Stock options and RSUs, generically.

What an RSU usually is

Restricted stock units are a promise of shares (or cash equivalent) after a vesting schedule. When they vest, many plans deliver shares and withhold a portion for taxes. The rest of the tax picture can still be unfinished. Supplemental withholding rates are not a personal tax projection.

After vest, the shares are often just concentrated employer stock. Selling, holding, gifting, or hedging is a separate decision that depends on your trading window, your tax situation, and your other assets. This page does not pick one.

What a stock option usually is

An option is the right to buy shares at a strike price. Incentive stock options (ISOs) and nonqualified stock options (NSOs) are treated differently under the tax code. Exercise can create a cash outlay. Some exercises can create alternative minimum tax exposure. Some do not. The grant agreement, the 409A valuation history, and your other income all matter.

Early exercise, 83(b) elections, and hold periods are real concepts. They are also easy to get wrong. If your grant allows them, that is a fact about the grant. It is not a signal that you should use them.

What people mix up

• Vesting is not liquidity. Private-company shares can vest and still be unsellable.
• A large vest is not a windfall until cash is available after taxes, windows, and any lockup.
• Company withholding is not a complete tax plan.
• Paper net worth in one ticker is still one ticker.

A useful sequence, not a recommendation

Most executives start by collecting facts: grant type, vest dates, strike, current FMV, blackout calendar, and estimated cash needed if they ever exercise. Then they sit with a CPA and, if they are an insider, counsel. The education on this site is the vocabulary for that meeting. It is not the meeting.