A CPA for tech employees in Portland, Hillsboro and Beaverton

Why tech workers need a CPA for tech employees

Hillsboro and Beaverton sit at the center of the region's tech workforce, from chip fabs and hardware companies to software and cloud teams. Many people working there are paid partly in company stock, and that is where a straightforward tax return stops being simple.

Restricted stock units, employee stock purchase plans and stock options each follow different tax rules. The numbers on your W-2, your 1099-B from the broker and the supplemental forms your employer sends often do not line up on their own. Filing them without adjustments can mean paying tax twice on the same income.

Every request through Accountants Portland goes to a licensed CPA in our Portland area network who works with stock compensation. They can fix this year's return and help you plan the next vest, purchase or exercise.

Layoffs, job changes and acquisitions add more moving parts. Unvested awards may be cancelled, accelerated or swapped for shares in a new company, and severance can push your income into a higher bracket in a single year. Those are good moments to bring in a CPA.

How RSUs are taxed

Restricted stock units are a promise to give you shares once you meet a vesting schedule. The IRS explains that the value of the stock is generally included in your income when the RSU vests, and that the fair market value at vesting is included on your Form W-2 as wages.

Your employer usually withholds tax at vesting, often by holding back some of the shares. The flat withholding rate used on stock income is not always enough for higher earners, so a large vest can leave you owing tax in the spring even though tax was taken out.

When you later sell the shares, the gain or loss is measured from the value at vesting, not from zero. Broker statements sometimes show a cost basis of zero or leave it blank, which makes the whole sale look like profit. A CPA corrects the basis so you are not taxed on income that already appeared on your W-2.

Employee stock purchase plans

An employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, lets you buy company stock through payroll, often at a discount. A qualified ESPP is a type of statutory option, and the IRS says you generally do not include any amount in income when the option is granted or when you buy the shares.

The tax happens when you sell. A sale is a qualifying disposition if you hold the shares until the later of 1 year after the stock was transferred to you or 2 years after the option was granted. In that case, part of the gain may be ordinary income tied to the discount and the rest is capital gain. Sell earlier and the sale is a disqualifying disposition, which follows different rules for the ordinary income part.

Your employer should send Form 3922 after your first transfer or sale of ESPP shares. It shows the dates and values needed to split the income correctly. Many people skip this form, and the result is often a return that overstates their capital gain.

Incentive stock options and the AMT

Incentive stock options, or ISOs, are the other common statutory option. For regular tax, you generally do not include anything in income when you receive or exercise an ISO. The catch is the alternative minimum tax, a parallel tax system with its own rules. The IRS notes that you may owe AMT in the year you exercise an ISO.

When you sell ISO shares, the result is generally a capital gain or loss if you meet the special holding period rules. If you do not, part of the sale is ordinary income. Your employer should send Form 3921 after you exercise an ISO, showing the dates and values you need.

ISO decisions are the place where planning pays off most. Exercising a large block in one year can trigger an AMT bill with no cash from a sale to pay it. A CPA can model different exercise amounts and timing before you act.

Nonqualified stock options

Nonqualified options, sometimes called NSOs, are taxed differently. For most of them, the IRS says there is no taxable event when the option is granted. When you exercise, the fair market value of the stock minus what you paid is included in your income.

That income usually shows up on your W-2, and your employer withholds on it. When you later sell the shares, you have a capital gain or loss measured from the value at exercise. As with RSUs, broker forms often need a basis adjustment so the income is not counted twice.

Startup employees with NSOs face an extra question, because shares in a private company often cannot be sold right away to cover the tax. Exercising early, late or in stages can change both the tax and the risk. A CPA can lay out the options in plain numbers before you commit cash.

Metro, Multnomah County and Portland taxes for tech workers

Stock income counts toward the Portland area local taxes that apply to higher earners. The Metro Supportive Housing Services tax is 1% of Metro taxable income above $125,000 for single filers or $200,000 for joint filers for tax years through 2025, and above $128,000 or $205,000 for 2026. Whether it applies depends on whether you live in, work in or have income from the Metro district, so both your home and office addresses matter.

The Multnomah County Preschool for All tax is 1.5% of Multnomah taxable income above $125,000 single or $200,000 joint, with another 1.5% above $250,000 single or $400,000 joint. It follows similar residence and work rules, so a Beaverton resident who works in a downtown Portland office may still be affected.

Employers must withhold these taxes for employees earning over $200,000 or who opt in, and your W-2 will show them as METRO and MULT. Withholding does not always match your final bill, especially in a year with a big vest. From tax year 2026, estimated payments are required once your liability for each tax reaches $5,000.

Planning around vests, sales and estimated payments

Most stock compensation problems are timing problems. A CPA can map your vesting schedule, ESPP purchase dates and option grants against the year, then estimate your federal, Oregon and local tax before the deadlines arrive.

For 2026 the federal estimated tax dates are 4/15/2026, 6/15/2026, 9/15/2026 and 1/15/2027. If withholding on your vests falls short, an estimated payment or a change to your W-4 can head off penalties. Oregon and the Metro and county taxes have their own estimate rules, and a CPA can cover all of them in one plan.

Some tech workers also have side income, rental property or a partner who is self employed. Bringing it all to one CPA means the stock plan and the rest of your return are built together.

Common questions