EQUITY COMPENSATION
RSU, ISO, and NSO Tax Guide: What Changes and When
A plain-English guide to the tax timing, records, withholding, basis, AMT, and sale reporting questions that can arise with RSUs, ISOs, and NSOs.
8 min read
Read guide EQUITY-COMPENSATION TAX GUIDES
Equity-compensation tax guides for RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, and ESPPs
Equity compensation can create more than one tax event. The grant, vesting, exercise, settlement, payroll reporting, brokerage reporting, and later sale may each require different records and may not occur in the same year.
Use these guides to separate RSU, ISO, NSO, and ESPP rules; reconcile withholding and basis; and identify when a projection should be updated. The content addresses tax reporting and planning, not whether to exercise, purchase, hold, or sell an investment.
PRIORITIZED READING PATH
Start with the award type and the next tax event
The overview explains the main differences; the remaining guides address withholding, AMT, Form 3922, basis, sales, and private-company awards.
EQUITY COMPENSATION
RSU Tax Withholding and Estimated Payments: Is Enough Being Paid?
Learn how to compare RSU wage withholding with projected federal and state tax, estimated payments, other income, and payment deadlines.
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ISO Exercise and AMT: What to Project Before and After Exercise
Learn how an incentive stock option exercise can affect alternative minimum tax, estimated payments, Form 3921 records, and later sale reporting.
8 min readRead guideEQUITY COMPENSATION
Estimated Tax After an ISO Exercise: AMT, Timing, and Next Steps
Exercised incentive stock options? Learn how Form 3921 inputs, AMT, withholding, estimated-tax targets, payment dates, and a same-year sale can affect the next payment decision.
9 min readRead guideEQUITY COMPENSATION
Form 3921 Tax Reporting: What to Do After an ISO Exercise
Received Form 3921 after exercising incentive stock options? Learn how its dates, exercise price, fair market value, and shares affect AMT and later sale reporting.
8 min readRead guideEQUITY COMPENSATION
ESPP Tax Reporting and Form 3922
Learn how Form 3922, W-2 compensation, Form 1099-B, holding periods, and cost basis fit together when employee stock purchase plan shares are sold.
9 min readRead guideEQUITY COMPENSATION
ISO Disqualifying Disposition Tax: W-2 Income, Basis, and Capital Gain
Sold ISO shares before meeting the holding periods? Learn how a disqualifying disposition can affect W-2 income, Form 8949 basis, capital gain, and AMT.
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AMT Credit After an ISO Exercise: How Form 8801 and the Carryforward Work
Paid AMT after exercising ISOs? Learn how Form 8801 calculates the prior-year minimum tax credit, limits current use, and tracks any carryforward.
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How to Reconcile RSU Cost Basis and Form 1099-B
Learn how to reconcile RSU wage income, vesting and sale records, broker-reported basis, Form 8949 adjustments, and state reporting.
7 min readRead guideEQUITY COMPENSATION
NSO Tax at Exercise and Sale: W-2, Basis, and Capital Gain
Learn how nonstatutory stock options can create wage income at exercise, basis records for acquired shares, and a separate gain or loss at sale.
7 min readRead guideEQUITY COMPENSATION
Pre-IPO RSU and Stock-Option Tax Planning
Plan for pre-IPO RSU, ISO, and NSO tax questions involving settlement, AMT, withholding, estimated payments, liquidity, records, and multiple states.
10 min readRead guide
HOW TO USE THESE GUIDES
Use the articles to organize the facts—not to guess at the result
Each guide provides general information, a direct answer, publication and update dates, an identified author, and links to primary sources where appropriate.
Tax outcomes depend on the full facts and current law. Do not send Social Security numbers, tax forms, account numbers, or other sensitive records through the public contact form.
EQUITY-COMPENSATION TAX PLANNING
Need a tax projection or return review for an equity award?
A scoped review can connect award documents, payroll reporting, broker records, withholding, estimated payments, and state activity. It does not include investment recommendations.