What costs should I include?

Anything one job creates and the other does not: commuting, parking, relocation spread over a year, childcare hours, and equipment you would have to buy. Leave out anything you would pay either way.

Should I use my marginal or effective rate?

The effective rate, because you are comparing whole packages rather than a raise at the margin.

Salary & HRcareer

Job Offer Comparison Calculator

Two offers compared on what actually lands, after tax and after the costs each job creates. A larger headline number can lose to a smaller one once a commute is priced in.

Also called: offer comparison, compare two job offers.

Which offer is worth more

Offer B is worth more

Offer B is worth more. After tax and costs, A is worth $1,200,000.00 and B is worth $1,320,000.00, a difference of $120,000.00 a year, or $10,000.00 a month.

Offer A, net of tax and costs

$1,200,000.00

Offer B, net of tax and costs

$1,320,000.00

Annual difference

$120,000.00

Monthly difference

$10,000.00

Difference as a percentage

10%

How this is calculated

Computed from the published rates for the tax year you selected, which is not necessarily the current year. A calculation, not tax advice, and it does not know anything about your circumstances beyond the figures entered.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Headline pay is not comparable across offers that differ in bonus structure, location or commute. This nets each offer down to what reaches you and then subtracts what the job costs you to hold: commuting, relocation amortised over a year, childcare that one role requires and the other does not. The difference is expressed monthly as well, because that is the number people actually feel.

net = (pay + bonus) * (1 - tax rate) - annual costs

P: Annual pay (currency)
B: Bonus and equity (currency)
t: Effective tax rate (decimal)
C: Annual costs the job creates (currency)

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

identical offers are identical

Offer A: annual pay: $100,000.00
Offer A: annual bonus and equity: $0.00
Offer A: annual commute and other costs: $0.00
Offer B: annual pay: $100,000.00
Offer B: annual bonus and equity: $0.00
Offer B: annual commute and other costs: $0.00
Your effective tax rate: 25%

Which offer is worth moreThe two are worth the same

degenerate case

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

One effective tax rate applied to both offers, which is right when they are in the same jurisdiction and roughly the same bracket.
Bonus and equity are entered at the value you expect to receive rather than at target.

What it deliberately does not model

It does not price seniority, learning, stability or optionality, which routinely outweigh a few percent of pay.
Equity in a private company is worth what it eventually sells for, not what the offer letter says.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

What costs should I include?: Anything one job creates and the other does not: commuting, parking, relocation spread over a year, childcare hours, and equipment you would have to buy. Leave out anything you would pay either way.
Should I use my marginal or effective rate?: The effective rate, because you are comparing whole packages rather than a raise at the margin.