What North Dakota residents actually pay
North Dakota taxes ordinary income at a top marginal rate of 2.5%. RSU settlement value, NSO exercise spread, and ESPP discount income all count as ordinary wages for this purpose and flow through the state's normal brackets.
Federal Section 1202
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) lets you exclude up to $10M or 10× your basis (whichever is greater) in federal capital gains on eligible C-corp stock held at least five years. The stock must have been acquired at original issuance from a company with under $50M in gross assets at the time.
North Dakota conformity
North Dakota conformity with federal QSBS rules varies year by year. California, for example, fully decouples and still taxes QSBS gain despite federal exclusion — a surprise for Bay Area founders on exit. Check current conformity before you file.
Frequently asked
- Does North Dakota tax RSU income the same as wages?
- Yes. North Dakota treats RSU ordinary income as wages, taxable at the state's top marginal rate of 2.5%. Supplemental-wage federal withholding (22%, or 37% above $1M YTD) does not adjust for state withholding, so you often owe extra at filing.
- What happens if I exercise ISOs while living in North Dakota?
- North Dakota does not run a separate state AMT, so only federal AMT applies. You still need to model the bargain element carefully if you plan a cashless exercise-and-sell.
- I moved to North Dakota from another state. Who taxes my vesting RSUs?
- Most high-tax states (CA, NY, MA) source RSU ordinary income to workdays between grant and vest. If your grant pre-dates your North Dakota move, expect the old state to tax the portion of each tranche attributable to workdays earned there. North Dakota taxes the remainder.
- Can I reduce North Dakota taxes by timing my RSU sales?
- North Dakota taxes long-term capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income, so timing alone does not produce a state savings — only federal. Holding for 12 months still halves the federal rate on gains above basis.
Related
- RSU taxes — North Dakota
- ISO exercises and AMT — North Dakota
- Capital gains tax — North Dakota
- Moving to or from North Dakota with unvested equity: trailing nexus rules — North Dakota
- RSU vesting schedules — North Dakota
- ESPP taxation — North Dakota
- NSO exercises and state tax — North Dakota
- 401(k) and retirement accounts — North Dakota
- Leaving North Dakota: how to cleanly break residency before a liquidity event — North Dakota
- North Dakota equity-comp overview