[pinewurst]

I thought the FTB rule was that you were subject to tax if the options themselves were awarded in CA, regardless of eventual vest location. Unless you were a hired remote employee of a CA company, I think.

[DidISayTooMuch]

Thanks for the reply. I was not hired as remote employee. Was hired in CA. So lets say that I got 10,000 stock options (strike @ $1.00) that vests over 4 years. 3 of those years I have been in CA and 1 year in Texas.

Let's assume my company goes IPO in 2024 (it's a lottery, I understand), and assume each share is worth $10.00. Which means my 10,000 shares will be worth $100,000.

So I will owe tax on 7500 of those shares to CA? Because I've been there 3 out of those 4 years? That is ($10.00 - $1.00) * 7500 = $67500 of my income will be taxed by CA? And remaining amount will be taxed by Texas?

Even if I move to Puerto Rico, where there are no capital gains, I still owe CA taxes?

[smartician]

My understanding is that you will owe taxes on all 10,000 shares, since you were in CA when they were granted. Vesting dates don't matter.

[DidISayTooMuch]

Holy sh*t, is this true? CA wants to grab all your money!

[pinewurst]

That's for sure - look at the Gilbert Hyatt case where they sent investigators to rummage through Nevada garbage looking for taxable evidence, even though he (really) moved many years before.