HP (HPQ) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · HPQSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling HP 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 HPQ today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in HPQ. 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 HP
HP (HPQ) is a public Hardware company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
Equity grants at HP typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printers and other related supplies, as well as 3D printing services. It is the world's second-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales after Lenovo and ahead of Dell as of 2024.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started in a Palo Alto garage in 1939 with an audio oscillator, and that garage is a California historic landmark. The modern company dates to 2015, when Hewlett-Packard split: HP Inc. took personal systems and printing, while the enterprise assets went to a separate company. Printing supplies carry the margins, which is why the business fights aftermarket cartridges, and the PC line spans consumer through commercial workstations. HP is headquartered in Palo Alto and sells through retail and channel partners in most of the world.
Sources: hp.com · en.wikipedia.org
Equity comp at HP
- 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 HP.
HP (HPQ) 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 HP tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
HP equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my HP RSUs at vest?
- HP 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 HP grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at HP typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
- Do HP RSUs use double-trigger vesting?
- No. HP 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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