{
  "slug": "rsus-espp",
  "name": "RSUs / ESPP",
  "aliases": [
    "restricted stock units",
    "employee stock purchase plan",
    "vesting RSUs",
    "company stock"
  ],
  "family": "accounts",
  "heat": "high",
  "talk": "Lots of talk",
  "mostDiscussed": false,
  "firstLine": "Restricted stock units, or RSUs, are an employer stock award subject to vesting conditions. An employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, lets eligible workers buy employer shares, sometimes at a discount.",
  "whyLine": "Employees discuss keeping or selling employer shares, having both pay and investments tied to one company, and reconciling payroll income with sale and cost-basis records.",
  "feelWords": [
    "RSU vest",
    "ESPP",
    "sell on vest",
    "company stock"
  ],
  "commonPicture": [
    {
      "lead": "Vesting and selling are separate events",
      "why": "The award terms, payroll record and sale record each describe part of the history. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "ESPP discounts depend on the plan",
      "why": "The familiar 15% figure in reports is an example, not a feature of every employer plan. [community]"
    }
  ],
  "watchFor": "Holding employer shares can tie both employment income and investments to one company. Payroll withholding and the later sale record also need to be reconciled. This is not an investment recommendation.",
  "whatPeopleSay": [
    "**The job:** turn a grant into cash or a known concentration, on purpose. [community]",
    "**r/personalfinance and r/fatFIRE** usually chant sell-on-vest, diversify. [community]",
    "**Hold-the-company rooms** chant upside. [community]",
    "**Not advice** and not a ticker recommendation. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleRunIt": [
    "**Calendar the vest.** [community]",
    "**Plan the tax before the share hits.** [community]",
    "**If they hold, they name a percent-of-net-worth cap.** [community]"
  ],
  "amountsPeopleUse": [
    "**ESPP discounts** are plan-specific (people chant 15% as a common story — read the plan). [community]",
    "**Concentration caps** are personal; forums throw 10–20% as a worry line, not a law. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleKeepIt": [
    "**A sell rule written on vest day, not on a green ticker.** [community]"
  ],
  "howItFeels": [
    "**Vest day:** fake rich, then tax. [community]"
  ],
  "howLongPeopleRunIt": [
    "**As long as the job grants.** [community]"
  ],
  "deepDive": [
    "**Vesting, sale and reinvestment are separate steps:** shares may first appear in an employer-linked brokerage account. A sale creates cash; whether that cash is kept for a bill or invested elsewhere is another decision, with sale and cost-basis records retained. [community]"
  ],
  "watchForLong": [
    "**Letting one logo be paycheck plus portfolio.** [community]"
  ],
  "related": [
    "taxable-brokerage",
    "the-match",
    "tax-loss-harvesting",
    "solo-401k"
  ],
  "researchPointer": [],
  "housePointers": [],
  "playPointer": null,
  "sources": [
    "r/personalfinance RSU threads",
    "sell-on-vest vs hold arguments"
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Community talk may be wrong. Not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. No return or outcome is promised.",
  "quickAnswerHistory": [
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "A vest date",
          "why": "Shares appear; tax appears. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "ESPP discount window",
          "why": "Buy at a stated discount if the plan is simple. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "definition",
      "rows": [
        "RSUs and ESPP are job stock: vesting shares, a purchase-window discount, and a decision to sell or hold the company."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "communityPicture",
      "rows": [
        "People calendar vest dates, set aside tax, and argue sell-on-vest versus concentration in the same logo that already pays them."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "firstLine",
      "rows": [
        "RSUs and ESPP are job stock — vesting, a purchase window, and the fight about whether to sell on vest or hold the company."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whyLine",
      "rows": [
        "RSUs and ESPP are job stock — vesting, a purchase window, and the fight about whether to sell on vest or hold the company."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "RSUs: employer shares that vest on a schedule",
          "why": "Restricted stock units become shares under the award’s terms. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Sell-on-vest vs hold",
          "why": "The internet’s split. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "ESPP: employee stock purchase plan",
          "why": "The reports commonly cite a 15% purchase discount; the actual plan sets its terms. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Single-stock risk",
          "why": "Paycheck already tied to the same logo. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "watchFor",
      "rows": [
        "Concentration. Missing the tax withholding. This is not a ticker shop and not $STUD."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "deepDive",
      "rows": [
        "**Taxable brokerage** is where sold shares often land. [community]"
      ]
    }
  ]
}