Take sign-on or increase base/RSU?

eBay
kyaBay?

Go to company page eBay

kyaBay?
Apr 21 18 Comments

Hi all,

I have an offer with 50k sign-on and the option to spread it over base and/or RSU instead.

Can someone help me understand the implications of doing that? I'm absolutely garbage at managing my finances and taxes ๐Ÿ˜ž

The offer is from Google so any company-specific info would help! (eg. Does Google have a max on the base that'll make me ineligible for a decent hike after perf reviews?)

Yoe - 5 (3 in the US after masters)
Current TC - 225K

#signon #taxes

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 TOP 18 Comments
  • NVIDIA / Eng
    henry3

    Go to company page NVIDIA Eng

    BIO
    Doing what matters ๐Ÿป
    henry3
    Increasing your base is the best bet given how tech stocks are performing of late. Sign on bonus will have higher tax. You rather ask for a higher base and since any future bonuses will be based on your initial base salary, youโ€™ll be better off with a higher base than accepting sign on
    Apr 21 3
  • Alteryx
    mJYv81

    Go to company page Alteryx

    mJYv81
    Base is forever. Increase the base. Who cares if you donโ€™t get a hike if youโ€™re already at the cap? They will typically just pay you out a lump sum of cash instead of a base increase. Then you just get promoted
    Apr 21 2
  • FedEx
    highhitter

    Go to company page FedEx

    highhitter
    Increase base always. Less tax rate comparing to sign on bonus.
    Apr 21 2
  • Amazon
    PIPmasterP

    Go to company page Amazon

    PIPmasterP
    Take the sign on dummy. If you quit before a year you lose money otherwise.
    Apr 22 2
    • Alteryx
      mJYv81

      Go to company page Alteryx

      mJYv81
      Iโ€™m pretty sure that if you leave before your one year anniversary that you have to pay back the sign on bonus as well. Thatโ€™s how it worked with my Meta offer at least
      Apr 22
    • Amazon
      PIPmasterP

      Go to company page Amazon

      PIPmasterP
      Amazon's is prorated monthly if its above 25k total. So if you leave after 6mo you jut stop earning it.
      Yesterday
  • eBay
    kyaBay?

    Go to company page eBay

    kyaBay?
    OP
    Hey all, thank you for the advice!

    Based on what everyone has said and after checking with a few folks offline, I've decided to take the sign-on.

    Here's what I considered:
    1. My state tax bracket will change next year because my yearly TC is increasing by ~120k. I can comfortably fit the sign-on in my current bracket this year so my sign-on will actually get taxed less when compared to earning the same amount over the next few years.
    2. AFAIK the sign-on is spread over 4 years if added to base or stock. So, more base is better only if I plan to stay for 4 years. I plan to leave if not promoted in 2 years. No point staying longer at L4 after reaching 7 YOE.
    3. Base increase will reduce my annual hike if the base is already high for the level (and it is). I'm experiencing this in my current role already. A base increase would have helped more if I was at the lower end of the band assuming that base hikes are based on % of the current base.
    Apr 22 2
    • Airbnb
      joa875

      Go to company page Airbnb

      joa875
      Oh yeah if itโ€™s spread over 4 years you should def take the bonus, good move. Btw I hope you negotiated, and hoping google didnโ€™t give you this choice to distract you from negotiating lol
      Apr 22
    • eBay
      kyaBay?

      Go to company page eBay

      kyaBay?
      OP
      Yeah, I negotiated as much as I could! Brought their TC up by 50k/year (not including sign-on)
      Apr 22