Charles Schwab (SCHW) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · SCHWSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling Charles Schwab 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 SCHW today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in SCHW. 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 →Related calculators: RSU Lot Order Calculator · Stock Concentration Calculator
About Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab (SCHW) is a public Fintech company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Westlake, TX.
Equity grants at Charles Schwab typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing, and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and institutional clients. One of the largest banks in the United States by assets, as of December 31, 2024, it had $10.10 trillion in client assets, 36.5 million active brokerage accounts, 5.4 million workplace retirement plan participant accounts, and 2.0 million banking accounts. It also offers a donor advised fund for clients seeking to donate securities. It was founded in San Francisco, California, and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas. It has over 380 branches, primarily in financial centers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Charles Schwab opened a discount brokerage in 1975, the year commissions were deregulated, and spent five decades cutting the cost of retail investing, reaching zero-commission stock trades in 2019. The economics shifted accordingly: most revenue now comes from net interest on client cash swept into its bank rather than trading fees, which made 2023 deposit outflows a significant stress. The 2020 TD Ameritrade acquisition added scale and the thinkorswim platform. Headquarters moved from San Francisco to Westlake, Texas.
Sources: aboutschwab.com · en.wikipedia.org
Equity comp at Charles Schwab
- 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 2026-08-17.
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Charles Schwab.
Charles Schwab (SCHW) 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.
All Charles Schwab tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
Charles Schwab equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my Charles Schwab RSUs at vest?
- Charles Schwab 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 Charles Schwab grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Charles Schwab typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
- Do Charles Schwab RSUs use double-trigger vesting?
- No. Charles Schwab 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.
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