Financial Planning Built for the Way Tech Professionals Actually Get Paid

Your income doesn't look like most people's. A base salary is just the starting point — on top of that come RSU vesting events, ESPP purchase windows, stock options with expiration clocks, a 401(k) with options most people never use, and benefits packages that change every open enrollment. It's a lot to manage, especially when your actual job already demands everything you have. John Carruthers CFP® and Neil Fenning CFP® work specifically with Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and fund Seattle-area startup employees to bring all of it into a single, coherent plan.

Equity Compensation Is Powerful and Easy to Get Wrong

RSUs, ESPPs, and stock options each come with their own tax treatment, their own timing decisions, and their own consequences for getting it wrong. Automatic withholding on RSU vests is almost never enough to cover your actual liability. ESPP shares sold too early trigger ordinary income rates instead of long-term capital gains. Stock options exercised without a plan can push you into a bracket you didn't see coming. We've worked through these scenarios with enough Amazon and Microsoft employees to know exactly where the surprises tend to hide.

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Employee Benefits Are Part of the Plan Too

Open enrollment decisions, competing job offer comparisons, life insurance and disability coverage gaps — these aren't peripheral details. For tech professionals, they're often where real money is either captured or left behind. We review your full benefits package as part of our ongoing relationship, not as an afterthought. If you're evaluating a new offer or heading into open enrollment without a clear framework, that's exactly the kind of conversation we have with our clients.

RSU Tax Planning — Year by Year, Not April by April

We build a forward-looking tax projection for every vesting year, accounting for your base salary, vest schedule, any planned ESPP sales, and other income sources. The goal is to close the gap between what's withheld automatically and what you'll actually owe — and to structure sales, Roth contributions, and deductions across multiple years to reduce your total tax load, not just this year's bill.

ESPP and Stock Option Strategy

ESPPs are one of the highest-return benefits available to tech employees, but the holding period and sale timing decisions matter significantly for how much you keep. We help you evaluate when to sell, how to sequence sales across tax years, and how to avoid the concentration risk that builds quietly when you hold more employer stock than you realize.

Mega-Backdoor Roth: A Strategy Most Employees Never Use

Many tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, allow after-tax 401(k) contributions that can be converted to Roth — sometimes up to $40,000 or more per year beyond the standard contribution limit. It's one of the most powerful wealth-building tools available to high earners, and most employees never touch it because it requires knowing it exists and understanding how to execute it correctly. We walk our tech clients through this strategy as part of their annual planning review.

From a Scattered Financial Picture to One Clear Plan

The typical tech professional we meet has a 401(k) from a previous employer sitting somewhere, RSU shares spread across a brokerage account, a current 401(k) that hasn't been reviewed since enrollment, savings accounts at two or three banks, and a vague sense that they should be doing more with all of it. The first thing we do is pull it into a single view so you can see the full picture before making any decisions.

 

This is the kind of financial organization you'd apply to any complex system: clean inputs, clear logic, no redundant parts. We build that structure for your money, then maintain it with you as your grants vest, your career evolves, and your goals shift.

Planning for Every Stage of a Tech Career

Financial priorities shift significantly as a tech career matures, and the plan we build for you reflects where you actually are — not a generic template.

 

  • Early-to-mid career: Managing RSU vesting and ESPP cycles without tax surprises, starting to build a diversified brokerage alongside employer stock, and making full use of 401(k) and mega-backdoor Roth capacity.
  • Mid-career with competing priorities: Balancing current lifestyle goals — a home, a family, the ability to take career risks — with serious long-term wealth accumulation. We help you allocate across those priorities without sacrificing one for another.
  • Approaching financial independence: Reducing concentration risk, building a withdrawal strategy that doesn't depend on continued employment, and modeling the point at which work becomes optional. Many of our tech clients reach this point earlier than they expected — and earlier than they would have without a plan.

Questions Tech Professionals Ask Us

  • How is RSU income taxed, and why is withholding usually not enough?

    RSUs are taxed as ordinary income at the time they vest, based on the fair market value of the shares on the vest date. Most employers withhold at a flat supplemental rate of 22%, but if your total income puts you in the 32%, 35%, or 37% bracket, that gap becomes a significant underpayment — one that shows up as a surprise tax bill in April.

  • When should I sell my ESPP shares?

    It depends on your holding period and overall financial picture. Selling immediately after purchase locks in gains but triggers ordinary income treatment on the discount. Holding longer can qualify for more favorable long-term capital gains rates, but it also increases your concentration in employer stock. We help you weigh those tradeoffs in the context of your full plan.

  • What is the mega-backdoor Roth and do I qualify?

    The mega-backdoor Roth allows eligible employees to make after-tax contributions to their 401(k) and then convert those funds to Roth, potentially adding $30,000–$40,000 or more in Roth savings per year beyond the standard limit. Whether you can use it depends on your employer's 401(k) plan rules — many Amazon and Microsoft employees qualify but never take advantage of it.

  • How do you handle clients with stock options that are close to expiring?

    Expiring options create a real deadline, and the exercise decision has significant tax and cash flow implications depending on whether they're ISOs or NQSOs. We build a specific plan around your option grants, vesting status, and expiration dates to help you act before the window closes without triggering unnecessary tax exposure.

  • Can you help me compare a new job offer against my current compensation package?

    Yes — this is one of the most practical conversations we have with tech clients. Base salary is only part of the picture. We help you evaluate RSU grant schedules, vesting cliffs, 401(k) match structures, ESPP availability, and benefits differences so you can make a genuinely informed decision rather than comparing headline numbers.