Leaving a job is stressful enough. Add unvested RSUs to the equation and the financial decisions get complicated fast.
This is one of the most common questions I hear from high earners in Greater Boston, and one of the most consequential decisions they make without a real plan. Here is what you need to know before you hand in your notice.
What Do I Actually Own in My RSU Grant?
Not all RSUs are created equal. Before you do anything, get clear on three things:
Your vesting schedule. How many shares are vested versus unvested? What dates are coming up? A single quarterly vest could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Your company's post-termination policy. Most companies cancel unvested RSUs the moment you leave. Some offer a grace period. A small number allow accelerated vesting in certain circumstances. Read your equity plan documents or ask HR directly.
Your current tax position. RSUs that have already vested are income, and you have likely already paid taxes on them. Shares you are holding post-vest are subject to capital gains treatment. Shares that have not vested yet disappear when you walk out the door.
Should I Time My Resignation Around a Vest Date?
Here is where people leave real money on the table.
If you are two weeks away from a significant vest and you resign today, those shares are gone. Two weeks of patience could be worth $50,000, $100,000, or more depending on your grant size and stock price.
Before you set a start date at a new job, map out every upcoming vest date over the next 12 months. Then negotiate your start date accordingly. Most employers understand this, especially in tech and biotech where equity is a standard part of compensation. Your new employer may also offer a sign-on bonus to offset unvested equity you are leaving behind. Ask for it.
What Happens to Vested RSUs After I Leave?
If you have already vested RSUs sitting in a brokerage account, leaving your job does not affect those shares. You own them. The question is what to do with them.
Most people hold too long. They watched the stock climb, they feel emotionally attached to the company, and they convince themselves it will keep going. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it drops 40% and they wish they had diversified when they had the chance.
A disciplined approach is to evaluate your concentration. If a single stock represents more than 10% to 15% of your total investable assets, that is meaningful concentration risk. Leaving your job is actually a natural trigger to reassess, because you no longer have the psychological anchor of being an employee.
Tax-aware diversification, spread over time and coordinated with your overall income picture, is almost always the right move.
How Do I Coordinate Equity From Two Employers?
If you are moving to a new company that offers RSUs, stock options, or an ESPP, the equity decisions compound. Now you have two companies, two vesting schedules, two tax situations, and two sets of decisions to coordinate.
This is where having a plan matters. Most people manage each grant in isolation. The ones who build real wealth manage everything together, coordinating vesting events with annual income, tax filing strategy, and long-term investment goals.
What Should I Ask an Advisor Before I Resign?
Before you leave your job, or immediately after, here are the questions worth sitting down with an advisor to answer:
How much unvested equity am I leaving behind, and is it worth negotiating my exit timing around?
What is my current concentration in company stock, and what is my plan to diversify?
What are the tax implications of my vested shares, short-term versus long-term capital gains?
Will my new employer offset my unvested equity, and how should I negotiate that?
How does my equity compensation fit into my broader financial plan, including retirement savings, college funding, and cash flow?
Frequently Asked Questions 👇
Do I lose my unvested RSUs when I quit?
In almost every case, yes, and on your last day rather than at the end of the month. A small number of plans include a grace period or partial acceleration, usually tied to retirement eligibility or a layoff rather than a voluntary resignation. Your equity plan document is the only place that answers this for your specific grant, and it is worth reading before you give notice rather than after.
Can I negotiate my start date around a vesting date?
Yes, and it is one of the most reliable ways to keep money that would otherwise vanish. Employers in tech and biotech understand equity timing and rarely push back on a start date pushed out a few weeks. The conversation is easier before you accept than after, so raise it during the offer stage.
Will my new employer make up for the equity I am giving up?
Often, if you ask, and the ask needs a number attached. Bring the actual value of what you are forfeiting, by grant and vest date, rather than a general statement that you are leaving equity behind. Offsets usually come as a sign-on bonus or an additional grant, and the two have very different tax and vesting profiles.
What happens to my RSUs if I am laid off instead of resigning?
Frequently better than if you resign. Many plans treat involuntary termination differently, and severance packages sometimes include continued vesting through a notice period or partial acceleration. If you are being laid off, the equity terms in your separation agreement are negotiable more often than people assume.
Should I sell my vested RSUs when I leave?
Leaving is a natural moment to reassess, because you no longer have the psychological anchor of being an employee. The relevant question is what share of your investable assets sits in that one stock. If it is a meaningful concentration, a scheduled sell-down usually beats holding and hoping, and spreading it across tax years often beats doing it all at once.
Do I pay taxes again on RSUs that already vested?
Not on the same income twice. You paid ordinary income tax when they vested, and that value became your cost basis. Any movement since then is a capital gain or loss when you sell. The common mistake is forgetting that basis was already established and overpaying by reporting the full sale price as gain.
The Bottom Line
Leaving a job with RSUs is not just an HR conversation. It is a financial event with real consequences for your taxes, your portfolio, and your long-term wealth.
The people who handle it well are the ones who planned ahead. They knew their vest dates, negotiated their start date, and had a strategy for the shares they were walking away from and the shares they were holding.
The people who handle it poorly are the ones who figured it out after the fact.
Your notice date is a financial decision. Most people treat it as a calendar one.