RSU sell-or-hold after-tax calculator

Should you sell your RSUs the day they vest or hold for the lower tax rate? Run the math and the answer is usually sell, because the tax you save by holding is small and the risk you take on is not. This tool sizes both sides so you can see it for your own numbers instead of guessing.

The one fact that makes this easy

Your cost basis is the vest-day value, and you already paid ordinary income tax on it. So holding does not change the tax on the vest at all. Holding only changes the tax on the gain or loss after vesting. That is the only thing on the table when you decide sell or hold. If that surprises you, read your RSU cost basis is the vest-day price first.

What the two paths actually compare

You sell the moment shares land. There is little or no gain since vesting, so there is little or no extra tax beyond the ordinary income you already owe. You walk away with cash you can put into a diversified portfolio. Your risk on this position drops to zero.

You keep the shares for more than a year past vesting so any gain is taxed at the long-term capital gains rate 2026 instead of the short-term (ordinary) rate. The reward is the rate difference, applied only to the gain. The cost is a year of holding one concentrated stock that can fall further than the tax you are trying to save.

The math it runs

How to read your result

If the tax saving is large relative to the risk, holding can make sense, usually when the position is small or you would diversify the proceeds into something just as volatile anyway. If the position is a meaningful slice of your net worth, the risk side almost always wins, and the cleaner move is to sell and diversify.

What if I am sure the stock keeps going up?

Then you are making a stock bet, not a tax decision, and you should call it that. Conviction is not a plan, and concentration is how good outcomes get erased by one bad quarter. If you want to keep some upside, decide the exact percentage of the position you will hold and sell the rest. A rules-based version of that is in the diversification plan.

Does selling at vest create a second tax bill?

Almost none. Because your basis is the vest-day price, selling that same day produces a tiny gain or loss at most. The big tax was the ordinary income at vesting, and you owe that whether you sell or hold. Selling does not add to it.

The number that decides this is the tax saving measured against the downside, not your hope for the stock. Size both, look at them side by side, and let the smaller risk win. I do not hold concentrated positions for a tax break, and most people should not either. If your position is large, a short fit check can pressure-test the call before you make it.