Salary Calculator — Net Pay & Negotiation Advisor

Most people compare jobs by gross salary because it's the headline number on the offer letter — but gross is rarely what determines your real financial outcome. After federal income tax, state income tax (if any), FICA (7.65% in the US), and pre-tax deductions for health insurance and retirement, your net pay is often 25–35% lower than gross. A $100k offer in Texas (no state income tax) and a $100k offer in California can have a $7,000+ difference in annual take-home.

The right number to anchor on is net pay per hour worked, including benefits. A $100k role with a 5% 401k match, $15k of health-insurance value, and 25 PTO days is worth meaningfully more than $115k with no match and 10 PTO days, even though the headline gross is lower. The Salary Calculator does this comparison for you — you stop comparing apples to oranges and start comparing real value delivered to your bank account.

The single biggest mistake in salary negotiation is accepting the first offer. Recruiters expect counters and almost always have 5–15% of headroom built into the initial number; declining to negotiate leaves that money on the table permanently — every future raise is a percentage of a lower base. A 10% bump at hire compounds to $50k+ over a 5-year tenure when raises are factored in.

The playbook: never give a number first (always ask for the budget for the role). Once you have an offer, take 24–48 hours before responding. Counter on multiple dimensions, not just base — signing bonus is the easiest to move because it's a one-time hit to the company, equity refresh is next, then base. Always have a specific market data point ('Levels.fyi shows the median for this role in this city is $X') and a confident, brief script. The AI advisor returns a ranked list of which levers to push for your specific situation.

For salaried roles in tech, finance and senior management, base salary often represents only 50–70% of total compensation. The rest comes from annual bonuses (10–25% of base), equity grants (RSUs, options, ESPP), retirement match (typically 3–6% of base), health insurance (often $10–25k of value), PTO, parental leave, and remote-work stipends. Comparing two offers without normalising all of these is comparing apples to wheels.

A few rules of thumb. Treat RSUs at the current 4-year vesting value, then discount 20–30% for company risk. Treat options as zero unless the company is publicly traded or near IPO — most options never become liquid. Always capture the full 401k match (it is a 100% instant return). The Salary Calculator surfaces these components and gives a single 'true comp per year' figure you can use to compare offers honestly.

Sometimes the right move is no — but it's hard to recognise the signal when you're emotionally invested in an offer. Walk away if: the role is more than 15% below market and the company refuses to budge, the offer is contingent on giving up a clearly better alternative, the comp structure is dominated by hard-to-realise equity (private company, no IPO path), or the negotiation process itself reveals dysfunction (rude recruiter, opaque about ranges, contradictory information).

Walking away from a bad offer almost always costs less than accepting one. The next role is rarely far behind, and the act of declining strengthens your position in subsequent negotiations. The Salary Calculator's verdict — fair / underpaid / strong — is meant to give you that confidence point: a clear, data-backed read on whether to push, accept, or move on.