RSUs Taxed at 22 Percent Federal on Vesting: Tracking Your True Equity Compensation Value

General
1

Your RSU grant shows $100,000 in value. But employers withhold 22% federal plus state taxes at vesting. In California, you might see only $65,000 hit your account. Understanding the real value requires tracking from grant to sale.

RSU Taxation Timeline

  1. Grant date: No tax (just a promise)
  2. Vest date: Taxed as ordinary income on full value
  3. Sale date: Capital gains/loss on change since vesting

Tracking RSUs in Beancount

; Track unvested grants as off-balance sheet
2025-01-15 custom "rsu-grant" "Company Inc"
  shares-granted: "1000"
  vest-schedule: "4 years quarterly"
  grant-price: "100 USD"

; At vesting - this is a taxable event
2026-01-15 * "RSU Vest" "Q1 2026 - 62.5 shares"
  Assets:Investments:CompanyStock      6250 USD  ; 62.5 shares @ $100
  Expenses:Tax:Federal:Withholding     1375 USD  ; 22%
  Expenses:Tax:State:Withholding        625 USD  ; ~10% CA
  Income:Compensation:RSU             -8250 USD  ; Gross value
  shares-vested: "62.5"
  shares-sold-for-tax: "20"  ; Sell-to-cover
  shares-retained: "42.5"
  fmv-at-vest: "100 USD"

The Cost Basis Trap

Your cost basis is the FMV at vesting, not $0:

; Later sale - basis is vest price
2026-06-15 * "Sell RSU shares" "Partial sale"
  Assets:Bank:Checking              5500 USD
  Assets:Investments:CompanyStock  -4250 USD  ; 42.5 shares @ $100 basis
  Income:Investments:Gains:ST      -1250 USD  ; Short-term gain
  sale-price: "129.41 USD"
  basis: "100 USD"
  holding-period: "5 months"
  gain-type: "short-term"

Real Value Query

SELECT 
  SUM(position) FILTER(WHERE account ~ "Income:Compensation:RSU") as gross_rsus,
  SUM(position) FILTER(WHERE account ~ "Expenses:Tax" AND narration ~ "RSU") as taxes_paid,
  gross_rsus - taxes_paid as net_received
WHERE date >= 2026-01-01 AND date <= 2026-12-31

Questions

  1. How do you track unvested RSUs?
  2. Do you sell immediately at vest or hold?
  3. Have you been surprised by RSU tax withholding?