RSUs While Living Abroad: 4 Situations and Who Fits Each

RSUs While Living Abroad: 4 Situations and Who Fits Each

RSUs while living abroad can leave you answering to two tax systems for the same vest. The United States generally taxes its citizens and residents on income from anywhere, and the country where you live may tax the same shares because you worked there while they vested. The fight is less about whether you owe than about which country gets taxed first and how the other gives credit.

This post sorts four situations by what is happening to you. Two firms are matched to the situations their profiles describe, and where neither fits, it says so. The situations are ordered by when they tend to arise, not by firm quality, and the firms are not ranked.

Two firms in our featured program are written up here. Iota Finance, a Florida firm that lists Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation among its specialties, is one. Doug Johnson CPA, a Los Angeles firm that lists Equity Compensation, is the other. Every firm named is a vetted Sam's List member. The firms written up below are paying members of our featured program, and payment does not buy the language we use or its reviews. How we picked is at the end.

Situation 1: RSUs While Living Abroad Are Split by Workdays

When restricted stock units vest, the value is generally taxed as pay for services. The question for someone abroad is where the services were performed. Under general US rules, stock compensation is commonly treated as earned over the period from grant to vest, so the income is divided by where you worked during that period. Many other countries use a similar workday logic.

That matters because some of the vest may count as foreign source and some as US source. The split affects how much, if any, of the vest can qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, which covers only income earned from services performed abroad and has a dollar limit. It also affects how much foreign tax paid can be credited against US tax.

Iota Finance may fit this situation. Its live profile lists Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation as specialties. Ask how it counts workdays across a vesting period and what records it wants, such as a travel log and the grant and vest dates.

The limitation: the profile does not describe how it handles sourcing, and the rules vary by country and treaty. A workday count is only as good as your records.

Situation 2: You Move Countries in the Middle of the Vest Period

A move creates the messiest version of the problem. Suppose the grant was made while you lived in the United States and the shares vest after you have moved abroad, or the reverse. Each country may claim a share of the vest based on the days you spent there, and the two claims can overlap.

A treaty between the two countries may settle the overlap, and a tax credit can reduce double tax, but neither works automatically. You generally have to claim them, and the timing can differ because countries tax on different calendars and different dates.

The practical work is to write down the grant date, each vest date, the dates you moved and the work locations during every period. A preparer who sees that timeline before the vest can plan for it. A preparer who sees it after the return is due can only repair it.

Iota Finance may fit if the move is international. Doug Johnson CPA lists Equity Compensation and may fit the US side of the vest. Ask each how it would coordinate with a preparer in the other country.

The limitation: neither profile says it prepares foreign returns, and a move can involve a tax professional in the new country. Ask who handles that return and who signs it.

Situation 3: The Foreign Tax Credit on RSUs Meets a Timing Mismatch

When you pay foreign tax on the vest, the US generally lets you claim a foreign tax credit, limited to the US tax on your foreign-source income. The credit is claimed on a form with the return and tracks the tax by category of income.

The timing is where it slips. The foreign country may tax the vest in its own tax year, while the US taxes it in the calendar year. If the two years do not line up, the credit may not match the income in the same period. Unused credits can sometimes be carried to other years, within limits.

You generally cannot claim a credit for foreign tax paid on income you have excluded under the foreign earned income exclusion. So the choice between the exclusion and the credit is a decision made on the return, and for a high earner the credit can be the better route, since the exclusion is capped.

Iota Finance may fit, since its profile lists Digital Nomads. Doug Johnson CPA may fit if the open question is the size of the US tax on the vest. Ask each how it decides between the exclusion and the credit.

The limitation: neither profile describes foreign tax credit work by name. The credit is limited, can be carried over only within rules and depends on how the foreign country computes its own tax.

Situation 4: Withholding on RSUs While Living Abroad Misses the Vest

Your employer withholds from the vest according to where its payroll thinks you work. If you moved, it may withhold at the wrong rate, in the wrong country or not at all. A US employer that still treats you as a US employee may withhold federal tax at a flat supplemental rate, which may be below your actual rate.

Meanwhile the country where you live may expect its own payment. If the vest is large, you may need estimated payments in one country or both. A US citizen abroad generally receives an automatic extension to file until June 15, but interest on tax owed generally runs from the April due date, so the extension to file is not an extension to pay.

The fix is a projection before the vest, not after. Estimate the tax in each country, compare it with the withholding and set aside the difference. Some people ask HR to adjust withholding or to change how the shares are sold to cover tax, which should be confirmed with the employer's plan.

Doug Johnson CPA may fit this situation if the question is how much to pay and when for the US side. Iota Finance may fit if you need someone comfortable with a vest that touches two countries. Many people need both answers in order.

