Need to calclulate the Cost Basis for vested RSU

[mpapadop]

Helllo,

At 07/06/20223, I was awarded with an RSU of 2,000 shares with a grant price of $4.22.
At 07/06/2024, 700 of those shares were vested with a release price at $3.96. 208 from those shares were withold to cover taxes and 492 were released to me.

The gross value of shares released is $2,775.40 and the value of net shares released is $1950.71. The value of shares withold to cover the taxes was $824.69.

I sold those 492 shares last year and had proceeds as of $2,205.79

To calclulate the cost basis of those 492 shares, I just use the amount of $1,950.71 for the 492 shares were released to me after paying the taxes owned ($824.69) with the rest 208 shares, or should I use the full amount of $2775.40 for the 700 shares that were vested?

[ThomasM125]

Assuming you didn't pay anything for the shares that were vested, your cost basis in them per share would be their fair market value when they vested divided by the number of shares vested. You would then take that cost per share and multiply it by the number of shares you sold to determine the cost basis of the shares sold.

[mpapadop]

Thank you for the answer. It is clear to me how to caclulate the cost basis per share during the vested date.

My question is that since in the vested date I received 700 shares and 208 of them were used for tax withholding, should i use the 492 shares to calculate the cost basis of the sale or the 700 shares (including those kept for tax)?

[ThomasM125]

You would use the 700 shares to calculate the cost per share. The value of those will be entered as income on your W-2 form. If I understand property, you sold all of them in 2024, first 208 to pay taxes and then the remaining 492 later on. So, you will enter an investment sale in TurboTax in 2024 for the sale of 700 shares, and the cost basis will be the amount for them as reported on your W-2 form in 2024.