For Apple employees in Cupertino and Austin
Planning for Apple employees, one trading window at a time.
Apple closes trading in its stock on the first of the month before each quarter-end and reopens it about a day after earnings, which leaves roughly four windows a year to act on vested RSUs and ESPP shares. We help Apple employees in Cupertino and Austin plan those windows, the taxes behind them, and a move between the two.
The situation
Four open windows, two stock plans, and two states
Apple reported about 166,000 full-time equivalent employees at September 27, 2025. Restricted stock units vest over four years under the 2022 Employee Stock Plan, and regular employees can buy shares through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan at 15% below the lower of two prices. After a few years the same stock arrives from two directions, and the household holds more AAPL than it ever decided to buy.
The timing is set by Apple’s insider trading policy, filed with the SEC. It covers every employee, contractor, and consultant, plus family members who live with you or depend on you, and it closes trading from December 1, March 1, June 1, and September 1 until about 24 hours after the quarter’s results. Short sales, hedging, and derivatives on Apple stock are prohibited at all times, so the usual collar or prepaid forward is not available to a current employee.
Geography adds a layer. Apple’s north Austin campus was announced in 2019 as a $1 billion, 133-acre site for 5,000 employees with room for 15,000, and the company then counted about 7,000 employees in the city. An employee who transfers from Cupertino to Austin carries California tax on part of the equity that vests after the move, and Texas has no personal income tax on what comes next.
The calendar
Apple’s quarterly trading blackouts
From Apple’s insider trading policy, updated September 2024 and filed as Exhibit 19.1 to its Form 10-K. Trading reopens about 24 hours after the quarter’s results are public; the typical month is Apple’s own description.
| Fiscal quarter | Trading closes | Trading reopens | Typically |
|---|---|---|---|
| First quarter (ends late December) | December 1 | About 24 hours after first-quarter results | Early February |
| Second quarter (ends late March) | March 1 | About 24 hours after second-quarter results | Early May |
| Third quarter (ends late June) | June 1 | About 24 hours after third-quarter results | Early August |
| Fourth quarter (ends late September) | September 1 | About 24 hours after year-end results | Early November |
Each open window runs from the day after earnings to the end of that month: about four weeks, four times a year. Designated Individuals also pre-clear each transaction with Apple’s Insider Trading Compliance Officer at least two business days ahead.
The exception is a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, pre-approved by Apple’s Corporate Legal team and set up while you hold no material nonpublic information; sales under it run through the blackout. For employees who are not Section 16 reporting persons, the first trade waits for the later of 30 calendar days after the plan is signed and 24 hours after that quarter’s earnings release. Section 16 insiders wait 90 days, up to 120. A plan can be changed only in an open window, and a change to its amounts, prices, or timing restarts the clock.
Why it’s complex
Five Apple-specific decisions that compound
The window decides the timing
With trading closed for roughly two-thirds of the year, a sale you meant to make in March waits until May. We set the sell rule before the window opens, so the open weeks are spent executing rather than deciding.
Equity compensation and concentrated stockRSUs are wages the day they vest
RSUs under the 2022 Plan generally vest over four years and settle in shares, and the full vest-date value is wages whether you sell or hold. Federal withholding on it is typically a flat 22% until supplemental wages pass $1 million, so a household in a higher bracket owes the difference at filing time, and California taxes the same value as wages.
The full RSU guideThe ESPP buys at 85% of the lower price
Two six-month offerings a year, February through July and August through January. Shares cost no more than 85% of the lower of the offering-date and purchase-date prices. Contributions run from 1% to 10% of eligible pay, capped at $25,000 of stock a year.
The full ESPP guideHedging is off the table
Apple’s policy bars short sales, hedges, and derivatives on its stock at all times, and directors and executive officers may not pledge shares. The realistic toolkit for a large AAPL position is staged sales in open windows, a trading plan, gifts of appreciated shares, and harvesting losses elsewhere to offset the gains.
Direct indexingLeaving California for Austin
Under FTB Publication 1004, California taxes RSU income by the share of work done there between grant and vest, and ESPP ordinary income by the work done there from the offering date to the purchase. A genuine Texas resident’s later capital gain is not California’s, and Texas has no personal income tax.
Planning in AustinHypothetical illustration
One ESPP purchase, three ways to sell it
A hypothetical illustration in round numbers, for education only; it is not a forecast, a recommendation, or anyone’s actual result. Assume the offering-date price is $200, the purchase-date price six months later is $240, and $17,000 of payroll deductions buys 100 shares at $170, which is 85% of the lower price.
| Exit | Sale price | Ordinary income (wages) | Capital gain | Holding periods met? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sell the day the shares arrive | $240 | $7,000 ($240 − $170, times 100 shares) | $0 | No: disqualifying disposition |
| Sell after 14 months at $260 | $260 | $7,000 (the same purchase-date spread) | $2,000 long-term | No: under two years from the offering date |
| Sell after 25 months at $260 | $260 | $3,000 (15% of the $200 offering price, times 100) | $6,000 long-term | Yes: qualifying disposition |
The qualifying sale reports $4,000 less as wages and $4,000 more as long-term gain on the same $9,000 profit, at the cost of 19 more months in one stock that could be worth less by then. Two traps travel with every path: the broker’s Form 1099-B often shows only the $170 paid, so the wages already reported are added to basis when you file, and a current employee sells only in an open window or through an approved trading plan.
