RSU Calculator
Net shares value after federal, FICA, and state withholding at vest — plus a capital gain preview if you hold.
Your RSU Calculator Result
Generated from the inputs below — a record you can revisit, or share with anyone helping you plan.
Your detailsInput Parameters
This Vest
The stock's closing price on the vest date — this is your cost basis for any shares you keep.
Your Income
Used to check your remaining Social Security wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold.
Bonuses, commissions, and prior RSU vests this year — separate from regular wages. Counts toward the $1M supplemental threshold, the Social Security wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold.
Check your state's specific supplemental wage rate — not every state has one, and it isn't always the same as your regular state income tax rate.
After Vest
Most sell-to-cover or sell-all plans mean no capital gain or loss, since your sale price equals your cost basis.
Effective withholding rate of 29.6% across federal, FICA. This is withholding, not your final tax bill — reconcile on your return.
100 shares × $50 fair market value per share.
Flat 22% optional flat rate on supplemental wages — this is a withholding rate, not necessarily your marginal tax rate.
$184,500 2026 wage base, $104,500 of it remaining before this vest.
No wage cap.
Analysis
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Open calculatorRSU Taxation: What Actually Happens at Vest
Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary W-2 compensation the moment they vest — not when you're granted them, and not when you eventually sell. The IRS treats the full fair market value of vesting shares as if it were a cash bonus, subject to the same federal, Social Security, Medicare, and state withholding as any other paycheck.
This calculator estimates what your employer will withhold at vest — which is not necessarily your final tax bill. If your marginal tax rate is higher than the flat withholding rates applied here, you can owe more at filing; if lower, you may get some back. This calculator doesn't estimate your ordinary-income tax due; use the Income Tax Calculator for that.
How Vest-Date Withholding Is Calculated
Using this calculator's own defaults — 100 shares vesting at $50 fair market value, $80,000 in year-to-date regular wages, single filer, no state withholding:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross value at vest | $5,000 (100 × $50) |
| Federal (22% supplemental rate) | $1,100 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $310 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $72.50 |
| Total withheld / effective rate | $1,482.50 (29.65%) |
| Net shares value | $3,517.50 |
The 22%/37% split matters at higher income. The IRS requires a flat 22% federal withholding rate on supplemental wages (which includes RSU vests) — but only up to $1,000,000 in cumulative supplemental wages for the year. Above that, employers must withhold 37% mandatorily on the excess. If you're a high earner with a large vest, expect the calculator to show a blended rate once your cumulative supplemental wages this year (entered separately) push past $1M.
Social Security has a cap the others don't. Once your year-to-date wages reach the $184,500 2026 wage base, no more Social Security is withheld on top of it — Medicare has no such cap. This calculator applies that cap correctly using your entered YTD regular wages.
If you hold shares after vesting instead of selling immediately, any further gain or loss from the vest-date price is a capital gain/loss, not more ordinary income — long-term if held over a year from vest, short-term otherwise. See the Capital Gains Tax Calculator for that.