Synopsys (SNPS) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · SNPSSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling Synopsys 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 SNPS today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in SNPS. 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 Synopsys
Synopsys (SNPS) is a public Dev Tools company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA.
Equity grants at Synopsys typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
Synopsys, Inc. is an American multinational electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on design and verification of silicon chips, electronic system-level design and verification, and reusable components. Synopsys supplies tools and services to the semiconductor design and manufacturing industry. Products include tools for implementation of digital and analog circuits, simulators, and debugging environments that assist in the design of chips and computer systems. In 2024, Synopsys was listed as the 12th largest software company in the world.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Aart de Geus and colleagues spun the company out of General Electric research in 1986 with logic synthesis, the step that turns a hardware description into gates. That became the backbone of modern chip design, and Synopsys grew by acquisition into the widest electronic design automation portfolio, plus a large silicon IP library of interface and processor blocks. A software integrity arm built on Coverity and Black Duck was later divested. The Sunnyvale company sells to essentially every chip designer, so its revenue tracks R and D budgets rather than fab capital cycles, which makes it steadier than the equipment names.
Sources: synopsys.com · en.wikipedia.org
Equity comp at Synopsys
- 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 Synopsys.
Synopsys (SNPS) 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 Synopsys tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
Synopsys equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my Synopsys RSUs at vest?
- Synopsys 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 Synopsys grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Synopsys typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
- Do Synopsys RSUs use double-trigger vesting?
- No. Synopsys 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 Synopsys equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.