1️⃣Part 1: Tax-Efficient Sell-Down Plan
Under Australian ESS rules (Division 83A), when your RSUs vest the full market value is added to your assessable income for that financial year — taxed at your marginal rate.
For most senior tech executives, that’s 47% including the Medicare levy.
Which means a $300K vest creates a $141K tax liability.
Most people don’t have that set aside. Most didn’t realise it was coming.
A tax-efficient sell-down plan fixes this before the vest not after.
We look at:
The 30-day window — selling within 30 days of vesting avoids CGT entirely. Your cost base equals the vest price, so there is no capital gain to tax. This is the cleanest exit point for most executives.
Timing your sell-down relative to your financial year and expected total income
Non-concessional super contributions from RSU proceeds — for high-income earners whose employer SGC already exceeds the concessional cap, post-tax contributions into super are a key wealth-building lever
CGT treatment — holding 12+ months unlocks the 50% CGT discount on gains above cost base, but only on the portion you retain under the 33% Rule. Never as a reason to hold everything.
Spouse transfer — once vested, ownership can be transferred to a lower-income spouse to reduce CGT on future gains. Income tax is still payable at the executive’s marginal rate, but future CGT is assessed at the spouse’s lower rate.
PAYG instalment management — setting aside the exact tax liability each quarter so lodgement is never a crisis
The goal isn’t to avoid tax.
It’s to keep more of what you earn legally with a plan built before the event, not scrambled together after.