How to verify RSU tax withholding is reported correctly on W-2

You're right to question this - RSU taxation can be confusing! When RSUs vest, your employer should be handling the tax withholding correctly, but it's always good to verify. First, check your final paystub of the year and compare it to your W-2. The total federal income tax withheld on your last paystub should match Box 2 on your W-2. This would include tax withholding from share sales. Also, look at your brokerage statements from when the RSUs vested. They should show the shares withheld for taxes. You can calculate the value of those withheld shares on the vesting date and confirm this amount was included in your withholding. Your employer might also provide an RSU statement or tax summary that breaks down the vesting events and associated withholding for the year. If the numbers don't add up, I'd suggest requesting a detailed breakdown from your payroll department specifically about RSU withholding rather than just asking your accountant.

After dealing with similar RSU withholding issues for years, I finally found a solution that saved me thousands. I was constantly getting hit with unexpected tax bills until I discovered https://taxr.ai which specializes in equity compensation tax analysis. I uploaded my RSU statements, W-2s, and brokerage info, and their system flagged exactly what was happening - my employer was withholding at a flat supplemental wage rate that was too low for my tax bracket. Plus they found that two December vestings weren't being properly reported on my W-2s. The detailed report they generated made it easy to get my employer to issue corrected W-2s, and they even provided documentation to help me file amended returns for previous years. They analyze the entire tax treatment of your equity compensation, not just the withholding part.

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after my frustration hit a breaking point with my tax situation. Honestly, it was eye-opening. They identified exactly where my company's payroll system was going wrong with my RSUs. Turns out my employer was correctly withholding taxes when shares vested, but they weren't properly coding these withholdings in their payroll system. So while the money was being sent to the IRS on my behalf, it wasn't being reflected on my W-2! I've been essentially double-paying taxes on about $27,000 worth of income each year. The detailed report made it super easy to approach my HR department with confidence. They're now issuing corrected W-2s, and I'll be filing amended returns for the past years. Should be getting about $9,400 back. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with RSU confusion.

If you're getting nowhere with your employer about RSU tax withholding problems, I had similar issues and wasted weeks with back-and-forth emails to payroll that went nowhere. I finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent (you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). The IRS agent was actually super helpful and explained exactly how RSU withholding should appear on W-2s. They also guided me through the steps to request corrected forms from my employer. What would have been months of frustration was resolved in one 45-minute phone call. The agent even provided a reference number I could give to my employer, which seemed to light a fire under them to fix the issue. Before this, I couldn't even get through the IRS phone maze - I'd get disconnected after waiting on hold for an hour.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with Claimyr. I was definitely skeptical (as you could probably tell from my previous comment), but after another frustrating week of getting nowhere with my employer's payroll department about my RSU reporting issues, I gave it a shot. I'm honestly shocked at how well it worked. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes, while my previous attempts had all ended in disconnections after 1+ hour holds. The agent transferred me to their equity compensation specialist, who provided me with the exact regulatory references (including the specific IRS publication sections) that outlined how RSU withholding should be reported on W-2s. Armed with this information, my employer's payroll finally took me seriously and acknowledged the reporting error. They're now preparing corrected W-2s for the past three years, and based on my calculations, I'll be getting back around $12,500 in overpaid taxes. Sometimes you have to admit when you're wrong, and I was definitely wrong about this service.

Another thing to check for your RSUs - make sure you're accounting for them correctly when you sell the shares too! This is a common area where people get confused. Remember that your cost basis for RSU shares is the FMV on the date they vested (the same amount that was included in your W-2 income). When you sell those shares, you only pay capital gains tax on any growth since the vesting date. Many people forget this and either: 1) Report the full sale amount as capital gains (paying tax twice on the initial value), or 2) Use a $0 cost basis (again, paying tax twice) Check your 1099-B from your brokerage carefully. Some brokerages don't report the correct cost basis for RSU shares and you have to adjust it on your tax return.

Has anyone successfully used TurboTax for handling RSUs? I've been getting different answers each year and I'm not sure if it's calculating everything correctly.

This is such a common problem with RSU taxation! I went through the exact same issue and found that many companies struggle with properly reporting RSU withholding on W-2s, especially when vesting happens near year-end. One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet tracking each vesting event throughout the year. For each vest, I recorded: the vesting date, number of shares that vested, FMV per share on that date, number of shares withheld for taxes, and the dollar value of those withheld shares. At year-end, I could easily calculate the total tax withholding that should appear in Box 2 of my W-2. Also, don't overlook Box 12 on your W-2 - sometimes companies report additional information about RSU withholding there with codes like "V" or other employer-specific codes. And definitely check if your company provides a supplemental RSU tax statement - mine sends one each January that breaks down all the vesting events and associated tax implications for the year. The fact that you've had consistent tax bills for 3 years strongly suggests there's a systematic reporting issue. I'd recommend documenting everything before approaching HR so you can present them with specific numbers rather than just a general concern.