Plain-English financial guides for technology employees.
Restricted stock units, 401(k) match formulas, ESPPs, deferred compensation, the AMT trap on ISOs — the things tech compensation packages quietly assume you already understand. We explain them in writing, with free calculators to run your own numbers.
Free calculators
RSU tax calculator
Estimate the tax on your RSU vest, how much your employer withholds at 22%, the gap you will owe in April, and the net shares you keep after sell-to-cover.
ESPP calculator
Work out how many shares your ESPP contribution buys, the gain from the discount and lookback, and the after-tax profit of selling immediately versus holding.
ISO AMT calculator
Estimate the alternative minimum tax from exercising incentive stock options and holding, and how many ISOs you can exercise this year before AMT applies.
Mega backdoor Roth calculator
Find out how much after-tax money you can add to your 401(k) this year and convert to Roth, and what that extra room could be worth tax-free over your career.
RSU vesting schedule calculator
Map every vest date for your RSU grant with presets for Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Salesforce, plus the tax to set aside each year.
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Equity compensation
What is Amazon's RSU vesting schedule, and how are Amazon RSUs taxed?
The 5/15/40/40 schedule, why Year 3 is a tax cliff, and how Amazon RSUs are taxed at vest and at sale — for engineers, PMs, and anyone with a four-year grant.
RSU taxes: a tech employee's guide to tax on restricted stock units
How RSU income is taxed at vest, why under-withholding is the most common mistake, and what to do — for tech employees with significant equity comp.
Amazon RSUs, not stock options: your choices for building wealth
Amazon grants RSUs, not stock options. How RSUs are taxed and what to do with vested shares: sell at vest, concentration risk, cost basis, 10b5-1 plans.
Everything you need to know about your private company equity compensation
ISOs, NSOs and double-trigger RSUs, 409A strike prices, 83(b) elections, exercise windows, tender offers, preferences, QSBS and a pre-IPO exercise framework.
Meta (Facebook) restricted stock units: the RSU vesting schedule and the facts
Meta RSUs vest quarterly over four years on the 15th of February, May, August and November. How grants stack, what each vest costs in tax, and when to sell.
Google's equity compensation: stock vs salary for tech employees
How Google splits pay between salary, bonus and GSUs by level, how to value an offer's stock, what to negotiate, and how a falling share price changes it.
Google's restricted stock (GSU) vesting schedule, explained
Google Stock Units (GSUs) explained: the front-loaded 33/33/22/12 vesting schedule, refresh grants, what happens on each vest date for tax, and when to sell.
How does Microsoft compensation work?
Microsoft compensation explained: levels 59 to 80, reported pay by level, bonus targets, on-hire and annual stock awards, the 10% ESPP and the 50% 401(k) match.
The comprehensive guide to RSU vesting schedules for E*TRADE RSUs
Read an RSU vesting schedule in E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, pick sell-to-cover or pay-cash, know vested vs released shares, and fix the $0 basis on a 1099-B.
Top 3 things you need to know before you do a cashless exercise of your incentive stock options
A same-day cashless exercise of ISOs is a disqualifying disposition taxed as wages. What it costs, the sell-to-cover alternative, and the AMT math if you hold.
What are stock options? How do they work? Stock options explained
ISOs vs NSOs, how they differ from RSUs and exchange-traded options, grant-to-expiration mechanics, tax treatment with worked examples, and how to exercise.
Employee benefits
Apple employee benefits: a comprehensive guide
A plain-English walkthrough of Apple's employee benefits — RSUs, ESPP, 401(k) match, HSA, and the parts most engineers and operations staff under-use.
Microsoft employee benefits, explained
How Microsoft's on-hire stock award, annual stock award, ESPP, and 401(k) match fit together over a multi-year career — without the HR jargon.
Oracle employee benefits, explained
Oracle's 401(k), stock plan, deferred compensation, and the levers most employees never use — explained in plain English.
ByteDance and TikTok US employee benefits: private RSUs, buybacks and the divestiture
ByteDance and TikTok US employee benefits: private RSUs, the twice-yearly share buyback, the 2026 divestiture and your equity, 401(k) match, health and leave.
