Why use a flat tax rate?

Bonus and RSU income are taxed as ordinary income; a flat marginal rate approximates the incremental tax. Adjust to your marginal rate for best accuracy.

What about capital gains if I hold after vest?

Not modeled. This tool assumes immediate sale and ordinary income tax. If you plan to hold, add capital gains potential separately.

Do payroll taxes change the result?

Possibly. FICA caps and state taxes vary. Enter a combined rate that reflects your situation.

What if vesting is multi-year?

This tool treats the grant as if it vests at once for simplicity. For multi-year vests, consider averaging expected prices or running separate scenarios per tranche.

How do supplemental withholding rates factor in?

Supplemental withholding may be 22%/37% federally; your true liability could differ. Adjust the tax rate input to approximate your expected final tax.

Does this include 83(b) elections or options?

No. Standard RSUs generally don’t allow 83(b) elections. Options/ESPP have different tax rules; use option-specific tools instead.

How do blackout periods affect this?

If you can’t sell at vest due to trading windows, the expected price might differ from the vest-day price. Use a conservative expected price to reflect that risk.

What if withholding is at a lower supplemental rate than my actual tax?

You may owe additional tax at filing. Use your actual marginal rate here to avoid overestimating RSU advantage.

finance calculator

RSU vs Cash Bonus After Tax

Compare taking a bonus in RSUs versus cash, including current tax hit and potential future value.

Results

RSU shares granted: 666.67
RSU after-tax (today): $6,800
RSU after-tax at expected price: $8,160
Cash bonus after tax: $6,800
Breakeven share price vs cash: $15

How to use this calculator

Enter the RSU grant value and the cash bonus value offered.
Enter your combined tax rate for ordinary income (federal, state, local, FICA as applicable).
Enter current share price and your expected share price at vest/sale.
Review RSU shares, current after-tax value, projected after-tax value at the expected price, and breakeven price vs cash.
Adjust expected share price to test bullish and bearish scenarios and see how sensitive the decision is.

Inputs explained

RSU grant value: Dollar amount of RSUs offered (grant value). Shares are grant value ÷ current share price.
Cash bonus value: Cash alternative amount offered instead of RSUs.
Combined tax rate: Your marginal ordinary income rate (federal + state/local + payroll if applicable). Used for both cash and RSUs at vest.
Current share price: Price used to convert grant value into RSU share count.
Expected share price at vest/sale: Your projected price when RSUs vest and are sold; drives future after-tax RSU value and breakeven.

How it works

Computes RSU shares from grant value and current price.

Applies a flat combined tax rate to both RSU value and cash.

Projects RSU after-tax value at an expected share price and solves breakeven price where RSU after-tax equals cash after-tax.

Formula

RSU shares = rsuValue ÷ currentSharePrice. RSU after-tax today = rsuValue × (1 − taxRate). RSU after-tax at expected price = (rsuShares × expectedSharePrice) × (1 − taxRate). Cash after tax = cashValue × (1 − taxRate). Breakeven price = cashNet ÷ rsuShares.

When to use it

Choosing between a sign-on bonus in RSUs versus cash when joining a company.
Evaluating a year-end bonus offer that can be taken as stock or cash.
Estimating how much upside you need in the stock for RSUs to beat a cash payout.
Testing the impact of a lower share price if the stock declines before vest.
Sharing a simple scenario with a tax advisor or recruiter to negotiate structure.
Comparing outcomes if you immediately sell at vest versus holding until a target price.
Modeling a partial cash/partial RSU offer by splitting amounts and rerunning.

Tips & cautions

Use your marginal tax rate, not your average rate, for a more realistic comparison.
RSUs taxed at vest as ordinary income; future appreciation after vest could be capital gains if you hold—this model treats full value at vest as taxed at the entered rate for simplicity.
If you expect the stock to drop, lower the expected share price to see downside; if it rises, RSUs can win quickly.
Breakeven price shows what share price is needed to match cash after tax—great for sanity-checking optimism.
If liquidity risk matters (long vest), assign a conservative expected price to reflect risk of forfeiture or volatility.
Supplemental wage withholding rates can differ from your true marginal rate; adjust the tax rate input accordingly.
Consider concentration risk: even if RSUs win on paper, cash may be safer if you’re already heavily exposed to company stock.
If your company withholds shares for taxes at vest, remember the net shares you keep may differ from the gross count; this tool uses gross math at the entered rate.
Reset expected price lower if trading windows or blackout periods delay your ability to sell at vest.
Single flat tax rate; does not model differences between supplemental withholding and actual liability, AMT, or capital gains on post-vest holds.
No vesting schedule, forfeiture risk, blackout windows, or double-trigger modeling.
Assumes immediate sale at vest for tax simplicity; holding for long-term gains is not modeled.
Does not include payroll tax caps or state-by-state nuances.
Does not account for 83(b) elections (not applicable to typical RSUs).

