Comments on: RSU Sell To Cover Deconstructed

By: Nirav

Nirav — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:46:51 +0000

I have the same question as Yo’s comment number 44 above. Can you shed some light? Turbotax seems to only calculate the cost basis from the shares I actually received from the RSU not the total including the ones held for tax withholding.

By: Yo

Yo — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:12:41 +0000

Question: On 3/13/2009, 396 shares vested at a market value of $5.46 per share. 130 shares were deducted to cover taxes which left 266 shares. I sold 266 shares on 3/13/2009 @ 5.29 per share.

To determine my loss, shouldn’t I use the orignal number of shares (396) times the fair market value at vest ($5.46) plus what I paid for the shares (.01) as my cost basis for the sale of the 266 shares ?

396*$5.46 =$2162.16 minus $3.96 =$2,158.20 (- shouldn’t this be my cost basis to calculate the loss from my sell of 255 shares @5.29?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

By: John

John — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:15:53 +0000

Thank you for an excellent discussion on RSUs and TurboTax instructions.

I have restricted stock units which vested and I sold in 2009. The “Confirmation of Release” that I received from my company includes a line for a small amount (about $7) of “Cash-in-lieu” as part of the “Calculation of Gain”.

When performing the error check on TurboTax Premier, this small amount appears as a negative number on the “Summary of Compensation from Employee Stock Transactions” form Part II. column (g) which shows the difference of the TurboTax calculation and the amount shown on my W-2.

My question is – is there a way to properly include the “Cash-in-lieu” amount when completing TurboTax so that there is no error in the program’s error analysis?

By: todd

todd — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:36:24 +0000

thanks for your discussion on RSU’s… I have a question re: taxes and RSU’s..

I sold quite a few RSU’s this year (09), – 10 separate lots – all of which were taxed at the time of vesting. Half of these lots vested in 2008, half in 2009, but I sold them all in 2009. Am I right in assuming that my W-2 for 2009 only included the income from shares that vested and were sold in 2009? What about the shares that vested in 2008 but were sold in 2009, including one that is being reported as a long-term gain (all the others were short-term)?

Thanks

By: TFB

TFB — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:29:22 +0000

Gia – What happened on 10/16/08? I would think the broker wouldn’t just throw a random date on the 1099 but you never know. Ask the broker why it showed 10/16/08 as the date acquired. Were those shares transferred to this broker from a different place?

Yes, the vested date is the same as the lapse date. Lapse means the restriction (the R in RSU) is removed and you are vested with the shares.

By: Gia

Gia — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:24:18 +0000

500 RSU were origionally awarded 11/18/03, Lapse Date 12/01/07. 148 units were held for tax.

This year, we made two trades out of the remaining balance. My 1099b states for RSU sold Date Acquired cover of Short 10/16/08 for both the 2009 sales/trades.

Is the vested/released (suppose to mean same thing) the same as lapse date? or is the acquired cover of short 10/16/08 the vested/released date…in turbo tax, which date would I use as the vested/release date? In any event, what does Acquired cover of short date and lapse date refer to. Dont get the difference in their meaning to know which date to give…

By: robert groden

robert groden — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:56:17 +0000

Please provide IRS publication number that documents sell to cover rule. A financial planner is telling me that I must pay regular income tax on the entire vested amount.

thank you.

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:44:34 +0000

Exactly what I needed. Thank you.

By: Shreyas

Shreyas — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:51:33 +0000

very very useful…thanks!

By: TFB

TFB — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:42:37 +0000

dal – There are two schools of thought about the 25 shares and $125 in your example. (a) Do nothing. You got your bonus, paid your tax, used the rest of your bonus to buy 75 shares. (b) Add an entry in Schedule D showing zero gain. Sell 25 shares for $125 with a cost basis of $125. I wrote in this post last year how to do (b). I believe method (a) is fine as well.