RSU vests and ESPP purchases are taxed very differently from how they're withheld. These three calculators — plus a guided step-by-step walkthrough — use real 2026 federal brackets and your state's tax rates — all 50 states plus DC — to show your true tax — and the surprise waiting at filing time.
Your employer withholds a flat 22% federal on RSU vests — but that's rarely what you actually owe. Enter your vest and salary to see both numbers, and the gap between them.
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Withholding uses the IRS flat supplemental rate (22% federal; 37% past $1M). State withholding uses the state supplemental withholding rate above — pre-filled with your state's flat rate where it has one (for example California's 10.23%) and yours to edit so it matches your pay stub. “Actual” federal tax is computed with the real 2026 brackets and standard deduction, stacking this vest on top of your salary. Payroll taxes are owed exactly as withheld, so they're not part of the tax-time gap.
An Employee Stock Purchase Plan lets you buy company stock at a discount — usually 15%. How long you hold the shares decides whether the IRS gives you the good tax treatment (qualifying) or the expensive one (disqualifying).
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Assumes a standard plan with a lookback: your purchase price is the discount applied to the lower of the offering-start and purchase-date prices. If your plan has no lookback, set the offering-start price equal to the purchase-date price. A loss on the capital portion is shown as a negative tax (it can offset other gains). The capital portion here is taxed at your state marginal rate; state-specific capital-gains rules (like Washington's and Massachusetts') are applied in the Sell vs. Hold calculator.
Selling vested RSUs right away is the classic advice — but if you're sitting on a capital loss carryforward, selling can be nearly tax-free. Compare both paths after tax.
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Enter a carryforward above to see how it would be used.
Scenario B assumes the stock grows at exactly the rate you entered, every year — real markets don't. It also doesn't discount future money to today's dollars or count dividends. Holding a single employer's stock concentrates your risk: your salary and your savings ride on the same company. The carryforward is applied to Scenario A only, since that's the sale in front of you today.
One walkthrough of your whole equity tax picture — salary, RSU vests, an ESPP sale, and what to do about the gap at filing time. It starts with sample numbers so you can see how it works; swap in your own amounts whenever you're ready.
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The basics that decide your brackets.
What vested this year — and what was already withheld from it.
Everything stacked together — what you owe, what was withheld, and the gap.
Salary withholding is estimated the way a standard W-4 with no adjustments withholds: real 2026 brackets and standard deduction on your salary alone, plus your state's marginal rate. ESPP sales have no withholding at all — that tax lands entirely in the gap. State tax uses your state's marginal rate on your full income (a simplification — real state returns have their own brackets and deductions). Payroll taxes are withheld exactly as owed, so they never create a gap.
Generated from your numbers — each card only appears when it actually applies to you.
These are rules of thumb applied to your inputs, for education only — not tax advice. A CPA who works with equity compensation can check the details before you act.
Hand-picked resources for managing RSUs, ESPPs, and the taxes that come with them.