I am currently going through a divorce. RSUs are a decent part of my compensation and they will be split between us since they are considered marital property. I have questions on how those would be treated in terms of taxes.
1) I assume with the agreement giving her what I assume would be half of the shares of RSUs as they vest after I already cover the income taxes, that the transfer of those shares from me to her would not have any taxable event for me. She would "inherit" the cost basis at time the shares vested and any capital gains from that point would be her responsibility. Is that accurate? Does the divorce agreement have to cover all that in detail to avoid any tax issues?
2) Since I am going to owe her alimony, and her tax liability will be essentially 0 besides any capital gains, if I wanted to use my portion of the RSUs to pay lump sum alimony by transferring those shares to her would it be a taxable event for me? I am worried that would be an odd case for taxes since it might be seen as a gift if not covered in the divorce agreement as a specific way I could pay her for alimony. Is it even possible to cover that in the divorce agreement so that it would not be a taxable event for me? if it is possible, I assume she would also "inherit" the cost basis and have to realize any capital gains from when the shares vested?
Thanks in advance for any help.
original posted by GatorBeerGeek to r/personalfinance on Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:32:54 GMT.