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Big tech RSU offer: what to ask the recruiter, and how to work out what it is worth

A big tech offer usually states its stock as a dollar amount, but what you receive is a number of restricted stock units, worked out by dividing that amount by an average share price the company picks. From then on the units are fixed and their value moves with the stock. Four more answers decide what the grant is worth to you: how much vests each year, how refreshers work, what the sign-on bonus covers, and how much tax comes out at vest.

Updated 13 October 2026 · from the companies' own filings where they say it · this is not tax or financial advice

The short version

  • Ask which share price turned the dollar figure into units, and on what date.
  • Ask for year one and the four-year average. Front- and back-loaded grants make the same offer look very different.
  • Refreshers keep pay level after the new-hire grant thins out, and they depend on performance.
  • In the US, vests are withheld at 22% federal, often below your real rate, so more can be due at filing.
  • At a startup, the equity is options with no market price: read the startup equity guide instead.

The questions to ask, and what each answer tells you

Ask once the offer is in writing, and get the answers by email. Each one feeds a step in the arithmetic below.

Is the equity a dollar amount or a number of units? If dollars, which share price converts it, and on what date?

The units are the dollar figure divided by that price. Meta uses a seven-trading-day average after its earnings; Business Insider reported Amazon using a 30-day trailing average. If the share price has moved since, the grant is already worth more or less than the letter says.

How much vests each year, how often, and is there a cliff?

The same four-year grant can pay 38% in year one at one company and 5% at another. Monthly or quarterly vesting from the start means cash sooner than a one-year cliff.

Is the number you quoted year one, or the four-year average?

A front-loaded grant makes year one look high; a back-loaded one makes it look low. Ask for both, so you can compare offers on the same year.

How do refreshers work, when is the first one, and what is typical at this level?

Refreshers are what keep pay level once the new-hire grant thins out. They depend on performance and are not guaranteed, so ask what a typical one is.

Does the plan assume the share price goes up?

Amazon's proxy statement says its grants assume a fixed annual increase in the stock price; Business Insider reported 15% a year. If the stock does less, so does your pay.

What is the sign-on bonus, when is it paid, and what do I repay if I leave?

Sign-on cash often fills the gap in a back-loaded year one; GeekWire reported Amazon's paid over two years. Any repayment terms are in the offer letter, so ask to see them.

What level is this, and what is the range for the level above?

The level sets base, bonus target, equity and refreshers at once. It is the biggest number in the offer.

Is there an employee stock purchase plan, and on what terms?

A discount of 10 to 15% on company shares, sometimes with a lookback to a lower price, is extra pay most offers do not mention.

When does my first vest land?

Some companies set the share count only after you start; Levels.fyi says Google's is fixed in your second month. Know when the first shares and the first tax bill arrive.

The arithmetic, worked through

A made-up offer, to show the method. Swap in your own numbers.

The grant: 2,000 units

$400,000 ÷ $200 average share price

If the price is $180 on your start date: $360,000, before a single share has vested

2,000 × $180

Year one, back-loaded 5 / 15 / 40 / 40: $20,000 of stock in year one

5% of 2,000 units × $200

Year one, front-loaded 38 / 32 / 20 / 10: $152,000 of stock in year one

38% of 2,000 units × $200

Tax withheld on a $100,000 vest: $22,000 withheld

22% federal supplemental rate

Tax owed at a 35% marginal rate: About $13,000 more at filing, before state tax

35% − 22% = 13% of $100,000

A 50% fall in the share price: Every unvested unit is worth half

Amazon's stock fell 50% in 2022, per its own proxy

The same $400,000 grant pays $20,000 or $152,000 in year one depending on the split. That is why a recruiter's “total compensation” figure needs a year attached to it. Refreshers are meant to even this out: in Levels.fyi's example, a front-loaded $250,000 grant plus yearly refreshers targeting $100,000 keeps each year's vest near $100,000 at target, higher if you outperform and lower if you do not.

Price moves work both ways. Meta's stock closed at $382.18 on 7 September 2021 and at $88.91 on 3 November 2022, a fall of about 77%, and was back above $350 by the end of 2023. A grant converted at the top lost three quarters of its value on paper and then most of it came back.

How each company vests

Every company below says in its annual report that RSUs vest over about four years. The year-by-year split is rarely in a filing, so where it comes only from Levels.fyi, the line says so.

Google (Alphabet)

33% / 33% / 22% / 12%, confirmed by Google in 2021. Levels.fyi reports 38% / 32% / 20% / 10%, monthly with no cliff, as the current standard.

Alphabet 10-K: RSUs generally vest over four years

Amazon

5% / 15% / 40% / 40% has been the new-hire pattern for years; Levels.fyi now also lists 5% / 15% / 45% / 35%. Since 2025, grants from the annual review vest quarterly.

