually happened, and what to figure out before counting on that money.
Read the noteHi, I'm Malik.
Your RSUs and stock options, explained
I was a software developer before I became a financial advisor, so I know how confusing equity pay gets. I explain RSUs, stock options, ESPPs, and what happens to your stock when your company goes public or gets bought.
Malik Amine, Investment Advisor Representative, CRD #7338573. Verify on BrokerCheck
Example RSU vest2026 federal rates
412 shares at $209.74$86,412.88
Federal tax at a 35% bracket$30,244.51
Withheld at vest, flat 22%−$19,010.83
Still owed at filing$11,233.68
People from these companies have been to my talks
OpenAI
Anthropic
xAI
Apptronik
Tesla
NVIDIA
AMD
Dell Technologies
NXP Semiconductors
Applied Materials
Firefly Aerospace
Saronic
Tenstorrent
Apple
Google
Microsoft
Amazon
Oracle
IBM
Intel
Cirrus Logic
Silicon Labs
SailPoint
Q2
Stripe
Databricks
Rippling
Canva
Scale AI
Perplexity
Company names describe where people who have attended Malik's talks or education sessions earn their equity. Names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are shown only to identify the companies. None of these companies is a client of, sponsors, endorses, or is affiliated with Malik on Money, Money Talk with Malik, Global Frontier Capital LLC, or Wealth Strategies Financial Group. Educating someone from a company is not a statement about that company, its stock, or any advisory relationship.
Who this is for
If part of your pay is company stock, this is for you
Most of the people I talk to work in tech. What comes up depends on your role.
Executives
You have a lot of stock and rules about when you can sell it
Big RSU vests, trading windows and blackout periods, 10b5-1 plans, and the point where most of what you own is your company's stock.
Employees
Your offer letter had terms nobody explained
RSUs versus options, ISOs versus NSOs, ESPPs, why the withholding looks low, and what happens to your stock if you leave.
Founders
You're wealthy on paper but not in the bank
Founder shares, 83(b) elections, QSBS, tender offers, secondary sales, and how much of an acquisition actually reaches you.
The numbers
The 2026 numbers worth knowing
The federal limits, rates, and deadlines that come up most with stock pay. Each one links to the IRS or SEC rule it comes from.
Check your next vestFederal only, checked September 2026. Your state, your plan documents, and your company's trading policy can change things. This is general education, not tax, legal, or investment advice.
EmployeesRSUs, ESPPs, and ISOs
- RSU withholding
- 22%
- What most companies hold back for federal tax when your RSUs vest or a bonus pays out, on the first $1 million a year. If you're in a higher bracket, it won't cover everything.
- Source: IRS Publication 15 (2026)
- ESPP yearly cap
- $25,000
- The most stock you can sign up to buy through a qualified ESPP each calendar year, based on the price at the start of the offering.
- Source: IRC §423
- ISO yearly limit
- $100,000
- If more than $100,000 of your ISOs (valued at grant) can first be exercised in the same year, the extra gets treated as NSOs.
- Source: IRC §422
ExecutivesInsider stock and big positions
- Top 2026 bracket
- 37%
- Starts at $640,600 of taxable income if you're single, $768,700 if you're married filing jointly. It's also what gets withheld on bonus and RSU pay past $1 million in a year.
- Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, IRS Publication 15 (2026)
- 10b5-1 cooling-off period
- 90–120 days
- How long directors and officers wait after setting up a 10b5-1 plan before any trades can happen. Other insiders wait 30 days.
- Source: SEC Rule 10b5-1
- Form 4 deadline
- 2 business days
- How long directors, officers, and 10% owners have to report a trade in their company's stock.
- Source: Exchange Act §16(a)
- Top rate on long-term gains
- 23.8%
- 20% once taxable income passes $545,500 (single) or $613,700 (joint), plus the 3.8% net investment income tax once modified AGI passes $200,000 or $250,000.
- Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, IRC §1411
FoundersFounder stock and exits
- 83(b) deadline
- 30 days
- You have 30 days after getting restricted stock to file an 83(b) election. There's no extension if you miss it.
- Source: Treas. Reg. §1.83-2
- QSBS cap
- $15 million
- How much gain you can exclude per company (or 10x what you paid, if that's more) on qualified small business stock issued after July 4, 2025. Older stock is capped at $10 million.
- Source: IRC §1202
- QSBS holding periods
- 3 · 4 · 5 yrs
- For QSBS issued after July 4, 2025, hold it 3 years to exclude 50% of the gain, 4 years for 75%, and 5 years for 100%. Older stock still needs the full 5 years.
