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RSUs

Start here for this stage Explainer

State tax on RSUs when you move states

Move to a no-tax state and your RSUs do not all become tax-free. The state where you worked while they vested can still tax that slice of the income.
In-depth Start here

How RSUs work

An RSU is a promise of shares once you vest. That one fact, the gap between the promise and the shares, decides when you owe tax, what you own, and what you walk away with if you leave.
Case study

Laid off with unvested RSUs on the table

What one worker actually kept after a layoff, and the one severance term that saved part of the pile.
In-depth Start here

The RSU tax traps that hit in April, and how to dodge them

The flat rate your company withholds at vesting is almost always lower than what you owe, and that gap is just the first of the RSU traps. This is the complete field guide: the withholding gap, estimated taxes, the double-taxed 1099-B, short-term gains, blackouts, wash sales, acceleration, and the private-company bill on shares you cannot sell.

Restricted stock

Start here for this stage Guide

Restricted stock awards (RSAs): the complete guide

An RSA is real stock you own at grant, on a vesting schedule, common at the earliest startups. That ownership from day one is what makes the 83(b) election possible, why founders reverse-vest, and what decides who keeps shares when someone leaves.
Explainer

Restricted stock in an acquisition

When your company gets bought, your restricted stock can cash out, convert to acquirer shares, or roll into new vesting. Which one you get, and whether your unvested shares accelerate, decides what the deal actually pays you.

ISOs

Start here for this stage In-depth

How ISOs work

Incentive stock options can turn your entire gain into long-term capital gains, no ordinary income at all. The path is narrow, every step has a deadline, and this is the whole map from grant to sale.
Case study

Case study: the 90-day scramble after leaving

An employee left with $90k of in-the-money ISOs and 90 days to find the cash, or lose them.

NSOs

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How NSOs work: the complete guide

Non-qualified stock options are the plain option: a fixed price to buy, ordinary income at exercise, capital gains after. This is the whole story, from the 409A that sets your strike to the day you exercise and what it costs.
In-depth Start here

NSO traps: the double-counted basis, the cash bills, and the deadlines that kill grants

The expensive NSO mistakes are quiet ones. The double-counted 1099-B basis taxes you twice, under-withholding ambushes you in April, illiquid stock owes cash you can't raise, and two deadlines erase winning options. Here is all of it.
Question

State taxes on NSOs when you change states

Move to a no-tax state and you still owe the old state on the part of the spread you earned there. The income follows the workdays, not your new address.
In-depth Start here

NSO exercise strategy: when to exercise, hold or sell, and the moves around it

The one lever an NSO hands you is the calendar. This is the whole playbook: when to exercise, whether to hold or sell, how to spread it, how to fund the tax, and how to give the shares away.

ESPPs

Start here for this stage In-depth

ESPP taxes: qualifying vs disqualifying dispositions, the complete guide

How long you hold ESPP shares changes how the discount is taxed, splitting your gain between salary rates and the lower capital-gains rate. This is the whole story: the two clocks, the two formulas, the basis trap that taxes you twice, and the state and AMT wrinkles most people miss.

Hybrids & more

Start here for this stage Explainer

How equity comp is split in a divorce

Unvested grants are often marital property, dividing them is its own tax problem, and the real cost is the time.