Salesforce RSU India guide: vesting, CRM shares, and tax for Indian employees (2026)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is the world's leading customer relationship management (CRM) software company, with products spanning Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, and the AI-native Agentforce platform. Salesforce has a significant India presence, primarily in Hyderabad (the largest India office) and Mumbai, with teams working on product engineering, platform development, AI/data, and Salesforce support operations. The Hyderabad office is one of Salesforce's largest globally and has grown substantially through acquisitions (Slack, Tableau, MuleSoft) and organic hiring.

Indian Salesforce employees receive RSU grants in CRM stock (NYSE-listed), administered via E*Trade (Morgan Stanley at Work). This guide covers the full vesting mechanics, tax picture, and options for managing CRM shares for Indian holders.

Salesforce's RSU structure

Vesting schedule: Salesforce RSUs follow the standard 4-year quarterly vesting — 6.25% per quarter. No cliff for most roles — first vest occurs approximately 3 months from grant date.

Vest dates: Typically February, May, August, November — Salesforce's fiscal quarter-end months, aligned with their January 31 fiscal year end.

Refresh grants: Annual refreshes are standard. A 3-year Salesforce employee typically has 3 active grant cycles vesting simultaneously — up to 12 vest events per year.

Ticker: CRM (NYSE)

E*Trade (Morgan Stanley at Work) — Salesforce's platform

Salesforce uses E*Trade (Morgan Stanley at Work) for equity plan administration.

Login: etrade.com or the Morgan Stanley at Work portal using your Salesforce SSO credentials.

Key sections:

Account number: ETrade account settings → Account Details. Required for Schedule FA. Custodian: **ETRADE Securities LLC** (671 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22203, USA).

CRM share price context

Salesforce has had significant volatility — the stock is a useful case study in how LTCG planning matters:

For LTCG planning: Employees who received grants at $130–160 trough prices (2022–2023) now have significant unrealised gains. Those lots reached 24-month LTCG eligibility in 2024–2025. Any remaining trough lots should be sold at LTCG rates (12.5%) before selling newer, higher-basis lots.

Dividends: Salesforce initiated a quarterly dividend in Q2 2024 — a signal of maturity. As of 2026, the yield is modest (~0.5–0.7%). Form 67 is required annually but the absolute amount is small relative to Cisco or Texas Instruments.

Indian tax treatment

At vest (quarterly — Feb, May, Aug, Nov):

• Perquisite = shares vested × CRM NYSE closing price on vest date × SBI TTBR on vest date
• Added to salary income for that month
• TDS deducted by Salesforce India entity (Salesforce.com India Private Limited)
• Disclosed in Form 12BA; reflected in Form 16 Part B

At sale:

• STCG (< 24 months from vest): slab rate (up to 30% + surcharge + cess)
• LTCG (≥ 24 months): 12.5% under Section 112 (no indexation)

Quarterly vesting means 4 vest events per active grant per year. With multiple active grants (new-hire + refreshes), you may have 8–12 vest events per year. Verify each in Form 12BA against E*Trade's transaction history.

Form 16 and Form 12BA reconciliation

Salesforce India payroll handles TDS on quarterly RSU perquisites:

Verification steps:

1. Export transaction history from E*Trade → Stock Plan → Transaction History (CSV download)
2. For each February, May, August, November vest, note: shares released and CRM closing price
3. Look up SBI TTBR on each vest date (RBI website → Foreign Exchange → TTBR archive)
4. Compute perquisite: shares × CRM price × TTBR
5. Cross-check each Form 12BA row

Salesforce-specific note: Salesforce India's payroll team typically spreads projected TDS across all 12 months — not concentrating it in vest months. This is helpful for cash flow but means your monthly salary TDS is higher than your base salary would suggest.

Salesforce ESPP

Salesforce runs an ESPP for eligible employees:

• Discount: 15% off the lower of offering or purchase date price (standard lookback)
• Offering period: 6-month intervals (typically January–June and July–December)
• Platform: Also via E*Trade (Morgan Stanley at Work)
• Indian tax: Perquisite (discount component) taxed at purchase date; capital gains at sale

ESPP lots in E*Trade: Appear as separate lots from RSU lots. Cost basis = FMV at purchase date (not the discounted price paid). Track ESPP purchase dates and FMV separately for Schedule CG at ITR-2 time.

ESPP participation cap: IRS limits US employees to $25,000/year; Indian employees are subject to the same platform cap. LRS rules don't apply since the purchase is via payroll deduction.

Selling CRM shares: your platform options

E*Trade is an employer-plan platform — it works fine for selling at vest, but many Indian investors find a dedicated broker more convenient for ongoing management.

Option 1: Sell directly in E*Trade

Sell within ETrade's Stock Plan interface. Choose "Sell" → specify lots → proceeds sit in ETrade cash. Withdraw via international wire to your Indian bank account.

Suitable for: Employees who sell each vest immediately and don't need advanced portfolio management.

Option 2: Transfer CRM shares to Rovia

Rovia (powered by Alpaca Securities LLC) is an India-facing US brokerage that supports ACATS transfers from E*Trade. Transfer CRM shares in-kind — no sale, no capital gains event on transfer.

Why Rovia for Salesforce employees:

• INR-denominated portfolio view — see your CRM value in rupees natively
• India-specific tax reporting with STCG/LTCG pre-computed
• Streamlined repatriation to Indian bank accounts
• Simple mobile interface for quarterly vest management

Transfer process:

1. Open a Rovia account and complete KYC
2. In Rovia: initiate inbound ACATS transfer from ETrade (provide your ETrade account number)
3. Select CRM lots to transfer; processing: 3–7 business days
4. No capital gains event on transfer; original cost basis transfers with shares

Schedule FA when using Rovia: Custodian changes from E*TRADE Securities LLC to Alpaca Securities LLC (420 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA). Use Alpaca's address in Schedule FA Table A2.

