Typical comp shape
Data scientists usually earn rsu. Common employers include Meta, Netflix, Uber.
What Alabama changes
In Alabama, every RSU vest, NSO exercise, and ESPP purchase carries 5% state tax on top of federal. For a senior data scientist with $300k+ of equity income, the state layer routinely adds $25-45k to the annual bill.
Planning cadence
For a data scientist in Alabama, the three planning windows are: after each RSU vest (withholding check and sell-vs-hold), before any ISO exercise (AMT model at federal only), and in Q4 (estimated tax top-up to clear the safe harbor).