V VestedGrant
Engineering manager · MD

Engineering manager equity comp in Maryland

How engineering managers earning similar to senior ic; rank-based should plan around Maryland's 5.75% top marginal rate.

Typical comp shape

Engineering managers usually earn similar to senior ic; rank-based. Common employers include Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce.

What Maryland changes

In Maryland, every RSU vest, NSO exercise, and ESPP purchase carries 5.75% state tax on top of federal. For a senior engineering manager with $300k+ of equity income, the state layer routinely adds $25-45k to the annual bill.

Planning cadence

For a engineering manager in Maryland, 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).

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