Option 3: Transfer CRM shares to IBKR

Interactive Brokers offers lower trading commissions and access to UCITS ETFs for reinvestment after selling CRM.

ACATS from E*Trade to IBKR: Same process — initiate from IBKR Client Portal → Transfer & Pay → ACATS. Provide E*Trade account number; select lots; 3–5 business days; no tax event.

Schedule FA when using IBKR: Custodian is Interactive Brokers LLC (One Pickwick Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA).

Schedule FA for Salesforce shareholders

Table A2 in ITR-2 Schedule FA:

Salesforce dividend: Form 67

Salesforce initiated a quarterly dividend in 2024. As of 2026, it's approximately $0.40/quarter per share ($1.60/year).

Annual Form 67 for 500 CRM shares:

• Annual dividend: 500 × $1.60 = $800
• US WHT at 25% (W-8BEN filed): $200 → ₹16,800 (at ₹84 TTBR)
• Indian tax at 30% slab on ₹67,200 gross: ~₹20,966
• Foreign tax credit: ₹16,800
• Net Indian tax after credit: ~₹4,166

File Form 67 before the ITR-2 due date (July 31). Form 1042-S from E*Trade Tax Center shows the gross dividend and US WHT.

Ensure W-8BEN is filed with E*Trade to get the DTAA 25% rate rather than the default 30%.

LTCG planning for CRM holders

With quarterly vesting, you build lots every 3 months. After 24 months, those lots become LTCG-eligible.

Identifying your lot categories:

• Trough lots (2022–2023, vested at $130–$160): Now LTCG-eligible; gain of ~$90–120/share at current $260 price; sell first
• Recovery lots (2023–2024, vested at $200–$260): Approaching or at LTCG eligibility; modest gains
• Peak lots (2021, vested at $290–$310): Underwater or near cost basis; consider tax-loss harvesting

Tax-loss harvesting on peak lots:

• Lots vested at $300 with CRM at $260 = ₹33,600 unrealised loss per share (at ₹84 TTBR)
• Sell → realise STCG loss → repurchase immediately (no wash sale rule for Indian investors)
• Loss banked for 8 years; offsets STCG gains from other positions

Lot selection in E*Trade: When placing a sell order, click "Specify Lots" to choose which vest dates to sell. Default is FIFO — align this with your LTCG-first strategy.

Worked example: SMTS, Hyderabad

Profile: Senior Member of Technical Staff, 3 active grant cycles. Quarterly vest = 8 shares per grant × 3 grants = 24 shares per quarter. Annual vest: 96 shares.

Assumptions: CRM = $260 at all vest dates; SBI TTBR = ₹84; 30% slab.

This ₹20.97L is salary income — on top of base CTC of ₹30–40L. Total income likely in ₹50–60L range, entering surcharge territory.

Capital gains (if 24 LTCG-eligible trough lots sold at $260, cost basis $145):

• Gain per share: ($260 − $145) × ₹84 = ₹9,660
• Total LTCG: 24 × ₹9,660 = ₹2,31,840
• LTCG tax at 12.5%: ₹28,980

Managing CRM concentration

Salesforce is a strong business — CRM is mission-critical for enterprise sales teams. But concentration risk is real:

• AI-native CRM competitors (HubSpot with AI, Dynamics 365) may erode SMB market share
• Agentforce is Salesforce's AI bet — execution risk on delivery and monetisation
• Valuation at 8–10x revenue is still a premium multiple for a maturing company
• Macro sensitivity: enterprise software budgets are cut in downturns

Systematic sell discipline: Sell each quarterly vest immediately or within 30 days. Reinvest into UCITS ETFs (CSPX, VWRA). After 24 months, consider holding LTCG-eligible lots for the tax efficiency — but don't hold indefinitely.

Advance tax for quarterly vest holders

CRM vest dates (Feb, May, Aug, Nov) and Indian advance tax deadlines interact as follows:

US estate tax

CRM shares in E*Trade (US broker) are US-situs assets. Estate tax applies above $60,000 NRA exemption at 40%.

At $260/share and 1,000 accumulated shares: ($260,000 − $60,000) × 40% = $80,000 exposure.

When reinvesting CRM sale proceeds, choose UCITS ETFs (CSPX, VWRA) to avoid extending estate tax footprint.

Compensation by level

Salesforce India (Hyderabad, Mumbai) works across Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Heroku, Tableau, Slack, MuleSoft, and Agentforce.

Salesforce India compensation is competitive with Bangalore-based companies despite Hyderabad's historically lower cost of living. The Slack and Tableau acquisitions brought additional senior engineering roles and refreshed grant cycles for employees who joined through those acquisitions.

Related reading

• How RSU double-taxation works — the three tax events
• Schedule FA complete guide — foreign asset disclosure
• ITR-2 walkthrough for RSU holders — complete filing guide
• Form 67 step-by-step — filing for CRM dividend WHT
• Tax-loss harvesting calendar — using CRM's volatility for STCG loss harvesting
• How to repatriate US stock proceeds to India — FEMA, SWIFT, and the full process

For other employer RSU guides: Adobe · AMD · ARM · Broadcom · Cisco · Fortinet · Google · NVIDIA · Palo Alto Networks · Qualcomm · ServiceNow · Workday