For an employee who moved, California taxes the ordinary-income portion in proportion to work performed there between the offering date and the purchase; the capital gain belongs to the state of residence on the day of sale.
Sources: Apple Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (employees, RSU vesting); Apple Inc. Insider Trading Policy, Exhibit 19.1 (blackouts, trading plans, hedging); Apple Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended November 6, 2024. Terms vary by award; your plan documents govern.
Our approach
A plan built around the Apple calendar
We read the public plan terms so the first meeting starts with your specifics: your grant schedule, your ESPP lots and their offering dates, and the state you worked in while each award was earned. Then we set the decisions in the order the windows arrive.
Write the sell rule
How many vested shares to sell, what ceiling AAPL should have as a share of net worth, and whether a trading plan should carry the instructions through the next blackout.
Sort the lots
Which lots have passed two years from their offering date, which sale would be a disqualifying disposition, and what each does to this year’s wages and withholding.
Fill the tax gaps
Estimated payments for the RSU withholding shortfall, the $24,500 401(k) deferral for 2026 plus the $8,000 catch-up at 50 or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63, and gifts of long-held shares in place of cash.
Close the California file
Workday records from grant to vest for each award, the residency change itself, and what the current ESPP period does when employment ends: the option terminates and the contributions are refunded.
The work
What you’ll work through with us
- An equity map: every RSU grant, vest date, and ESPP lot with its offering date
- A written sell rule for each open window, sized against total AAPL exposure
- Trading plan design around Apple’s cooling-off requirements
- ESPP decisions: contribution rate, qualifying versus disqualifying sales, and 1099-B basis corrections
- The RSU withholding gap and quarterly estimated taxes, federal and California
- California-source income on equity earned before a move to Austin
- Gifts of appreciated shares, timed to the open windows
- Coordination with your CPA and estate attorney
Planning at the firm is led by Theo Halbardier, CFP®, CIMA®, CAIA®, the firm’s founder. We are fee-only: no commissions, no product sales. About Theo
Questions
Common questions from Apple employees
Are you affiliated with or endorsed by Apple?
No. The Financial Sciences Company is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc. or its benefit plans. We work from Apple’s public SEC filings and, with your permission, your own plan statements.
When can Apple employees sell their stock?
Under Apple’s insider trading policy, trading closes on December 1, March 1, June 1, and September 1 and reopens about 24 hours after that quarter’s results, typically in early February, May, August, and November. The policy covers all personnel and their household members. Designated Individuals also pre-clear each trade at least two business days ahead, and sales under a pre-approved trading plan are the exception to the blackout.
Should I sell my RSUs when they vest?
There is no single answer. The value is wages at vesting whether you sell or hold, so keeping the shares is economically similar to buying AAPL at that day’s price. Some households hold for sound reasons; others sell a set fraction in each open window. We size the decision against the rest of the balance sheet, not against a forecast for the stock.
Is the Apple ESPP worth joining?
The plan buys shares at no more than 85% of the lower of the offering-date and purchase-date prices, with contributions of 1% to 10% of eligible pay up to $25,000 of stock a year. The discount becomes wage income when you sell. What the ESPP adds to an already large AAPL position, and whether holding for a qualifying disposition is worth the exposure, are the decisions we work through.
I moved from Cupertino to Austin. Does California still tax my equity?
Partly. Under FTB Publication 1004, California taxes the wage income from an RSU vest to the extent you worked in California between grant and vest, and ESPP ordinary income to the extent you worked there between the offering date and the purchase. Gains after you become a genuine Texas resident are not California’s to tax, and Texas has no personal income tax. Keep workday records.
What happens to my ESPP and RSUs if I leave Apple?
Under the ESPP, your option for the current offering period terminates when service ends and the accumulated contributions are refunded. Unvested RSUs follow your award agreement; the 10-K describes vesting as based on continued employment. Read the grant documents before setting a departure date.
Reviewed by Theo Halbardier, CFP® · Updated September 2026 · Figures current for 2026
Bring your vest schedule.
The first conversation is 30 minutes. A recent stock plan statement helps, but no preparation is needed.
We work with clients across Texas, and across California from our base in Texas, meeting by video.
Meet with usApple and its logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. The Financial Sciences Company is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc. Plan details summarized here come from public sources and may change; your plan documents govern. IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: The Financial Sciences Company, LLC is a registered investment adviser with the Texas State Securities Board. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. We may transact business in California only if we are registered there or are excluded or exempt from registration. We do not provide individualized, personalized investment advice to California residents for compensation until we have first complied with California’s requirements or confirmed that an exemption applies. We do not maintain an office in California. For information about our registration status or disciplinary history, contact your state securities regulator or visit adviserinfo.sec.gov. This page is general education, not individualized advice.