What I’d do with each vest
I’d sell most of each vest and keep only as much Meta 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 up to four years of unvested RSUs already depend on Meta, 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 Meta
The easiest way to stick to a plan is to automate it. At Meta, you can do that with a 10b5-1 plan, which any employee can set up. You decide in advance how much to sell, and Schwab sells it for you, even when the trading window is closed. Trading starts 90 days after you set up the plan, and a plan can run for up to two years.
If you’d rather sell by hand, you’ll need to do it in the two weeks or so between each vest and the window closing at the end of the month. The trading window guide has the dates. Either way, I’d revisit how much you’re selling when your goals or your grants change.
Be careful selling at a loss near a vest
If you sell Meta shares at a loss and more RSUs vest within 30 days before or after, the wash-sale rule disallows the loss for as many shares as vested. With a vest every quarter, a loss sale within a month of the 15th usually won’t give you the loss this year. Check your vest dates, and all of your accounts, before you sell at a loss.
Giving Meta shares to charity
If you give to charity, donating shares you’ve held for more than a year usually beats giving cash. At Meta, you can only donate vested shares. Gifts are allowed when the trading window is closed, but the charity has to agree not to sell the shares until you would have been allowed to. Donating company stock to charity covers the tax rules, donor-advised funds, and charitable trusts.
