Restricted stock units (RSUs) and stock grants are often used by companies to reward their employees with an investment in the company rather than with cash. As the name implies, RSUs have rules as to when they can be sold. Stock grants often carry restrictions as well. How your stock grant is delivered to you, and whether or not it is vested, are the key factors when determining tax treatment.
Restricted stock units
A restricted stock unit is a substitute for an actual stock grant. If your company gives you an RSU, you don't actually receive company stock. Rather, you receive units that will be exchanged for actual stock at some future date. Typically, the date you take ownership of the actual shares, known as the vesting date, is based on either time or performance.
When you receive an RSU, you don't have any immediate tax liability. You only have to pay taxes when your RSU vests and you receive an actual payout of stock shares. At that point, you have to report income based on the fair market value of the stock.
Stock grants
With a stock grant, a company provides you with stock shares rather than a unit that gives you a future right. However, this doesn't always mean you're immediately free to sell the shares. Many stock grants have a vesting period, during which you may still lose the rights to the stock.
Only when you are fully vested in the stock do you have 100% ownership rights to do with the stock as you please. As with RSUs, stock grants typically vest after a period of time, or after certain performance measures are met. You're not liable for income tax until your stock grant vests, at which point you must report income equal to the value of the stock you received.
Selling your stock
You'll likely have to pay taxes again if you sell stock you received through an RSU or a stock grant. After you take ownership and pay the income tax on the fair value of your stock, you treat the stock for taxes the same as if you bought the stock on the open market. Here are the different ways you can be taxed:
If you sell the stock at a higher price than its fair value at the time of vesting, you'll have a capital gain
If you hold the stock for one year or less, your gain will be short term, and you'll owe ordinary income tax on it
If you hold the stock for more than a year, your gain will be long term, meaning you'll pay tax at the more favorable capital gains rate
Paying your taxes
Since stock you receive through stock grants and RSUs is essentially compensation, you'll usually see it reported automatically on your W-2. Typically, income taxes are withheld to go against what you might owe when you do your taxes. As with all withholding, the taxes your employer deducts from your paycheck may not be enough to cover the full amount of tax you owe when you file your return. In addition to income taxes, your RSU income reported on your W-2 is typically subject to payroll taxes.
If your employer doesn't withhold tax, or enough of it, on your stock grant or RSU, you may be responsible for paying estimated taxes. With estimated taxes, you'll have to send payments to the IRS about every quarter, typically on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year. The payments are estimates of what you'll owe in total when you prepare your tax returns for that year.
For example, if you get a huge stock grant in February, you'll be expected to pay estimated taxes for that grant on April 15, if there is no employer withholding. However, if your next stock grant isn't until December, you might not need to send estimated payments in June or September.
If you don't want cash withheld from your paycheck, you may be able to pay the tax by having your employer take it out of the shares. For example, if you need 10% tax withheld and receive 100 shares of stock, your employer may be able to liquidate 10 shares and give you a net grant of 90 shares.
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The restricted stock units (RSU's) are taxable income and as such the value of them is included in your salary wages (box 1), social security wages (box 3) and Medicare wages (box 5) on your W-2
W-2
A W-2 tax form shows important information about the income you've earned from your employer, amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck, benefits provided and other information for the year. You use this form to file your federal and state taxes.
Since stock you receive through stock grants and RSUs is essentially compensation, you'll usually see it reported automatically on your W-2. Typically, income taxes are withheld to go against what you might owe when you do your taxes.
Since RSUs are included in W-2 income, the employee is taxed at ordinary (as opposed to capital gain) tax rates on the value of the shares. The employer may take a deduction on its tax return for the amount included in the employee's W-2.
If you have RSUs the amount should be shown in box 14 of your W-2 copy. This amount should also be included in the wages (box 1) of your W-2. Box 14 is used by employers to list various items and there is not a standard list of codes, you can use the options for "Other Not Listed Here" in place of RSU Gain.
The advantage of an ISO is you do not have to report income when you receive a stock option grant or when you exercise that option. You report the taxable income only when you sell the stock.
When you're granted stock options, you literally have the “option” to purchase company stock at a specific price before a certain date. Whether, and when, you actually purchase the stock is entirely up to you. RSUs, on the other hand, grant you the stock itself once the vesting period is complete.
When the stock options are granted, the total stock option compensation expense is calculated as the fair market value of the stock options x the number of options granted. The company would debit stock option compensation expense and credit “equity APIC – stock option”.
Under normal federal income tax rules, an employee receiving a Restricted Stock Award is not taxed at the time of the grant (assuming no election under Section 83(b) has been made, as discussed below). Instead, the employee is taxed at vesting, when the restrictions lapse.
The biggest cause of people paying tax twice on RSUs is that the correct cost basis on your vested RSUs often does not get reported. This seems crazy, but the tax forms that go to the IRS from your brokerage will often show a cost basis of $0 rather than the actual cost basis of your shares.
Yes, you need to enter both your W-2 and the 1099-B into TurboTax. There are two different types of transactions being reported. Your W-2 is reporting income from your stock vesting (which is compensation).
The value of RSUs is typically recorded in Box 14 of the W-2, which is labeled "Other." Box 14 doesn't have a standard list of codes, thus allowing employers to enter any description they like. You might see the value of your vested stock followed by "RSU."
What is the Taxation on RSUs? The taxation of RSU in India is similar to the taxation of any other equity share. The fair market value of the Restricted Stock Units must be considered for taxation purposes. Fair market value refers to the price at which these shares are sold on the stock market at the date of vesting.
Form 3921 Exercise of an Incentive Stock Option Under Section 422(b), is for informational purposes only and should be kept with your records. It does not need to be entered into your return unless you still hold the stock at year end (if you do, see the previous information regarding Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)).
The receipt of these options is immediately taxable only if their fair market value can be readily determined (e.g., the option is actively traded on an exchange). In most cases, however, there is no readily ascertainable value, so the granting of the options does not result in any tax.
Similar to RSUs, stock grants will typically be reported on your W-2 form. You will likely see the stock grant listed under Box 14 as “Other” income. If the employer withheld sufficient funds to cover the taxes owed, no other action should be required.
For grants that pay actual shares, the employee's tax holding period begins at the time of vesting. Their tax basis is the amount they paid for the stock plus the amount included in their compensation. Later, they recognize a capital gain or loss when they sell the shares.
You may have to report compensation on line 1a of Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return or Form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors and capital gain or loss on Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses and Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets when you sell the stock.
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