RaifH
Expert Alumni

Investors & landlords

Yes, at this point your 8 remaining shares are treated like any other stock and you will realize either long or short-term gain or loss on them. The total value of all 14 shares, including the ones that sold before you got your hands on them, should be included in your wages on your W-2 for this year. Box 14 on your W-2 may have an entry that declares the total value of all the shares that vested in 2021. The six that were immediately sold for tax purposes will be reported separately on a 1099-B, but this should not result in any additional tax. Since they are sold immediately, they should sell for the same price as they vested for. There might be a small loss if you have to pay any fees on the sale. Even though this will not impact your taxes, if you receive a 1099-B for the shares withheld for taxes, you will want to report it on your tax return. 

 

A potential issue arises when you are selling the remaining eight shares. Sometimes, the cost basis for these shares needs to be adjusted when you sell them. That is why you want to hang onto your records for this year. The supplemental information included with your 1099-B should provide the cost basis for your RSU stock. Also, if there is an amount in Box 14 related to the RSUs, that amount is your total cost basis for all shares that vested this year. In our example, $1,400 would be reported in Box 14 as "Other" or something similar. There is no standardized entry for this box. That would indicate the basis for all your shares is $1,400, and your basis per share is $1,400 / 14  = $100. So if you later sold the 8 remaining shares, your cost basis will be $800. 

 

I hope that clears things up or at least doesn't muddy the waters further!