Capital One employee benefits: the 401(k) match, stock plan and leave
Capital One's 401(k) match and automatic contribution, the stock purchase plan match, RSUs and performance shares, HSA, parental leave and tuition help.
Databricks employee benefits: private-company equity, tender offers and the rest
Databricks benefits: double-trigger RSUs, tender offers, 409A versus preferred price, the 401(k) with no match, health, leave and what an IPO changes for taxes.
Meta (Facebook) employee benefits: parental leave, 401(k), RSUs and more
Meta's benefits in plain English: four months of parental leave, Baby Cash, the 401(k) match and after-tax Roth, quarterly RSUs, health, fertility, wellness.
Google employee benefits: Google Stock Units (GSUs) and everything else
A plain-English guide to Google's benefits: no ESPP, how GSUs work, the 401(k) match and mega backdoor Roth, HSA, leave and the survivor benefit.
Intel employee benefits: a plain-English guide
Intel employee benefits in plain English: the 5% 401(k) match, RSUs, the 15% ESPP, sabbatical, health plans, parental leave and what changed in 2024 to 2025.
LinkedIn benefits for employees: Microsoft stock, the 401(k) and the LinkedIn extras
LinkedIn benefits for employees under Microsoft: stock awards, the 10% ESPP, the 50% 401(k) match, PerkUp, InDays, parental leave and where LinkedIn differs.
Netflix employee benefits: cash, stock options and the 401(k)
How Netflix pays: top-of-market cash, the yearly salary-versus-stock-options election, the 401(k) match, flexible vacation, parental leave and the tax traps.
Salesforce employee benefits: the HSA contribution, 401(k) match and ESPP
Salesforce employee benefits: the $1,000 to $2,000 HSA contribution, the 401(k) match to $6,000, the 15% ESPP with lookback, RSUs, parental leave and VTO.
Understanding Amazon employee benefits: a comprehensive guide
Amazon benefits in plain English: pay and sign-on, back-loaded RSUs, the 401(k) match and 3-year cliff, health plans and HSA, parental leave, and perks.
Retirement
The comprehensive guide to your Amazon 401(k)
How Amazon's 401(k) match, vesting, and after-tax contributions actually work — including the mega-backdoor Roth opportunity most employees miss.
How often do 401(k)s compound, and how to think about investing within your 401(k)
A 401(k) has no compounding schedule: fund prices move daily and dividends reinvest, so growth compounds continuously. Tables for $500 a month, fees and match.
Intel SERPLUS: a complete guide
How Intel SERPLUS deferred comp works: eligibility by grade, irrevocable elections, the 5% match on excess pay, payouts, creditor risk and tax strategy.
Retired tech professionals: planning the years between the last paycheck and Social Security
Left tech early with concentrated stock and a big pre-tax 401(k)? Cash buffers, Rule of 55 and 72(t), Roth conversions, ACA credits, NUA and RMD ages for 2026.
Solo 401(k) contribution deadlines for 2026: employee and employer
When each half of a 2026 solo 401(k) contribution is due: the December 31 election rule, SECURE 2.0's first-year exception, extensions and Roth options.
Planning
Specialized financial planning for high earners
The set of moves that get more useful the more you earn: backdoor Roths, deferred comp, donor-advised funds, asset location, and the order to do them in.
Financial advisor vs. financial consultant: what's the difference, and which is better for you?
What financial consultant, financial advisor, planner and wealth manager mean, which titles are regulated, what each credential requires, and how to vet anyone.
Navigating the Intel severance package: your guide and action plan
What Intel severance packages reportedly included in 2024 to 2025, plus a plan for the release, taxes, COBRA, 401(k), RSUs, ESPP, SERPLUS and cash flow.
What this site is
Progress Wealth Management is a small, independent publication. We write long-form, plain-English explainers on the parts of financial life that technology employees disproportionately encounter — equity compensation, employer retirement plans, concentration risk in a single stock, and the planning decisions that follow from a few high-earning years.
We are not advisors. We do not manage assets or give personal recommendations. Every page is an article or a calculator: read it, understand the mechanics, and bring better questions to your CPA, your benefits team, or a fee-only advisor of your choice.