- Source: IRC §1202
- AMT exemption
- $140,200
- The 2026 amount for married couples filing jointly ($90,100 if you're single). It starts shrinking once your AMT income passes $1,000,000 ($500,000 single). Exercising ISOs is one of the most common ways people end up owing AMT.
- Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32
Calculator
Will you owe more on your next vest?
Most companies hold back a flat 22% for federal tax when RSUs vest. If you're in a higher bracket, you owe the rest when you file.
Your vest2026 federal rates
Shares vesting$86,412
Federal tax at a 35% bracket$30,244
Withheld at vest−$19,011
What you'd still owe$11,234
About 13% of the vest.
This only covers federal income tax. It leaves out state tax, Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500 of wages), Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% over $200,000), and the chance the vest bumps you into a higher bracket. Some employers withhold differently. It's a rough estimate, not tax advice.
Go over your vests with me
About me
I started out writing software
Before I became a financial advisor, I built products and worked inside startups. I sat in the meetings where equity gets argued over, and I watched a lot of smart people make rushed decisions with the stock they were paid. Now I explain what I wish someone had explained to them: what the grant documents actually say, which dates matter, and what changes once you're allowed to sell.
Talks and notes
Where to start
The talks are my short videos, written out. The notes go deeper on one topic at a time.
Talks
All talksRSUs look like money on paper. The exit plan is the hard part.
RSUs at a private company can be stuck at a valuation you can't cash out, sometimes for years. Why the question of how you'll eventually sell comes up sooner than people expect.
Your company went public. Now you have a concentration problem.
Ten years in tech, then an IPO, and suddenly you have a seven- or eight-figure position in one stock. What that means and why it needs a plan.
What a stock option actually is.
Options are the right to buy company stock at a set price. Companies use them to attract key people, but vesting schedules and expiration dates make them trickier than they sound.
Notes
All notesStock options and RSUs
How RSUs and stock options differ, how vesting works, and what changes once the shares are actually yours. Read
Executive stock and ESOPs
What executive option grants and employee stock ownership plans are, and why a grant isn't money in the bank yet. Read
Insider stock
Trading windows, blackout periods, pre-clearance, and how 10b5-1 plans work. Read
Direct indexing and charitable trusts
Two things people start hearing about once they have a lot of one stock. What they are and how they work. Read
Withholding, AMT, and QSBS
The tax side of RSUs, option exercises, and founder shares. Read
Common situations
Made-up examples based on things that come up a lot. They aren't real clients, and they don't show results.
You got a big option grant. What do you actually own?
A new executive starts counting unvested options as net worth, and an ESOP participant compares their balance to public-company RSUs. What each one really is, and when it can turn into cash.
Read the note
You're a company insider and want to sell some stock
A finance leader wants to sell right after earnings and figures the news is already out. Why trading windows, blackout periods, and 10b5-1 rules usually decide what's possible.
Read the note
Most of your money is in one stock, and people keep bringing up fixes
An executive with a big position in one company hears about direct indexing and charitable remainder trusts in the same month. What each one is, and why neither is automatic.
Read the noteJournal
Recent posts
Longer write-ups on specific questions. General education, not personal tax advice.
- Tech Executives
Insider stock: trading windows, 10b5-1 plans, and Form 4s
If you're on your company's insider list, the stock price isn't the only thing that matters. Your trading policy decides when you can sell, and your company's lawyers are part of the process.
- Tech Employees
RSUs vs. stock options: what's the difference?
People talk about "my equity" like it's one thing. It's usually a few different things with different rules. Here's how RSUs and options differ.
- Tech Founders
Thinking about a charitable remainder trust after an IPO or acquisition?
CRTs come up a lot after a big vest, an IPO, or a sale, and they often get mixed up with donor-advised funds. The first thing to know is that you can't undo one.
Talk with me
Have a vest, an option exercise, or an exit coming up?
Book 30 minutes with me. We'll go through what you have, which dates matter, and what to ask your CPA or attorney before you do anything.
The first call is a conversation. It isn't tax, legal, or investment advice, and it doesn't make you an advisory client.
Helpful to have handy
- Your grant paperwork, or a screenshot from your equity portal
- Upcoming dates: vests, option expirations, trading windows
- A recent pay stub
- Last year's tax return, if it's easy to find
- Any announced tender offer, IPO, or acquisition
Don't have any of that yet? Book anyway. We'll sort it out on the call.