Apple (AAPL) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · AAPLSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling Apple RSUs at vest vs. holding through the LTCG cliff at 12 months.
Beta · invite-only · AlphaLatitude Inc. · Free Tools
Your vest
Tax inputs
Hold strategy
Best after-tax payout — at year 1 yr
$47,709
Sell + invest wins by $4,981 over Hold 1 yr.
Estimates only. Not financial advice.
Heads-up: under-withholding. Your employer withholds federal tax at the IRS supplemental rate (22.0% on this vest, ≈ $17,600). Your marginal federal rate on this vest is 32.7%, owing $26,171. Expect to settle the $8,571 gap at tax time.
The hidden purchase
Tax was paid at vest either way. Holding is mathematically equivalent to taking $44,509 in after-tax cash and buying $44,509 of AAPL today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in AAPL. Holding past one year converts the gain to LTCG.
Sell + invest
Best payout| Vest value (shares × price) | $80,000 |
| Federal | |
| State | |
| Medicare | −$1,160 |
| Additional Medicare | −$720 |
| Market gain over 1 yr at 10.0% | $4,451 |
| Cap-gain tax on diversified gain — LTCG (federal + state + NIIT) | −$1,251 |
| Net at year 1 yr | $47,709 |
Sell every share at vest; invest the after-tax cash at the market return for 1 yr, then liquidate. Diversified — no single-stock concentration risk.
Hold 1 yr
| Vest value (shares × price) | $80,000 |
| Vest tax (federal + state + FICA) | |
| Net at year 1 yr | $42,728 |
Sold 444 shares to cover vest tax (net-settled); kept 556 shares 1 yr to qualify for long-term capital gains.
Social Security + Medicare are payroll taxes (collectively called FICA) — they apply because you're still employed at vest.
Both columns are stated in year-1 yr dollars. The sell side compounds at the market return; the hold side compounds at your single-stock expected return after a 20% volatility drag.
Estimates only. Assumes net-settled (sell-to-cover) vesting; double-trigger and pre-IPO RSUs are out of scope. Excludes multi-state moves, AMT interactions on other equity, and 83(b) elections. Not financial advice.
You evaluated one RSU vest. The beta plans every vest of every grant across years, with concentration and AMT in the loop.
Request beta access →About Apple
Apple (AAPL) is a public Hardware company, incorporated in California and headquartered in Cupertino, CA. IPO'd Dec 12, 1980.
Last close: $299.24 per share (as of 2026-06-17).
Equity grants at Apple typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley, and known for consumer electronics, software and online services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Company by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the company was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. the following year. Its current name was adopted in 2007 as the company expanded its focus from computers to consumer electronics. Apple is one of the Big Tech companies.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne in Cupertino, California, Apple grew from a garage operation into the world's most valuable hardware company. The 1980 NASDAQ IPO seeded decades of expansion across iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, AirPods, and Services like the App Store, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Tim Cook took the CEO seat in 2011 and steered Apple past the $1 trillion mark in 2018 and $3 trillion thereafter, with fiscal 2024 revenue near $390 billion. Apple Silicon M-series chips and the Apple Intelligence push define the current chapter.
Sources: apple.com · en.wikipedia.org
Equity comp at Apple
- Apple does not grant ISOs to employees; equity comp is RSUs only. The AMT-ISO calculator does not apply.
- 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.
- Vesting schedule: 4 years, 1-year cliff (industry standard).
Sources: apple.com · investor.apple.com
Researched 2026-05-06.
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple.
Apple (AAPL) RSUs vest as ordinary income at the price on vest day. The decision is whether to sell at vest and reinvest, or hold the shares through the 12-month LTCG cliff. This calculator runs both paths through the same after-tax math so you can compare like-for-like.
Example: 500 Apple (AAPL) RSUs vesting at $299.24 per share is $149,620 of ordinary income on vest day. After roughly 32% combined federal + state + FICA (~$47,878), the post-tax share value is ~$101,742. Holding 12 months for long-term capital-gains treatment then only matters for the price change between vest and sale; the ordinary income at vest is already locked in. The calculator runs both paths through the same after-tax math.
All Apple tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company.
Apple equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my Apple RSUs at vest?
- Apple restricted stock units (RSUs) are taxed as ordinary income on their value at vest whether or not you sell. The only open decision is what to do with the shares afterward: sell at vest and reinvest, or hold past twelve months for long-term capital-gains treatment on any further gain. The calculator above runs both paths through the same after-tax math so you can compare them directly.
- Does Apple grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Apple typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
- Do Apple RSUs use double-trigger vesting?
- No. Apple 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 Apple equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.