Snowflake RSU India guide: vesting, SNOW shares, and tax for Indian engineers (2026)

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) is the leading cloud data platform — the company that built a data warehouse delivered entirely as a service, pioneered data sharing across organisations, and went public in September 2020 in the largest US software IPO in history. Snowflake's platform enables organisations to store, query, and share data across multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) without moving it. The data AI and data lakehouse buildout has driven significant adoption, with Snowflake processing exabytes of queries daily for customers including the largest enterprises globally.

Snowflake has a growing India engineering presence in Bangalore, with engineers working on core platform engineering, query optimisation, data sharing infrastructure, and the Snowpark ML and AI product lines. Indian engineers at Snowflake receive RSU grants in SNOW stock (NYSE-listed), administered via Morgan Stanley at Work (formerly Shareworks by Morgan Stanley).

Snowflake's RSU structure

Grant type	Details
Time-based RSU	Standard grant for most employees; 4-year quarterly vesting
Performance RSU (PSU)	Senior and Director+ levels; tied to product revenue and NRR targets
New hire RSU	Front-loaded grants with 1-year cliff; no ESPP

Vesting schedule: Snowflake RSUs follow 4-year quarterly vesting — 25% at the 1-year cliff, then 6.25% per quarter (or 1/16 per quarter from day one in some post-2022 grant structures). Snowflake moved away from the 1-year cliff model for many grants after 2022.

Vest dates: Snowflake vests on the 15th of February, May, August, and November — quarterly fixed dates across the company. This means most Snowflake engineers vest on the same four dates annually.

Ticker: SNOW (NYSE)

Fiscal year: Snowflake runs a fiscal year ending January 31. Annual grants typically issued around the fiscal Q1 earnings cycle (May/June).

Performance RSUs — additional complexity

Snowflake uses performance RSUs at senior levels, which add complexity to Indian tax planning:

PSU type	Trigger	Tax event
Revenue-based PSU	Vests if Snowflake meets annual product revenue target	Perquisite at release date (when shares transfer)
NRR (net revenue retention) PSU	Tied to NRR metrics	Perquisite at release date
Stock price PSU	Some grants tied to stock price milestones	Perquisite when conditions satisfied and shares release

Key point: The taxable event for PSUs is the release date — when shares are actually transferred to your brokerage account — not the date performance conditions were originally projected to be met. If a PSU vests subject to a condition that is satisfied six months later, the perquisite is recognised on the actual transfer date.

PSU vs RSU tracking: If you hold both RSUs and PSUs, track them separately. The release dates, FMV at release, and cost basis will differ. Both appear in Morgan Stanley at Work but may show different vest mechanisms.

Morgan Stanley at Work — Snowflake's platform

Snowflake uses Morgan Stanley at Work (formerly Shareworks) for equity plan administration. The underlying custodian is Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Login: solium.com or morganstanley.com/atwork using your Snowflake SSO credentials.

Key sections:

Section	What to find
Equity Awards → Awards Summary	SNOW lots: grant date, vest schedule, shares released/remaining
Equity Awards → Transactions	RSU/PSU release events with date, FMV, shares
Tax Withholding	Sell-to-cover details per vest event
Reports	Annual statement for Schedule FA

Account number: Visible in Morgan Stanley at Work under Account Details. Required for Schedule FA (Table A2). The custodian for Schedule FA purposes is Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Custodian address for Schedule FA: 2000 Westchester Avenue, Purchase, NY 10577, USA

SNOW share price context

Snowflake's stock has had one of the most dramatic trajectories in enterprise software:

Period	SNOW price (approx)	Driver
IPO (Sep 2020)	$120 (issue) / $245 (first day)	Largest software IPO; pandemic data demand
2021 peak	$390–$400	SaaS multiple expansion; cloud spending boom
2022–2023 trough	$110–$160	Rate-driven multiple compression; growth deceleration
2024–2026	$170–$230	AI features (Cortex); data lakehouse growth; stabilising margins

Grant date vs vest date spread: Engineers who received new-hire grants at IPO-era prices ($300+) and are vesting now at $170–$200 are vesting at a loss relative to grant-date value. This does not reduce the perquisite tax — perquisite is always FMV at vest date, not grant date FMV. Engineers with underwater grants (grant price > vest price) often misunderstand this.

Snowflake AI strategy: Snowflake Cortex (LLM integration), Snowpark (Python/ML in Snowflake), and the data lakehouse architecture are driving renewed growth. The company has shifted from pure SQL data warehousing to a broader data + AI platform, which is improving sentiment.

No dividend: Snowflake does not pay dividends. No Form 44 filing required for Snowflake holders.

Indian tax treatment

At vest:

• Perquisite = shares released × SNOW closing price on vest date × SBI TTBR
• TDS deducted by Snowflake India Technology Pvt. Ltd. payroll
• Disclosed in Form 12BA; reflected in Form 16 Part B
• Snowflake's fixed quarterly vest dates (Feb 15, May 15, Aug 15, Nov 15) make planning predictable

At sale:

• STCG (< 24 months from vest date): slab rate (up to 35.88% at 30% bracket + 15% surcharge + 4% cess)
• LTCG (≥ 24 months): 12.5% under Section 112, plus 4% cess

Quarterly vesting = 4 vest events per active grant per year. With multiple active grants, Snowflake engineers may have 8–16 vest events annually. Each is a separate perquisite event.

