NeptuneNancy

My husband’s unvested shares were held by a transfer agent, where they remained once they vested, until we requested they be transferred to a broker. (Not that I’ve ever had a broker withhold taxes, but those would be capital gains anyway.)

Taxes incurred upon vesting are income taxes. Even if it’s not cash in your pocket, Uncle Sam wants his cut!

Not necessarily. My husband’s company that I was referring to was publicly traded, although much smaller than Google or Facebook. They took care of payroll taxes due on the value of the vested stock; we paid the income tax to the IRS quarterly. The value of the stock was included in his W2, however if we waited until we filed our taxes we would have incurred penalties, on top of a hefty tax bill.

Companies like Google may handle things differently, and companies that deal in RSUs may as well. My point still stands that you need to understand the tax implications of your offer.

Make sure you understand the (at least in the US) tax implications an offer might entail. For example, when your stock vests, you owe income tax on the value of the stock on its vesting day, even if you don’t sell it. (Tax when you sell is capital gains.) You will probably find yourself paying estimated taxes as a result.

(Not an accountant, just someone who’s spent time trying to guess what the stock in my husband’s company might be worth at vesting for the coming year in order to figure out what we might have to pay in estimated taxes, and to figure out where that money might come from as you might be in a position where you can’t sell it to cover the taxes!)

I love my mid-2012 MBP. I expect I’ll have to replace it next summer if I want to run the latest Xcode, which will make me very sad. It amazes me that it’s seven years old, as it runs as well as it did they day I bought it.