If you work in tech in Seattle, a significant portion of your compensation is probably tied up in RSUs, stock options, or an ESPP. And if you're thinking about buying a home, you've probably already started doing the math on when to sell and how much you'll net.

The thing most people don't fully account for: the tax hit.

The Problem With Simply Selling Stocks to Buy a Home

Liquidating a large stock position to fund a down payment triggers capital gains — short-term if the shares haven't been held long enough, long-term if they have. In Washington state, you also now have the capital gains excise tax on gains above $250,000. For someone at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, or any of the major employers in our area, this can be a significant number.

The naive plan — accumulate RSUs, sell when vested, wire to escrow — works, but often leaves money on the table.

Better Strategies Worth Exploring

There are several approaches that can meaningfully reduce the tax burden of converting stock wealth into a real estate purchase:

Portfolio reallocation: Working with a financial advisor to reallocate (not sell) within a portfolio can free up cash or borrowing capacity without triggering taxable events.

Long-short strategies: In some cases, using unrealized losses elsewhere in a portfolio to offset gains from the stock sale can reduce net taxable income.

Margin lending/securities-backed lines of credit: Borrowing against a stock portfolio instead of selling can delay or avoid the taxable event altogether — though this has its own risk profile.

Philanthropic giving: Donating appreciated stock directly to a donor-advised fund and making a cash contribution from other sources can eliminate capital gains while still accomplishing charitable goals you already had.

We Can Connect You with the Right People

This isn't something we handle directly — it's a conversation for a tax advisor and financial planner who understand both the tech compensation landscape and the Seattle real estate market. But we have relationships with exactly these people and can make the introduction.

If you're a tech employee thinking about buying a home in Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, or Seattle in the next 12 months, the time to start this conversation is now — before you're mid-transaction and rushed on the financial side.

Watch the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7LCBbyxlqo