PSU vest events are additional: If you hold PSUs alongside RSUs, PSU release dates are separate events. Track each release separately with its own FMV and SBI TTBR.

Form 16 and Form 12BA reconciliation

Item	Form 16 location
RSU perquisites (quarterly)	Part B, Section B(1)(b) — perquisites under Section 17(2)
PSU perquisites (on release)	Part B, same line — additional entries
TDS on all above	Part A; verify via Form 26AS

Cross-check method: Export Morgan Stanley at Work transaction history (Calendar Year view). For each vest/release event: verify (a) SNOW closing price on date against the "FMV at Release" field, (b) gross shares released and net after sell-to-cover, (c) corresponding perquisite in Form 12BA.

Snowflake's fixed vest dates simplify this: All events fall on Feb 15, May 15, Aug 15, Nov 15. If a vest date falls on a weekend or holiday, it typically moves to the next business day. Verify the actual release date in Morgan Stanley at Work rather than assuming the 15th.

No ESPP

Snowflake does not operate an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Equity compensation is RSU and PSU only.

Schedule FA for Snowflake shareholders

Table A2 in ITR-2 Schedule FA:

Field	Value
Country	United States of America (US)
Institution	Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Address	2000 Westchester Avenue, Purchase, NY 10577, USA
Account Number	Your Morgan Stanley at Work account number
Status	Beneficial Owner
Peak Value (INR)	Highest SNOW value × shares × SBI TTBR during Jan 1–Dec 31
Closing Value (INR)	Dec 31 SNOW price × shares × Dec 31 SBI TTBR

Table A3: List SNOW separately with cost (INR at vest-date TTBR per lot), peak value (INR), and closing value (INR). If you hold RSU lots and PSU lots, list each tranche separately.

Calendar year scope: Schedule FA covers January 1 to December 31. The February 15 vest falls within calendar year; include it in Schedule FA for that calendar year.

LTCG planning for SNOW holders

Snowflake's stock volatility creates meaningful LTCG vs STCG planning decisions:

2022–2023 vest lots ($110–$160 cost basis):

• Engineers who held through the trough are approaching or have crossed 24-month LTCG eligibility
• At current ~$190: $30–$80 per share gain taxable at 12.5% LTCG

High-cost lots from 2021 ($300–$390 cost basis):

• These may now be underwater (SNOW at $190 vs cost $300)
• An underwater STCG loss can be harvested and used to offset LTCG gains from other assets
• STCG loss from SNOW can offset LTCG gains on Indian equity, US ETFs, or other long-term US stocks

Tax-loss harvesting opportunity: If you hold SNOW lots vested above current price and less than 24 months old, selling creates an STCG loss. This loss can offset both STCG and LTCG gains elsewhere. See our STCG vs LTCG loss offset matrix for the full set-off rules.

No wash sale concern: India's Income Tax Act has no wash sale equivalent. You can sell SNOW at a loss and repurchase immediately — the loss is still deductible.

Advance tax planning

Snowflake's fixed vest dates make advance tax planning straightforward:

Advance tax deadline	Action
June 15	Include February 15 and May 15 vests; estimate 15% of annual tax
September 15	Include August 15 vest; cumulative 45%
December 15	Include November 15 vest; cumulative 75%
March 15	True-up; include any SNOW sales and capital gains

All four quarterly vests are typically within 30 days of an advance tax deadline. After each vest, check whether TDS was deducted correctly and whether advance tax top-up is needed.

US estate tax

SNOW shares held in Morgan Stanley at Work (US broker) are US-situs assets. Non-resident aliens face a $60,000 exemption; estate tax of up to 40% applies above that threshold.

At $190/share and 1,000 accumulated shares: ($190,000 − $60,000) × 40% = $52,000 estate tax exposure.

Snowflake engineers with large unvested grant balances should note: unvested RSUs in a US company's equity plan may also be US-situs assets for estate tax purposes if held at death before vesting. This is a nuanced area of US estate law — consult a US-qualified estate attorney for large positions.

Mitigation for vested shares: when diversifying SNOW proceeds, consider UCITS ETFs (CSPX, VWRA) listed on the London Stock Exchange — non-US-situs assets.

Compensation by level

Snowflake India (Bangalore):

Level	Title	RSU grant (approx)	Vest
IC2	Software Engineer	$40,000–$80,000	4-year quarterly
IC3	Senior Software Engineer	$80,000–$150,000	4-year quarterly
IC4	Staff Engineer	$130,000–$250,000	4-year quarterly
IC5	Principal Engineer	$220,000–$400,000	4-year quarterly
IC6	Distinguished Engineer	$350,000+	4-year quarterly
M3–M4	Engineering Manager / Senior Manager	$120,000–$280,000	4-year quarterly

Snowflake India compensation is considered premium for the data platform domain. New-hire RSU grants are typically front-loaded with a significant initial grant. Annual refresh grants are added each year as part of total compensation review.

Related reading

• STCG vs LTCG loss offset matrix — tax-loss harvesting SNOW lots
• 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
• Advance tax quarterly calendar — planning around vest events

For other employer RSU guides: Adobe · AMD · Applied Materials · Broadcom · Cisco · Dell Technologies · Google · NVIDIA · Qualcomm · Texas Instruments

This guide reflects information as of September 2026. RSU plan mechanics, vesting schedules, equity platform details, and PSU conditions can change. Verify current terms in your grant agreement and the Morgan Stanley at Work portal. Not tax or investment advice — consult a CA for your specific situation.