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For many Amazon employees, sell-at-vest is the most tax-efficient default — vested shares are already taxed as ordinary income, and holding only adds concentrated-stock risk. Holding can make sense if it's part of a deliberate plan and you've capped your overall AMZN exposure. A specialist can model both paths against your bracket and goals before recommending a default.

RSUs generally become taxable income when they vest. The value of the shares at vesting is generally treated as compensation income. If you continue to hold the shares, later changes in value can create a capital gain or loss when you sell. Taxes can depend on your income, vesting amount, sale timing and other parts of your tax situation. Withholding at vesting may differ from your final tax liability.

Amazon's standard new-hire RSU grant vests 5% in year one, 15% in year two, then 40% in years three and four (typically paid semi-annually). Sign-on bonuses are front-loaded to bridge the early years when stock vesting is small. Refreshers granted later vest on their own four-year clocks layered on top, which is why Amazon comp planning quickly becomes multi-dimensional.

Unvested RSUs are forfeited at separation — there's no "vest acceleration" by default. Timing your departure around vest dates and any retention or refresher awards can preserve significant value. An advisor can map this for you in advance so you're not making the call under pressure.

Yes — Amazon's 401(k) plan permits after-tax contributions and in-plan Roth conversions, which together enable the Mega Backdoor Roth strategy. For high earners, this can shelter tens of thousands of additional dollars per year in tax-advantaged growth on top of the standard $24,500 elective deferral. It's one of the highest-leverage moves an Amazon employee can make and one of the most commonly missed.

Concentration is reduced through a deliberate, multi-year plan: setting a maximum AMZN allocation, harvesting tax losses to offset diversification gains, and using vehicles like direct indexing or exchange funds when concentration is large. The wrong move is selling all at once and triggering an unnecessary tax event — the right move is staging it.

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You can start with rough numbers. It helps to know what you own, where your accounts are held, what Amazon equity you have, your income, major debts and the questions or goals that prompted you to seek advice.