Tech RSU Planning for the Bay Area LGBTQ+ households
Bay Area LGBTQ+ households are the most equity-heavy demographic we work with. Quarterly RSU vests at Google, Meta, Apple, or a growth-stage startup — combined with California's 13.3% top bracket and the federal marriage penalty — mean the after-tax outcome swings tens of thousands of dollars on sequencing decisions most advisors default through.
Schedule a free intro callWhy the Bay Area LGBTQ+ households approach tech rsu planning differently
A two-engineer or engineer + PM Bay Area household routinely lands in the top federal bracket plus California's 13.3%, with meaningful marriage-penalty exposure on top and NIIT stacked over that. Because CA treats long-term capital gains as ordinary income at the state level, there is no 'wait a year' magic — the sequencing has to be planned against actual bracket thresholds.
The recoverable dollars typically come from coordinating both partners' vesting calendars, ESPP windows, mega-backdoor Roth capacity, and DAF timing inside a single household plan. Default 'sell to cover, hold the rest' behavior quietly builds concentration risk that becomes a real problem in a bear year.
Aequitas builds one integrated plan — RSU sequencing, ESPP maxing, in-plan Roth conversions, DAF stacking, and 10b5-1 plans where relevant — instead of three disconnected specialists.
Tech RSU planning rolls up into the broader the Bay Area city plan, which covers city, state, and federal tax and legal context in more depth.
What we plan for the Bay Area tech rsu planning
Dual-partner RSU sequencing
Both vesting calendars mapped, sell decisions coordinated, and diversification pacing tuned to household concentration risk — not one paycheck at a time.
ESPP maxing across both partners
Full 15% + lookback contribution up to the annual $25k, plus disposition-timing strategy so the discount is captured tax-efficiently.
Mega-backdoor & in-plan Roth
The full $69k DC limit at Meta/Google/Apple-style plans, with pro-rata coordination, in-plan conversion timing, and both partners routed together.
DAF stacking + 10b5-1 unwinds
Bunched charitable contributions timed to high-income years, appreciated-stock donations, and 10b5-1 plans for concentrated positions.
Related planning pages
- LGBTQ+ financial advisor in San Francisco Bay Area
The city-wide overview: how Aequitas works with the Bay Area LGBTQ+ households across cash flow, tax, investing, and estate.
- LGBTQ+ tax & cost-of-living guide: the Bay Area
State income tax, property tax, estate tax, and LGBTQ+ planning overlays specific to the Bay Area.
- Same-sex couples planning in the Bay Area
Marriage-penalty math, benefits coordination, and two-career planning for the Bay Area same-sex households.
- LGBTQ+ estate planning in the Bay Area
Trust structure, healthcare directives, and beneficiary audits specific to the Bay Area.
- See all services →
From the blog
Tech RSU Planning FAQs — the Bay Area
About the advisor
Aequitas Financial was founded by Taylor Bell, a fee-only fiduciary planner. LGBTQ+ planning isn't a side specialty here — it's the practice.
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