Impact of US estate tax on your wealth from RSUs
[Refer to image in comments for context]
If you're sitting on:
~300 shares of Nvidia
~220 shares of Amazon
~130 shares of Microsoft
~465 shares of Oracle
~270 shares of IBM
You've already crossed a number most people have never heard of.$60,000 is the US estate tax exemption for non-residents. If you're not a US citizen or green card holder (an NRA in tax terms), everything you hold in US situated stock above that line is exposed, whether you're an Indian resident in Bangalore or an NRI in the Bay Area. The India US tax treaty doesn't cover this.
So if your RSUs, ESOPs, or direct US stock push you past $60k and something happens to you, your heirs could be looking at 40-50% estate tax on the amount over the threshold, plus probate costs that vary by state.
If you've been vesting RSUs for even a few years at any of these, there's a decent chance you crossed this a while back without realizing it. Simple formula (for self-evaluation) -
[$60,000 / avg. acquisition price of the stock = # shares to cross 60K NRA exemption]
PS - This also holds for the ones buying US stocks via INDmoney, Vested and other similar platforms
