RSU Tax Calculator: what will your RSUs actually cost?
Your W-2 says the RSUs were taxed. Your April bill says otherwise. Employers withhold vested shares at a flat 22%; a higher bracket owes more.
See your 2026 number — federal, plus California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York (with NYC), and all nine states with no income tax.
Updated for 2026 rates.
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Your full breakdown as a PDF, plus the RSU withholding checklist.
Estimate only, not tax advice. Your inputs stay in your browser; we only receive your name, email, and the summary if you click “Email me my breakdown.”
How the estimate is built
RSUs are taxed as ordinary wages at vesting. We compute your tax with the RSUs and without them — the difference is what they actually cost you, at your marginal rate, not an average.
- Ordinary income
- Shares × price at vest, taxed at your 2026 federal marginal rate on top of your base wages (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, post-OBBBA).
- Under-withholding
- Employers withhold supplemental wages at a flat 22% (37% over $1M). Higher brackets owe more — that difference is the gap.
- FICA
- Social Security 6.2% to the $184,500 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (plus 0.9% over $200k single / $250k joint). Usually withheld correctly, so it's shown but not counted in the gap.
- State tax
- Your state's tax on the same vesting value, at your marginal rate there. States withhold supplemental wages at their own flat rate, exactly like the federal 22% — so a state can leave its own April gap, and we show it as a separate line whenever it's meaningful.
- California
- Withholds a flat 10.23% on stock and bonuses. A California marginal rate of 9.3–12.3% means higher earners are under-withheld by the state as well as by the IRS — the same shortfall story twice. Includes the 1% Mental Health Services surcharge above $1M.
- New York
- NY State plus NYC resident tax at your 2026 marginal rate (NYC tops out at 3.876%). New York withholds at a flat 11.7%, which usually covers it — so unlike the federal 22%, New York rarely leaves an April gap. That line is tax owed, not an added surprise.
- The nine no-income-tax states
- Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don't tax wage income, so vesting RSUs are a federal-only question there. Two footnotes: Washington's 7% capital-gains tax can reach large long-term gains when you sell (never the vesting itself), and New Hampshire only joined this list in 2025, when it repealed its interest and dividends tax.
- Illinois & Massachusetts
- Flat-rate states — Illinois 4.95%, Massachusetts 5% with a 4% surtax on income above roughly $1.08M. Because the rate is flat, withholding usually tracks the liability closely.
- At sale
- Only the growth after vesting is taxed again — long-term at 0/15/20% (plus 3.8% at higher incomes), or short-term at your ordinary rate.
Simplifications: uses the federal standard deduction and applies state tax to the full vesting value without state deductions or credits; doesn't model itemizing, other income, or New York's high-earner recapture. Thirteen states are covered — everywhere else, use the federal figure and talk to us about your state. California's 2026 thresholds are the Franchise Tax Board's published schedule and are finalised each autumn. For your exact number, talk to us.
Most RSU guides stop at federal. If you earned RSUs in New York and later moved, New York can still tax them — one of the most-missed equity-comp traps, and the kind of thing we catch. See if we're a fit →
Are RSUs taxed twice?
No. Your RSUs are taxed once as ordinary income when they vest, and that value lands on your W-2. You're taxed again only if the shares gain value after vesting, and only on that growth, as a capital gain. The double-tax myth usually traces back to a 1099-B that reports a $0 cost basis.
What is my cost basis for RSUs?
Your cost basis is the fair market value of the shares on the day they vested — the same figure already taxed as ordinary income on your W-2. That is exactly what the calculator's price per share at vest field is: enter it, add a sale price, and the gain it reports is the growth above your basis, which is the only part taxed a second time.
The trap is Form 1099-B. Brokers frequently report RSU sales with a cost basis of $0, because the basis was created by payroll rather than by a purchase. Filed as-is, that treats the entire sale price as gain and taxes money you were already taxed on at vesting. The fix is to correct the basis on Form 8949 — and if you have already filed this way in a prior year, it is generally amendable. Here is how to check a past return and claim the overpayment back.
I'm short. What do I actually do about it?
Two mechanisms, and they are not equivalent. A quarterly estimated payment is credited when you make it — the next deadline is September 15. Raising your Form W-4 withholding instead is usually the stronger move late in the year, because withheld tax is treated as paid evenly across the whole year, so it retroactively covers quarters an estimated payment can't reach. The full explanation, with the math: RSU estimated tax payments and the W-4 fix.
Why do I owe more tax on my RSUs in April?
Because your employer withholds RSUs at a flat 22%, and if you're in a higher bracket, 22% doesn't cover the bill. The rest comes due in April. Someone in the 32% bracket is under-withheld by about ten points on every vested dollar. The calculator above shows your exact gap.
How much tax will I pay on my RSUs?
It depends on your bracket, because RSUs stack on top of your salary and are taxed at your marginal rate, not an average. Federal runs from 22% to 37%, plus FICA, plus state. For a New York City resident, the combined bite can pass 45%. Enter your numbers above for your 2026 figure.
Does New York tax my RSUs if I moved out of state?
Often, yes. New York taxes the share of your RSU income you earned while working there, allocated by workdays across the grant-to-vest period, even if the shares vest years after you left for Texas or Florida. It's one of the most-missed equity-comp traps.
Are RSUs taxed as ordinary income or capital gains?
Both, at different moments. At vesting, the full share value is ordinary income, taxed as wages at your marginal rate. After that, any change in price is a capital gain or loss when you sell: long-term if you held the shares more than a year, short-term if not.
How are RSUs taxed in New York City?
NYC residents pay city income tax on vested RSUs on top of federal and New York State, up to 3.876% in 2026. It hits residents only. Work in the city but live outside it and you skip the city tax, though New York State can still tax the income you earned there.
How are RSUs taxed in California?
California taxes vested RSUs as ordinary income at rates from 1% to 12.3%, plus a 1% Mental Health Services surcharge on income above $1 million. The part most people miss is withholding: California withholds stock and bonus income at a flat 10.23%, but a high earner's California marginal rate is 9.3% to 12.3% — so California under-withholds for exactly the same reason the federal 22% does. If your RSUs are large relative to your salary, you can owe both a federal and a California balance in April.
Do the no-income-tax states tax my RSUs?
No. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don't tax wage income, so vesting RSUs are a federal-only question in all nine. Two caveats worth knowing. Washington charges a 7% tax on large long-term capital gains, which can reach the growth after vesting when you sell, though never the vesting itself. And if you earned any part of the grant while working in a state that does tax income — California or New York, say — that state can still tax its share even after you move.