Unity Software (U) NSO Exercise Calculator
Calculator · free · no signup · UPlan your Unity Software NSO exercise (federal, state, FICA) and compare sell-vs-hold for long-term capital gains.
Beta · invite-only · AlphaLatitude Inc. · Free Tools
Your grant
Tax inputs
Hold strategy
Best after-tax payout — at year 1
$199,080
Sell + invest wins by $20,783 over Hold 1 yr.
Estimates only. Not financial advice.
Sell + invest
Best payout| Bargain element (sale − strike) | $350,000 |
| Federal | |
| State | |
| Medicare | −$5,075 |
| Additional Medicare | −$3,150 |
| Market gain over 1 yr at 10.0% | $18,573 |
| LTCG on diversified gain (fed + state + NIIT) | −$5,219 |
| Net at year 1 | $199,080 |
Sell every share immediately; invest the after-tax cash at the market return for 1 yr, then liquidate. Diversified — no single-stock concentration risk.
Exercise + hold 1 yr
| Sale proceeds (year 1) | |
| LTCG tax (federal + state + NIIT) | $0 |
| Net at year 1 | $178,297 |
Sold 2,678 shares at exercise to cover strike + tax; 2,322 shares held 1 yr for LTCG.
Social Security + Medicare are payroll taxes (collectively called FICA) — they apply because you're exercising as a current employee.
Both columns are stated in year-1 dollars: sell-now proceeds compound at the market return and pay LTCG on the gain at year 1; any cash paid out of pocket on the hold side carries the same opportunity cost.
Net at year N — by hold period
Estimates only. Excludes AMT (NSOs do not trigger AMT), state-AMT, multi-state moves, and disqualifying-disposition edge cases. Not financial advice.
You calculated one NSO decision. The beta plans NSOs alongside RSUs and ISOs in a single multi-year tax plan.
Request beta access →About Unity Software
Unity Software (U) is a public Dev Tools company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Francisco, CA. IPO'd Sep 18, 2020.
Last close: $28.06 per share (as of 2026-06-16).
Equity grants at Unity Software typically include incentive stock options (ISOs), non-qualified stock options (NSOs), and restricted stock units (RSUs).
Unity Software Inc. is an American video game software development company based in San Francisco. It was founded in Denmark in August 2004 as Over the Edge I/S and changed its name in 2007. Unity Technologies is best known for the development of Unity, a licensed game engine used to create video games and other applications.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
David Helgason, Joachim Ante, and Nicholas Francis founded Unity Technologies in Copenhagen in 2004 (originally Over the Edge Entertainment), pivoting from games to a real-time 3D engine after their first title flopped. Headquartered in San Francisco, Unity powers games plus film, automotive, and architecture workflows. The company went public on the NYSE in September 2020 under ticker U, then closed a $4.4B all-stock merger with ironSource in November 2022. A September 2023 Runtime Fee announcement triggered developer revolt, partial reversal, and CEO John Riccitiello's exit. Matt Bromberg took over as CEO in May 2024.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · unity.com · mobilegamer.biz
Equity comp at Unity Software
- RSUs use single-trigger vesting: shares become yours as each portion vests on schedule, and the value is taxed as ordinary income at that point. No IPO or acquisition is required.
Researched 2026-05-07.
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Unity Software.
Use this calculator to estimate your Unity Software (U) NSO exercise tax (federal, state, FICA), then compare selling now versus holding through the long-term capital gains threshold. Inputs are yours: grant terms, current price, your income, your state.
Example: at Unity Software (U)'s last close of $28.06, exercising 5,000 NSOs with a $8.42 strike creates a $98,200 bargain element, taxed as ordinary income on the day you exercise. Combined federal + state + FICA on that bargain typically lands between $26,514 and $44,190 depending on your bracket and state. The calculator above computes the exact figure for your situation and compares selling now vs. holding through the long-term capital-gains threshold.
All Unity Software tools → · Use the generic NSO Exercise Calculator for any company.
Unity Software equity questions
- How is a Unity Software NSO exercise taxed?
- Exercising a non-qualified stock option (NSO) creates ordinary income on the bargain element (the price on the day you exercise minus your strike), subject to federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA. The calculator above computes that tax for your Unity Software grant and compares selling the shares now against holding past the one-year mark for long-term capital-gains treatment.
- Does Unity Software grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Unity Software typically takes the form of incentive stock options (ISOs), non-qualified stock options (NSOs), and restricted stock units (RSUs). Incentive stock options can trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT) when you exercise. Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
- Do Unity Software RSUs use double-trigger vesting?
- No. Unity Software restricted stock units (RSUs) use single-trigger vesting: each tranche becomes yours as it vests on schedule, taxed as ordinary income at that point, with no liquidity event required.
One piece of the puzzle.
OptionsAhoy plans your Unity Software equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.