The limitation: neither profile mentions estimated payments abroad by name, and a projection is an estimate. A price change after you run it can move the answer.

Where Iota Finance Fits

Iota Finance is a Florida accounting, tax and fractional CFO firm, founded in 2022, with seven employees, and serves clients nationwide. Its live profile names Igor Tutelman CPA as Managing Partner and lists Cryptocurrency Investors, Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation as specialties.

Iota Finance has 14 verified client reviews on Sam's List. Each review is submitted by an individual who identifies as a client of the firm and rates it on communication, subject-matter knowledge, and overall satisfaction. Reviews reflect those individual experiences and do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List. Iota Finance is a paying member of our featured program, and payment does not buy its reviews. Ratings and rankings are not indicative of future performance or results.

The limitation, plainly: the profile lists minimums of $200,000 in income and $500,000 in revenue, so a smaller earner may fall outside them. It does not say the firm prepares returns in other countries, so ask who files the foreign return and how the two are coordinated.

Where Doug Johnson CPA Fits

Doug Johnson CPA is based in Los Angeles, founded in 2024, with three employees, serving clients nationwide. Its live profile positions the firm for growing businesses in the $250,000 to $10 million revenue range and for high earners with equity compensation. It lists SMB Owners, Equity Compensation, High Net Worth Individuals and Growing Companies as specialties.

Doug Johnson CPA has 15 verified client reviews on Sam's List. Each review is submitted by an individual who identifies as a client of the firm and rates it on communication, subject-matter knowledge, and overall satisfaction. Reviews reflect those individual experiences and do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List. Doug Johnson CPA is a paying member of our featured program, and payment does not buy its reviews. Ratings and rankings are not indicative of future performance or results.

The limitation, plainly: the profile lists minimums of $250,000 in income and $250,000 in revenue, so a smaller earner may fall outside them. The firm is young and small, so ask who would handle your account. The profile does not describe international work, so ask directly whether it takes clients who live abroad.

Questions to Ask Before You Hire Either Firm

Ask both firms the same three things. What do you need from me, and by when? Who prepares the return in the other country, and who signs mine? How do you coordinate when two preparers are involved?

Bring your grant agreements, your vest schedule, your pay slips showing what was withheld, a calendar of where you worked and the dates you moved. A firm that asks for those first is probably doing the work you need.

The limitation: there is no license for international equity compensation. A CPA license is a floor, not proof of experience with your countries, so ask for specifics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are RSUs taxed in the US if I live abroad?

Generally yes if you are a US citizen or resident, since the US taxes worldwide income. The country where you live may also tax the vest. A credit or a treaty may reduce double tax. Confirm how it applies to you with a tax professional.

How are RSUs sourced if I worked in two countries?

Generally by where you performed the services during the period from grant to vest, so the income is divided by workdays in each place. The details vary by country and treaty. Keep a record of where you worked, with dates.

Can I use the foreign earned income exclusion on RSUs?

Possibly, for the part earned from services performed abroad, up to the annual limit. You generally cannot also claim a foreign tax credit on income you excluded. A preparer can compare the exclusion and the credit for your facts.

Do I owe US estimated tax on RSUs if I live abroad?

Possibly. If the withholding on the vest falls short of your tax, estimated payments may be needed to avoid a penalty. An extension to file does not extend the time to pay. Ask a preparer to project the year before the vest.

Before your next vest, write down the grant date, the vest date and where you worked in between, then ask each firm how it would split the income. You can browse accountants on Sam's List, including the firms above, and ask which of the four situations each handles most.

How We Picked These Firms

You should be able to check our work, so here is how this post was built.

The pool. We wrote up two vetted Sam's List members from our featured program, one whose live profile lists Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation and one that lists Equity Compensation. Other members, including Crypto Tax Made Easy, list Digital Nomads and are not written up here. This is not a survey of every accountant who handles these questions.

How it is organized. The four situations are ordered by when they tend to arise, not by firm quality, and the firms are not ranked. Each firm is matched to the situations its live profile most closely describes. Some situations match both firms, and the post says so.

What review counts mean here. We cite each firm's verified review count and its date from its profile. A count shows how many clients wrote something down. It does not measure technical quality.

What payment does and does not buy. Listing on Sam's List is free, and so is being named in this article. The firms written up here are paying members of our featured program, which is why they get a write-up. What payment does not buy is the language we use about a firm, its review count, or a promise that it fits you.

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About the author: Kimberly Green is the cofounder of Sam's List, where business owners and high earners find vetted CPAs, financial advisors, and fractional CFOs. She's met one-on-one with 400+ financial professionals and writes from the real data behind thousands of client-advisor matches. Ask her anything about finding an accountant - she's heard it all, including the questions people are afraid to ask.