Edward Jones Investments on RSU tax planning for dual-vest households

What does RSU tax planning cover when both spouses vest at one company?

RSU tax planning covers three things: estimating the full-year tax on vest income, closing the gap between that and employer withholding, and choosing which vested shares to sell. Take Raj and Lan (hypothetical, round numbers), 41 and 39, both engineers at one public chip company. Of their $2 million net worth, $1.4 million is employer stock, and they want a $400,000 down payment in 3 years. Then Lan inherits her father's $300,000 traditional IRA.

RSU vests are wages. The vest-date value goes on the W-2 and becomes each share's basis. With salaries of $200,000 each plus $450,000 of combined vests, their joint income is $850,000, and part of it is taxed at the 37% top federal rate, which the IRS applies above $768,700 for married filing jointly in 2026. Employer withholding on vests uses the flat supplemental rate (check the current IRS rate), which is often below 37%. So every vest leaves a small hole.

Additional Medicare tax adds another gap. Employers withhold it only on each employee's wages above $200,000, while a joint return owes 0.9% on combined wages above $250,000. For Raj and Lan that leaves 0.9% × $150,000 = $1,350 unwithheld. Small, but it lands in April with everything else.

Social Security is the other piece. Each spouse's vests stop carrying the Social Security part of payroll tax once that spouse's wages pass the 2026 wage base of $184,500, so later vests in the year keep more cash. Edward Jones Investments plots where in the year that happens for each spouse. The family then knows which vests are lighter on tax and can hold back money from them to cover the heavier ones. Investing in one stock carries the risk of loss, including the money originally invested, and the tax work above does not change that.

Ask any candidate to show the vest-by-vest tax math

Anyone can say they handle equity pay. Ask to see one vest worked from start to finish: shares vested, value added to the W-2, tax withheld, tax owed, shares sold. If the answer stays at the level of portfolio allocation, the person isn't doing RSU tax planning.

The last two items on that list, tax owed and shares sold, are where a stock limit becomes real. Risk capacity over risk appetite is how Edward Jones Investments sets that limit: how much the portfolio can afford to lose comes from your spending and your house date, not from a questionnaire about how you feel on a bad day.

• Will you read our grant agreements, pay stubs and the 1099-B supplemental statement, or only our brokerage balances?
• How do you estimate the gap between employer withholding and our actual tax, and do you set estimated payments by the April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 due dates?
• Do you work directly with our CPA, and who prepares which form?
• Do you ask about our house date and monthly spending before any risk questionnaire?
• How is your fee figured? At Edward Jones Investments it is discussed openly in the first conversation and confirmed in writing before work begins.

Run every vest year through these 5 steps

Step 1. You export the vest schedule from the equity portal and send last year's return. That takes about 20 minutes, and it shows us the grant dates, share counts and the basis of anything you've already sold.

Step 2. Edward Jones Investments projects the year's taxable income, including inherited IRA withdrawals, and compares it with withholding to date. The gap is the number you act on.

Step 3. The team picks the lots to sell, highest basis first, and flags any lot within weeks of its 1-year mark. For a dated goal, the highest-basis lots are usually the most recent vests, and the exception is a lot weeks from turning long-term, where waiting can convert a short-term gain into a long-term one.

Step 4. Your CPA sets estimated payments or a W-4 change. The safe harbor is 110% of last year's tax when prior-year AGI is over $150,000, and that gives a target even before the year's numbers settle.

Step 5. In January and February, the team checks the W-2 and the 1099-B supplemental statement before the return is filed.

Here is how it plays out for Raj and Lan. Lan's father died last December and left her a $300,000 traditional IRA, which must be empty by the end of year 10. The couple needs $300,000 of their $400,000 down payment in year 3, and their $850,000 of joint income is taxed at 37% at the top. Emptying the IRA for the house would cost $300,000 × 37% = $111,000 and net only $189,000. Selling $300,000 of shares vested in the past year, with a $285,000 basis, creates a $15,000 short-term gain. At 37% plus 3.8% investment tax, that costs $15,000 × 40.8% = $6,120. They sell the recent lots and spread the IRA over years 4–10. In the Year 3 row, the recent lots fund the down payment, and the IRA stays untouched.

The IRA can wait until year 4 only if Lan's father died before his required beginning date. In that case, the 10-year rule lets Lan choose the timing within the period, and $300,000 over 7 years is about $43,000 annually plus growth. If he had already started required distributions, Lan must also take an annual minimum in years 1–9, and the team adds those amounts to each year's projection.

Does your 1099-B show the right cost basis for RSU shares?

Often it doesn't. Brokers frequently report RSU shares on Form 1099-B with $0 or blank basis, because the vest income already appeared on the W-2, and a preparer or tax software that files the form as printed taxes that income a second time.

Picture a coworker's brother-in-law doing the return for Raj and Lan. A $300,000 sale with a true basis of $285,000, reported as $0 basis, would add $285,000 of gain. At 37% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax, that is $285,000 × 40.8% = $116,280 of tax they don't owe. To catch it, match each sale to the vest-date value on the plan administrator's supplemental statement and correct the basis on Form 8949.

Two other errors come from people nearby. The employer's flat withholding leaves an April bill and a possible underpayment penalty when nobody checks it against the real bracket. And a relative's advice to 'sell at vest' ignores whether a lot is short- or long-term, which is why the lot-by-lot check in step 3 exists.

One limit to be straight about. RSU tax planning cannot defer or reduce the tax at vest itself, since vest income is wages no matter what you do, and it does not replace the CPA who prepares the return. A household with modest vests and income far under the 37% threshold can usually close the gap with a W-4 change from its preparer and skip the rest.

Which statements should you bring to the first Edward Jones Investments meeting?

Bring the equity portal's vest schedule, the last 2 pay stubs showing year-to-date withholding, last year's tax return, any Form 1099-B with its supplemental statement, and statements for any inherited account. Missing one is fine; we'd rather start than wait for a perfect folder.

In that first meeting we ask about your house date, your monthly spending, and how much stock your family could lose without pushing that date back. We also go through which vests are still ahead. The team asks for your CPA's name too, so the tax work and the return preparation stay in step.

Edward Jones Investments works with households holding at least $500K in investable assets. Meetings are held by video or phone wherever you live. There is no published phone number; reach the team by submitting the request form at edwardisjones.com. State tax on vests and inherited IRA withdrawals varies, so check your state's rules. Related questions, such as ESPP selling strategy or concentrated stock planning, come up in the same meeting when they apply.