Serving clients locally & nationwide
Start With a Complimentary Call"My RSUs vest next month. Do I sell or hold?"
That question is really three decisions happening at once — the tax bill triggered at vest, the concentration risk building in employer stock, and the purpose those shares are meant to serve. In Los Angeles, where equity compensation is often the largest piece of a household's income, treating vesting as a single moment instead of planning around it can mean paying more in taxes than necessary or holding far more company stock than is comfortable.
I help women and couples build a plan for RSUs, stock options, and employee stock purchase plans before shares are delivered — coordinating the withholding, the sell-or-hold decision, and how the proceeds fit into your broader financial plan, rather than reacting after the fact.
RSUs are taxed as ordinary income at vest, but the default supplemental withholding rate often doesn't cover what you'll actually owe — especially for high earners layering in California state tax. We run a full-year tax projection and decide whether estimated payments or a W-4 adjustment are needed before the gap becomes a surprise at filing.
Vest after vest, employer stock can quietly become the largest position in your portfolio. We build a written, staged sell-down plan tied to your overall investment strategy, so diversification happens deliberately rather than by accident.
RSUs, incentive and non-qualified stock options, and employee stock purchase plans are each taxed differently and raise different questions. Unvested equity left behind at a job change adds another layer. We sort out which rules apply to your specific awards before you have to decide anything.
A down payment, retirement funding, a career break, or a business you're planning to start all call for a different approach to timing and proceeds. We connect what the shares are for to when and how you turn them into cash.
This is the moment to decide on withholding, run the sell-or-hold analysis, and know what you'll do with the proceeds — before the shares land and the decision gets made by default.
Ongoing equity compensation calls for a standing framework — a target allocation to company stock, a consistent sell-down rule, and a tax plan that's revisited with each vest rather than rebuilt from scratch.
Unvested RSUs and options are often part of a negotiation, not just a loss. Understanding what you're walking away from — and what a new offer needs to include to make up for it — is easier to assess before you give notice.
Not sure where you stand?
Start with a CallComprehensive Planning – A long-term planning relationship where equity compensation is coordinated alongside retirement, investments, taxes, and cash flow — revisited at every vest as your situation evolves.
Learn about Comprehensive Planning ➝Project-Based Planning – A focused engagement for a specific equity decision — an upcoming vest, an option exercise, or a job change with unvested shares on the table.
Learn about Project-Based Planning ➝It depends on how much company stock you already hold, your tax situation, and what the proceeds are meant to do for you. In most cases, selling at least a portion at vest to manage concentration makes sense — but the right split is specific to your full financial picture.
RSU income is withheld at a flat supplemental rate, which is often lower than your actual marginal tax rate — and doesn't account for California state tax on top of it. Running a projection before the gap shows up at filing lets you adjust through estimated payments or your W-4.
There's no universal number, but when employer stock makes up a large share of your net worth, your financial security and your paycheck are tied to the same company. We look at your full portfolio and risk tolerance to set a target you're comfortable with.
Options add complexity that RSUs don't — exercise timing, AMT exposure, and expiration dates all affect the outcome. If you're holding incentive or non-qualified stock options, getting the strategy right before you exercise can meaningfully change your tax bill.
In most cases, unvested RSUs and options are forfeited when you leave. That's worth factoring into any job change or negotiation — sometimes a new offer needs to account for what you're giving up.
