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They’re taxed as ordinary income when they vest, and only gains and losses from that point are considered capital gains or losses. And your cost basis is the value they vest at, so it’s no different than getting cash and buying those shares immediately. No special advantage to holding for a year vs any other stock you acquire with cash.

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> They’re taxed as ordinary income when they vest

That's correct, whether you sell them immediately or hold them.

> and only gains and losses from that point are considered capital gains or losses

That is also correct and was my original point. If you sell immediately, you've already paid the (personal income rate) tax and you're done. But if you don't sell immediately, waiting a year is preferable so you are able to claim the long term capital gain rate instead of paying the short term/income rate.

But those benefits and trade-offs have nothing to do with RSUs, it’s just how all stocks are treated. And thus not relevant to a consideration of whether to hold RSUs or sell immediately on vest.

There is no difference between holding them for a year compared to selling when they vest and then buying another stock and holding that for a year.

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