How RSU Vests Are Taxed in Texas (2026)
Texas has no state income tax, no LTCG tax, and no state supplemental withholding. RSU vests are taxed only federally + FICA — making Texas the highest-take-home option for tech workers among major hubs (alongside FL, WA, NV, TN).
Use the RSU Calculator to model your exact vest with Texas state withholding, FICA, and sell-to-cover analysis.
Open RSU Calculator →Texas is one of the most tax-friendly states in the country for stock-based compensation. There is no state income tax on the vest, no state LTCG tax on subsequent share sales, and no state supplemental withholding. Total payroll withholding is just federal supplemental (22%, or 37% above $1M YTD) plus FICA (~7.65–8.55% depending on YTD wages and Medicare additional).
For a senior tech worker considering CA vs TX, the math is stark. A $300K annual vest in Austin costs roughly $30K less in tax than the same vest in San Francisco — and that delta widens at higher comp. Property taxes (1.6–3.0% in major TX metros) and sales tax (8.25% combined) are higher than CA, but neither stacks against vest income directly.
How Texas withholds on RSU vests
Withholding is purely federal: 22% supplemental flat (37% above $1M YTD), 6.2% Social Security to $184,500 (2026), 1.45% Medicare uncapped, plus 0.9% additional Medicare once YTD wages cross $200K (single). Total withholding lands around 28–32% on most TX vests.
True marginal liability for a senior IC in the 32%/35% federal bracket is 35–40% federal+FICA. The shortfall vs withholding is around 3–8 percentage points — much smaller than CA (15+ pts) or NY (15+ pts), but still real money on large vests. Most tech workers in TX should still bump W-4 line 4(c) for vest months.
- •0% state income tax on vest
- •0% state LTCG on share sales
- •No state supplemental withholding
- •22% federal flat + FICA only
- •High property tax (1.6–3.0%) but does not affect vest math
RSU concentrations by Texas metro
Texas tech is concentrated in two metros, with a third (San Antonio) growing.
Apple Austin campus (largest outside Cupertino), Tesla HQ, Oracle, Indeed, Meta Austin, AMD.
AT&T HQ, Texas Instruments HQ, Charles Schwab, McKesson, JPMorgan Plano (large finance-tech).
Energy-tech (Schlumberger, Halliburton), Hewlett Packard Enterprise, BMC Software.
USAA, Rackspace Cloud, growing cybersecurity sector.
Sample Texas RSU take-home
Federal 22% + FICA. No state tax. Numbers reflect a single filer.
| Scenario | Withheld | Actual Owed | Shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100K vest, $200K base | ~$30,000 | ~$33,000 | ~$3,000 |
| $300K vest, $250K base | ~$90,000 | ~$108,000 | ~$18,000 |
| $500K vest, $300K base | ~$150,000 | ~$190,000 | ~$40,000 |
Estimates assume single filer, standard deduction, no other supplemental wages. Real numbers vary by deductions, filing status, and 401(k) contributions. Run your own scenario →
Tactics that actually move the needle in Texas
- 1Federal-only state means every dollar of pre-tax 401(k) saves you ~32–37% — the highest effective benefit per dollar deferred among all states.
- 2HSA contributions ($4,400 single / $8,750 family in 2026) are pure federal+FICA savings — no state tax to add to the win.
- 3Bump W-4 line 4(c) by ~10–12% of expected vest income to avoid April balance.
- 4No state LTCG means hold-vs-sell is purely a federal-LTCG-vs-STCG question. Long-term holding (12+ months) gets you to 15%/20% federal LTCG with no state add-on.
- 5If you might leave TX: vest BEFORE moving to a tax state. Once you become a CA/NY resident, future vests are sourced to your new state.
- 6Property tax burden: Texas no-income-tax is partly funded by 1.6–3.0% property tax. This is a homeownership cost, not a vest cost — does not change RSU math.
- 7Cost-basis tracking on 1099-B: same federal rules. Verify FMV-at-vest is reported, adjust on Form 8949 if not.
Frequently asked questions
No state-level taxes on the vest income or subsequent share sales. Texas franchise tax applies to businesses, not individuals. The only TX-specific cost is property tax if you own a home, which is unrelated to vest income.
Generally no, if you are a TX resident and work from TX. CA can only tax CA-source wages — and remote work performed in TX is TX-source, not CA-source. But document your workdays carefully; CA is aggressive on residency audits for high earners.
For a TX-resident employee, no — your tax was already TX-only. For employees in other states, the HQ relocation does NOT change their state tax. State tax follows employee residency + workdays, not HQ location.
Both are no-income-tax states; the federal+FICA math is identical. The only difference is WA has a 7% LTCG above $270K — TX has no equivalent. So TX is slightly better than WA for high-volume share sellers.
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