The Trade Desk (TTD) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · TTDSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling The Trade Desk 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 TTD today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in TTD. 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 The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk (TTD) is a public Marketing company, incorporated in Nevada and headquartered in Ventura, CA.
Last close: $13.42 per share (as of 2026-08-18).
Equity grants at The Trade Desk typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
The Trade Desk, Inc. (TTD) is an American multinational technology company that produces and services programmatic marketing automation with personalized real-time digital content. Headquartered in Ventura, California, it is the largest independent demand-side platform (DSP) in the world. TTD operates with over 400 partners at more than 30 locations worldwide.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Jeff Green founded the company in 2009 to sit on the buy side of digital advertising, giving agencies and brands a platform to purchase inventory programmatically across the open internet rather than inside a single platform's walled garden. Independence from media ownership is the explicit positioning: the company does not sell inventory, so it does not compete with its customers for the same budget. Connected television has been the growth engine as streaming services opened advertising tiers. Revenue is a share of the advertising spend that flows through the platform. Headquarters are in Ventura, California.
Sources: sec.gov · en.wikipedia.org
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The Trade Desk.
The Trade Desk (TTD) 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 The Trade Desk (TTD) RSUs vesting at $13.42 per share is $6,710 of ordinary income on vest day. After roughly 32% combined federal + state + FICA (~$2,147), the post-tax share value is ~$4,563. 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 The Trade Desk tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
The Trade Desk equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my The Trade Desk RSUs at vest?
- The Trade Desk 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 The Trade Desk grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at The Trade Desk 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 The Trade Desk equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.