What does sell-to-cover mean for my RSUs, and is it better than paying cash?

Sell-to-cover means your employer automatically sells a portion of each RSU vest to cover the tax withholding, delivering the remaining net shares to you. It's the default at most public companies and requires no cash out of pocket. The alternative – paying the withholding from your own cash and keeping all the shares – lets you hold more stock but ties up money and increases concentration risk. For most people sell-to-cover is the simpler, safer choice, especially since it trims an already-overweight employer-stock position. Remember the shares sold to cover only satisfy the 22% supplemental withholding, so a bracket gap may still leave you owing more at filing. Keep records of the sale; it usually shows a tiny gain or loss for that day.