RaifH
Expert Alumni

Investors & landlords

1. Yes, you do want to report these as an RSU stock sale. 

 

2. The sold shares should be used to cover the taxes for 2021 and the sale will be reported on a 1099-B, as well as the federal income tax withheld from the sale. Your 8 remaining shares will not be reported until you sell those as well. The taxes withheld for this year should cover the acquisition of those shares.

 

For example, 14 shares of your company vest this year. They are each worth $100 when they vest and 6 are automatically sold to cover the taxes. Your W-2 should have an extra $1,400 to reflect the RSUs in Box 1 Wages. The $600 from the sale reduces the extra tax burden on receiving an extra $1,400 in income.

If at a later date these shares increase to $150 and you sell them, you will still have to recognize the $400 of income as capital gains (150-100 x 8 shares).

 

3. For purposes of filling out your tax return, I would still answer Yes and consider them RSUs in TurboTax. While your broker should automatically adjust the cost basis to the value of the stock on the date that it vests, you will want to keep any supplemental information to document the basis and adjust it if needed on any future 1099-Bs. 

 

For more information on RSUs and how to report them, please see this TurboTax article.