Question

California taxes on non-resident RSUs who were temporary residents?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 27, 2021
1 reply
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I have a question on how RSUs vest for non-residents who become temporary residents of California.

Let’s consider this example:

- December 2019: Not a resident of California, granted equity of 6000 shares, vesting monthly over 5 years (i.e., 100 share per month for 5 years)

- January 2020: Moves to California, 100 shares vest this month

- February 2020 - August 2020: 100 shares per month vest

- September 2020: 100 shares vest, moves out of California day after vesting

So to summarize:

Not a resident of California at grant date
Resident of California for the first 9 monthly equity vests
Not a resident of California for the subsequent 4 years and 3 months of monthly vesting

Would I have to pay any taxes on any of the equity that is vested after I move out of California, considering it’s monthly vesting?

T

TomD8

Employee

See "RSU Taxation" in this reference for a good explanation of how CA taxes RSU's in your situation:

https://www.upstartwealth.com/blog/will-you-owe-ca-tax-after-you-leave#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20a%20CA,is%20taxable%20income%20in%20CA.&text=Your%20RSUs%20have%20a%204,and%20shares%20vest%20annually%20thereafter.

**Answers are correct to the best of my ability but do not constitute tax or legal advice.

H

hklu2

Yeah I've already read that page. It's still not clear if I would need to pay any California taxes on the remaining 4 years and 3 months of taxes considering it's monthly vesting, not yearly vesting (which I think is assumed on that page.)