Amazon 10-K for 2025: primarily vest quarterly

Meta

An even 25% a year, vesting quarterly, according to Levels.fyi. Refreshers vest quarterly over four years.

Meta 10-K and 2026 proxy statement

Microsoft

Four or five years. Levels.fyi reports 25% a year as the most common.

Microsoft 10-K for fiscal 2026

Apple

Four years. Levels.fyi reports 25% a year, vesting every six months.

Apple 10-K for fiscal 2025

Nvidia

Four years. Levels.fyi reports a switch to 40% / 30% / 20% / 10%, quarterly with no cliff, in 2025.

Nvidia 10-K for fiscal 2026

Netflix

No RSU split: Netflix says you choose each year how much of your pay you want as salary and how much as stock options.

Netflix careers site

Refreshers and sign-on bonuses

A refresher is an extra grant made in the yearly pay review, usually vesting over four years and stacking on top of what is still vesting. Meta's 2026 proxy statement says its refresher program is company-wide and that 2025 refresher grants were converted at the same averaged price as the executives' awards. Business Insider reported Meta cutting refresher values by about 10% in 2025, and in 2025 it also reported managers across big tech giving smaller refreshers to people who underperform. At Google, Levels.fyi says new joiners rarely get a refresher at the end of their first year.

A sign-on bonus often fills a slow year one. GeekWire reported in 2022 that Amazon pays its sign-on over two years, alongside a grant that vests mostly in years three and four. A sign-on bonus can come with a clause to pay some or all of it back if you leave early; the terms are in the offer letter, so read them before you sign.

Tax at vest, and the 22% gap

In the US, RSUs are ordinary income when they vest, at the share price that day. Your employer withholds tax, usually by selling some of the new shares (sell-to-cover). Federal withholding on this kind of pay is a flat 22%, or 37% on supplemental pay above $1 million in a year, according to IRS Publication 15. In 2026 a single filer pays 32% on income above $201,775 and 35% above $256,225, so for many big tech engineers the 22% withheld is short, and the difference is due when they file. State tax and payroll taxes come on top.

For your own grant, ask a tax adviser in the country where you will be taxed.

Employee stock purchase plans

Some companies let you buy their shares through payroll at a discount. From their own filings: Microsoft at 90% of the price at the end of each quarter; Apple at 85% of the lower of the price at the start and the end of the offering period; Nvidia at 85% of the lower price across a 24-month offering. Alphabet, Meta and Amazon disclose no such plan in their latest annual reports. Ask, since it does not appear in most offer letters.

Using the answers in the negotiation

The level is the biggest lever, since it moves base, bonus, equity and refreshers at once. After that, the equity grant and the sign-on bonus are usually the parts with room, and comparing two offers on the same year (year one, or the four-year average) is what makes the case. The negotiation guide covers how to ask, and the Amazon and Google guides give pay by level.

Questions

What is an RSU?

A restricted stock unit (RSU) is a promise to give you a set number of company shares on future dates, as long as you still work there. At a public company each share has a market price, so unlike startup options you can see what a vest is worth on the day it lands.

How is the number of RSUs in an offer worked out?

Big tech offers usually state the equity in dollars, and the company divides that by an average share price to get the number of units. Meta's 2026 proxy statement says its 2025 refresher grants used the average closing price over the seven trading days after its fourth-quarter earnings. Once the units are fixed, their value moves with the share price.

What is the vesting schedule at Google, Amazon and Meta?

All three vest over four years, according to their annual reports. Google confirmed a 33/33/22/12 split in 2021, and Levels.fyi reports 38/32/20/10 monthly as its current standard. Amazon has long been back-loaded at 5/15/40/40. Meta vests quarterly, an even 25% a year according to Levels.fyi.

How are RSUs taxed in the US?

RSUs are taxed as ordinary income when they vest, at the share price that day. Employers withhold federal income tax at a flat 22% on supplemental pay, or 37% above $1 million in a year, which is below the marginal rate of many big tech engineers, so more tax can be due when you file.

What is an RSU refresher?

A refresher is an extra stock grant made in the yearly pay review. It usually vests over four years and stacks on top of what is still vesting. Size depends on level and performance, and it is not guaranteed: Google's new joiners rarely get one at the end of year one, according to Levels.fyi.

Are RSUs taxed differently in the UK, Ireland, Sweden and France?

In the UK, Ireland and Sweden, RSU shares are taxed as employment income when they vest. Ireland's Revenue says the employer deducts the tax through payroll. France gives better treatment to free shares under a French-qualified plan, taxed when sold, so ask whether your grant is under one.

Before you sign

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Sources

Big Tech RSU Offer: What to Ask, How to Value It — Calibrd