RSU Tax Calculator

On the vest date, the fair market value of the delivered shares counts as ordinary wage income. Your employer reports it on your W-2 and withholds federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any state tax, just like a cash bonus. The taxable amount is the share count times the vest-date price per share.

A 22% flat rate can apply when an employer uses the percentage method for separately identified supplemental wages, such as an RSU vest. Employers can also use the aggregate method in some cases. A 37% rate is mandatory on supplemental wages above $1,000,000 for the calendar year. Withholding is not your final tax, and this calculator's 22% figure is a simplified assumption.

Sell-to-cover means your broker automatically sells enough of the freshly vested shares to pay the total tax withholding, then you keep the rest. Because only whole shares can be sold, the sale usually raises slightly more than the exact tax, leaving a small residual cash amount. The calculator rounds the sold shares up and reports both the shares you keep and the leftover cash.

Social Security is withheld at 6.2% on wages up to the annual wage base ($184,500 for 2026), so if your year-to-date wages already passed the cap, no more is taken. Medicare is 1.45% on the full vest with no cap. Employers must withhold the extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax after wages they pay exceed $200,000, regardless of filing status. Your final tax can use a different threshold, including $250,000 for married filing jointly. Enter your year-to-date wages so the calculator can apply its withholding rule.

No. This tool covers only the ordinary income tax at vesting. If you hold the shares and sell later, any change in price between the vest date and the sale date is a separate capital gain or loss, taxed at short-term or long-term rates depending on how long you held them. Your cost basis is the vest-date price already taxed here.

It is an estimate, not financial or tax advice. It uses 2026 federal supplemental, Social Security, and Medicare rules and a flat state rate you enter, but it does not model your full return, deductions, credits, or local taxes. Use it to plan for withholding and sell-to-cover, and check with a tax professional before filing.