What I’d do with each vest
I’d sell most of each vest and keep only as much Alphabet as you’d buy today if the shares had been paid to you in cash.
The shares were already taxed as wages when they vested, so selling right away costs almost nothing extra in tax. Your salary, your bonus, and your unvested GSUs already depend on Google, too. How to sell down a concentrated stock position goes through the reasoning, which shares to sell first, and what to do with shares that have large gains.
How to sell on a schedule at Google
The easiest way to stick to a plan is to automate it. Alphabet’s Employee Trading Plan lets you decide in advance how much of each vest to sell. You set it up during an open trading window, and after that it sells on your instructions even when the window is closed.
If you’d rather sell by hand, you’ll need to do it in an open window. The trading window guide has the dates for your level. Either way, I’d revisit how much you’re selling when your goals or your grants change.
Two things to watch for at Google
- Selling at a loss
- Larger GSU grants vest every month. If you sell Alphabet at a loss and more shares vest within 30 days before or after, the wash-sale rule disallows the loss for as many shares as vested, so almost any loss sale is affected.
- Shares from before July 2022
- Alphabet did a 20-for-1 stock split on July 15, 2022. If you have shares that vested before then, you now have 20 times as many, each with one-twentieth of the original cost basis. Your broker should have adjusted this automatically, but I’d double-check the basis on any old lot before you sell it.
Giving Alphabet shares to charity
If you give to charity, donating shares you’ve held for more than a year usually beats giving cash. At Google, you can only donate vested shares, and the trading policy treats a gift like a sale, so it has to happen in an open window or through a trading plan. Google also matches charitable gifts, so check whether a stock donation qualifies. Donating company stock to charity covers the tax rules, donor-advised funds, and charitable trusts.