Worked examples

Even grant values, modest upside

RSU value $10,000; Cash $10,000; Tax 32%; Current price $15; Expected price $18.
Shares = 10,000 ÷ 15 ≈ 666.7. Cash after tax = $6,800.
RSU after-tax at expected = 666.7 × 18 × (1 − 0.32) ≈ $8,160—RSUs win with mild upside.

Cash wins with bearish outlook

RSU value $12,000; Cash $12,000; Tax 35%; Current price $20; Expected price $15.
Shares = 600. Cash after tax = $7,800.
RSU after-tax at $15 = 600 × 15 × 0.65 = $5,850—cash clearly wins if the stock drops.

Higher RSU offer, same cash

RSU value $15,000; Cash $10,000; Tax 30%; Current price $25; Expected price $28.
Shares = 600. Cash after tax = $7,000.
RSU after-tax at $28 = 600 × 28 × 0.70 = $11,760—RSUs win even with modest upside because the grant is richer.

Breakeven focus

RSU value $10,000; Cash $9,000; Tax 30%; Current price $20.
Shares = 500. Cash after tax = $6,300.
Breakeven price = $6,300 ÷ 500 = $12.60. If the stock is above ~$12.60 at vest, RSUs beat cash.

Partial RSU, partial cash offer

Offer: $8,000 cash + $8,000 RSUs. Tax 30%. Current price $25; Expected price $30.
RSU shares = 320. RSU after-tax at expected = 320 × 30 × 0.70 ≈ $6,720.
Cash after tax = $5,600. Total = $12,320 after tax; compare to an all-cash $16,000 offer (after tax ~$11,200). Mixed offer wins here due to upside.

Long vest, conservative outlook

RSU value $20,000 vesting over 4 years; model as if all vests at once with expected price $12 (current $15), Tax 35%. Cash alternative $18,000.
Shares ≈ 1,333. RSU after-tax at $12 ≈ $10,400. Cash after tax ≈ $11,700.
If you’re bearish during the vesting horizon, cash wins unless the stock rebounds above the breakeven (~$8.78 here).

Deep dive

Use this RSU vs cash bonus calculator to compare after-tax outcomes and find the breakeven share price.

Enter grant value, cash alternative, tax rate, and expected stock price to see which choice pays more.

Model bullish and bearish share prices to stress test RSUs against a guaranteed cash payout.

Find the breakeven stock price where RSUs match the after-tax cash bonus.

Share results with recruiters or managers when negotiating bonus structure or sign-on terms.

Factor concentration risk by modeling conservative expected prices if you’re already heavy in company stock.

Simulate partial cash/partial RSU offers by splitting inputs and adding the results to see total after-tax value.

FAQs

Why use a flat tax rate?: Bonus and RSU income are taxed as ordinary income; a flat marginal rate approximates the incremental tax. Adjust to your marginal rate for best accuracy.
What about capital gains if I hold after vest?: Not modeled. This tool assumes immediate sale and ordinary income tax. If you plan to hold, add capital gains potential separately.
Do payroll taxes change the result?: Possibly. FICA caps and state taxes vary. Enter a combined rate that reflects your situation.
What if vesting is multi-year?: This tool treats the grant as if it vests at once for simplicity. For multi-year vests, consider averaging expected prices or running separate scenarios per tranche.
How do supplemental withholding rates factor in?: Supplemental withholding may be 22%/37% federally; your true liability could differ. Adjust the tax rate input to approximate your expected final tax.
Does this include 83(b) elections or options?: No. Standard RSUs generally don’t allow 83(b) elections. Options/ESPP have different tax rules; use option-specific tools instead.
How do blackout periods affect this?: If you can’t sell at vest due to trading windows, the expected price might differ from the vest-day price. Use a conservative expected price to reflect that risk.
What if withholding is at a lower supplemental rate than my actual tax?: You may owe additional tax at filing. Use your actual marginal rate here to avoid overestimating RSU advantage.

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Simplified comparison for informational purposes. Uses a single tax rate, assumes immediate taxation at vest, and ignores capital gains, blackout windows, forfeiture risk, and multi-year vest nuance. Not tax or investment advice—confirm with your tax advisor.