Dow (DOW) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · DOWSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling Dow 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 DOW today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in DOW. 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 Dow
Dow (DOW) is a public Chemicals company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Midland, MI.
Last close: $31.19 per share (as of 2026-08-18).
Equity grants at Dow typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., a publicly traded holding company incorporated under Delaware law.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The current company emerged in 2019 when DowDuPont separated into three parts, leaving the materials science business that Herbert Dow started in Midland, Michigan in 1897. Commodity chemicals are made from natural gas and naphtha feedstocks and sold into packaging, construction, and consumer markets, so margins are the spread between energy input and product price. North American shale gas gives domestic plants a cost advantage over European and Asian competitors. Capacity additions across the industry drive multi-year price cycles. Headquarters are in Midland, Michigan.
Sources: sec.gov · en.wikipedia.org
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Dow.
Dow (DOW) 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 Dow (DOW) RSUs vesting at $31.19 per share is $15,595 of ordinary income on vest day. After roughly 32% combined federal + state + FICA (~$4,990), the post-tax share value is ~$10,605. 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 Dow tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
Dow equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my Dow RSUs at vest?
- Dow 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 Dow grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Dow typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
One piece of the puzzle.
OptionsAhoy plans your Dow equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.