GOLDEN HANDCUFFS // FYI 2026.RSU
STATE PRESET PRIVATE • $42 Texas (TX)

Stripe RSU Taxes in Texas (2026)

2026 RSU tax estimate for Stripe employees living in Texas. Compares default brokerage withholding (22% federal only) against actual marginal tax brackets.

Preset Loaded: Stripe (Private) • Quarterly vesting (historically double-trigger RSUs modified via company-sponsored liquidity and tender offer settlements)
Brokerage: Carta / Morgan Stanley at Work
Vest & Comp Inputs2026 RATES
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#
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Tax Filing Status
IRC § 3402(g) GAPEstimated April Tax Shortfall
$14,106

Your employer's brokerage will automatically sell shares at flat statutory rates (24.29% combined), leaving a $14,106 unpaid tax gap when your W-2 is filed in April.

Incremental Shares to Sell336 SHARES Liquidate manually upon vest to cover estimated federal & state gap
Net Shares Kept After Full Tax2313 / 3500 Retained value: $97,146
Total Gross Vest$147,0003500 shares @ $42/share
Brokerage Sell-to-Cover$35,705851 shares liquidated automatically (24.29%)
True Federal Liability$46,446 Marginal 35.00% bracket on total comp $337,000
State Tax (TX)$0 Statutory withheld: $0 (0.00%)
2026 FICA Withholding$3,365 SS ($184.5k cap): $0 • Med: $3,365
Actual True Total Tax$49,810 Effective true tax rate: 33.88%

2026 Stripe Compensation Benchmarks in Texas

Below is the 2026 tax withholding and April shortfall breakdown across sample Stripe engineering levels for a Single filer in Texas (at a reference share price of $42/share via Carta / Morgan Stanley at Work):

Stripe in Texas (TX) — 2026 Withholding vs. Actual Tax by Level
Level & Role Base + Annual Vest TX + Fed Withheld True Total Tax Net April Shortfall Extra Shares to Sell
L2
Software Engineer (L2)
$175,000 base
+$92,400 (2200 sh)
 $22,863 $28,471 $5,608 134 shares
L3
Senior Software Engineer (L3)
$205,000 base
+$159,600 (3800 sh)
 $38,863 $56,256 $17,394 415 shares
L4
Staff Software Engineer (L4)
$240,000 base
+$294,000 (7000 sh)
 $71,589 $108,737 $37,148 885 shares

Texas Supplemental Tax Regulations for Stripe RSUs

Texas constitutionally prohibits personal state income tax on W-2 wages, supplemental RSU vests, and capital gains. Consequently, your brokerage sell-to-cover transaction withholds exclusively for Federal Supplemental Tax (22% up to $1M; 37% over $1M) and FICA (Social Security up to $184,500 and uncapped Medicare).

Texas Bracket Architecture: 0.00% state personal income tax and 0.00% state capital gains tax.

Texas Safe Harbor & Estimated Tax Vouchers (None (Federal Form 1040-ES only))

No state estimated tax filings exist in Texas. Tech employees must focus strictly on IRS Form 1040-ES safe-harbor thresholds (110% of prior-year federal tax or 90% of current-year federal tax).

Multi-State Relocation & Nonresident Sourcing Rules in Texas

Texas does not tax inbound or outbound equity grants. However, tech workers who transfer to Austin or Dallas from California or New York with unvested RSUs must track their exact relocation date, as their former state will claim source-income tax on the portion of each RSU tranche earned prior to the move.

Employer Stock Plan Specifics: Stripe (Carta / Morgan Stanley at Work)

Stripe has pioneered ongoing employee liquidity for a late-stage private company by waiving liquidity triggers on specific RSU cohorts and executing regular company-sponsored tender offers to cover tax obligations and provide secondary liquidity. However, when Stripe net-settles shares at vest or executes a tender offer, payroll withholding still defaults to the 22% federal statutory rate—leaving a 10% to 15% cash tax gap on illiquid private equity.

Withholding Election Guidance: Unlike public company employees who can log into Schwab or Fidelity any day and sell extra shares on the open market to pay the IRS in April, Stripe employees hold private shares that cannot be traded outside designated tender offer windows. Therefore, when a tender offer window opens on Carta / Morgan Stanley at Work, you must sell enough secondary shares (or set aside cash from your base salary) to cover the 13%–15% federal and state underwithholding gap.

2026 Statutory Parameters Quick Reference

2026 Federal & Texas Statutory RSU Tax Parameters (Private)
Statutory Parameter 2026 Rate / Rule
Federal Supplemental Withholding Rate 22.00% (≤ $1M) • 37.00% (> $1M)
Texas Supplemental Withholding 0.00% (No State Income Tax)
Texas Top Marginal Tax Bracket 0.00%
Texas Estimated Tax Voucher None (Federal Form 1040-ES only)
2026 Social Security Limit $184,500 (6.2% FICA Cap)
Medicare & Additional Medicare 1.45% Uncapped + 0.9% over $200k/$250k
Stripe Stock Plan Brokerage Carta / Morgan Stanley at Work

Other States for Stripe (Private)