RSU Tax Withholding Missing on W-2 - International Transfer Issues

This is actually a common issue for international transfers. When you moved to the US, your company's payroll system might not have properly updated your tax withholding settings for RSUs, even if your regular salary withholding is correct. Here's what you should do: First, contact your company's stock administrator (not just regular HR) and ask them to explain why no taxes were withheld on your RSU vestings. They should be able to see this in their system. Second, request that they correct this for any future vestings you have scheduled. For the transactions that already happened without withholding, you'll likely need to make estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. The withholding should have been around 22% for federal (supplemental wage rate) plus any state taxes. You might want to use the IRS's estimated tax payment system to cover what should have been withheld. Your W-2 will still show the RSU income even without the withholding, which means you'll owe the full amount at tax time if you don't address it now.

I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved me thousands in potential penalties. My company messed up RSU withholding after I transferred from our London office, and I was panicking about the tax implications. The tool analyzed my international equity grants and withholding statements, figured out exactly what was withheld vs what should have been withheld, and gave me precise guidance on how to handle estimated payments. It even created documentation I could show my company's payroll department to fix future vestings. What I found most helpful was that it calculated the exact estimated tax payment amounts needed by due date, breaking down federal, state, Medicare and Social Security. Their equity compensation calculator specifically handled the international transfer aspect that most regular tax calculators miss.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my RSU international transfer issue. I was really worried about my Singapore-granted RSUs that vested after moving to the US with no proper withholding. The tool immediately identified that my company should have applied supplemental wage withholding rates to my RSUs regardless of where they were granted. It showed exactly how much I needed to pay in estimated taxes ($4,250 federal plus state taxes) and generated a letter I sent to our payroll department. They acknowledged the error and are fixing the withholding for my future vestings! The best part was the documentation explaining exactly why these RSUs are fully taxable in the US despite being granted overseas. Saved me hours of research and probably an expensive call with a tax attorney.

If you're having trouble getting your company to fix this issue, I had success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually speak with someone at the IRS about my RSU withholding problem. After my company kept giving me the runaround about "system limitations" with international transfers, I needed official clarification. I had been trying to reach the IRS for weeks with no luck - constant busy signals and disconnects. Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes. The agent confirmed that regardless of where RSUs were granted, if they vest while you're a US resident, proper withholding should be applied at vesting. I recorded the call (with permission) and sent it to our payroll department, which finally got them to fix the issue. There's also a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - way better than spending hours on hold or getting disconnected.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it since my company was insisting they "couldn't" withhold taxes on RSUs granted at our foreign office. The service connected me to an IRS tax law specialist in about 20 minutes (I was expecting hours). She explained that under IRC Section 83, RSUs are taxed at vesting regardless of where they were granted, and directed me to IRS Publication 515 which specifically addresses withholding for foreign nationals and international transfers. I forwarded this information to our payroll department along with the reference numbers from the call, and they suddenly "found a solution" to the withholding problem. My latest RSU vesting actually had the correct taxes withheld! Saved me from a massive tax bill next April.

Have you checked if your company treats these as supplemental wages? Most companies withhold at the flat 22% federal rate for RSUs rather than using your regular withholding rate. Also, ask if they did a "sell to cover" transaction where they sell just enough shares to cover taxes. Sometimes this happens but isn't clearly documented in the statements.

Quick question for anyone who's been through this - does the US tax all RSUs granted from overseas or is there some prorated system? I had some RSUs granted while working in Canada that are vesting now that I'm in the US, but they were for work I performed while in Canada.