Stripe RSU Taxes in Virginia (2026)

2026 Stripe Compensation Benchmarks in Virginia

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

Virginia Supplemental Tax Regulations for Stripe RSUs

Virginia’s top marginal income tax bracket of 5.75% begins at just $17,000 of taxable income, and Virginia mandates a matching 5.75% statutory supplemental withholding rate. Consequently, for Northern Virginia tech employees (such as Amazon HQ2 or Microsoft Reston engineers), state sell-to-cover withholding accurately satisfies the 5.75% Virginia liability, isolating your April shortfall to the federal 22% vs. 35%/37% spread.

Virginia Bracket Architecture: 4 brackets (2.0%, 3.0%, 5.0%) reaching the top 5.75% marginal rate on all taxable income above $17,000.

Virginia Safe Harbor & Estimated Tax Vouchers (Virginia Form 760ES (Estimated Income Tax Payment Vouchers))

Virginia Form 760ES quarterly estimated payments are required if your net Virginia tax liability exceeds withholding by more than $150.

Multi-State Relocation & Nonresident Sourcing Rules in Virginia

Virginia taxes nonresident equity vests based on the ratio of days worked in Virginia to total days worked during the grant-to-vest service period (with reciprocity exceptions for daily commuters residing in DC, MD, PA, WV, or KY on regular wages).

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