{
  "slug": "severance-pay-calculator",
  "title": "Severance Pay Calculator — What Your Package Is Worth (2026)",
  "heading": "Severance Pay Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/severance-pay-calculator",
  "summary": "Enter your salary, tenure, and the weeks-per-year formula — see the gross package, the tax bite, and what actually lands in your account.",
  "description": "Most US severance is a formula: some number of weeks of pay for every year you worked, sometimes with a floor and a cap. This calculator turns that formula into real dollars, adds unused PTO and any continuation of benefits, then applies the 22% federal supplemental withholding rate most employers use on severance so you see the net, not the headline.",
  "formula": "Weeks = clamp(years of service × weeks per year, minimum weeks, cap). Severance = (annual salary ÷ 52) × weeks. PTO payout = (annual salary ÷ 260) × unused days. Withholding uses the 22% federal supplemental rate plus 7.65% FICA.",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-31",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=severance-pay-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "salary",
      "label": "Annual base salary",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 95000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years of service",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 50
    },
    {
      "id": "weeksPerYear",
      "label": "Weeks of pay per year of service",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": "Typical US packages run 1–4 weeks per year. Check your offer letter or severance policy.",
      "default": 2,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 12
    },
    {
      "id": "minWeeks",
      "label": "Minimum weeks guaranteed",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "capWeeks",
      "label": "Cap on total weeks",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": "Enter 0 for no cap.",
      "default": 52,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "ptoDays",
      "label": "Unused PTO days paid out",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "bonus",
      "label": "Prorated bonus or extras",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyBurn",
      "label": "Your monthly expenses",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4200,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "gross",
      "label": "Gross severance package",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "weeks",
      "label": "Weeks of pay",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "severance",
      "label": "Severance portion",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pto",
      "label": "PTO payout portion",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "withheld",
      "label": "Estimated withholding (22% fed + FICA)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "net",
      "label": "Estimated take-home",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "runway",
      "label": "Months of runway it buys",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Annual base salary: 95000 $",
      "Years of service: 6",
      "Weeks of pay per year of service: 2",
      "Minimum weeks guaranteed: 4",
      "Cap on total weeks: 52",
      "Unused PTO days paid out: 8",
      "Prorated bonus or extras: 0 $",
      "Your monthly expenses: 4200 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Gross severance package: $24,846.15",
      "Weeks of pay: 12",
      "Severance portion: $21,923.08",
      "PTO payout portion: $2,923.08",
      "Estimated withholding (22% fed + FICA): $7,366.88",
      "Estimated take-home: $17,479.27",
      "Months of runway it buys: 4.2"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter annual base salary ($).",
      "Enter years of service.",
      "Enter weeks of pay per year of service — Typical US packages run 1–4 weeks per year. Check your offer letter or severance policy..",
      "Enter minimum weeks guaranteed.",
      "Enter cap on total weeks — Enter 0 for no cap..",
      "Enter unused pto days paid out.",
      "Enter prorated bonus or extras ($).",
      "Enter your monthly expenses ($).",
      "Read your gross severance package on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Standard layoff",
      "description": "2 weeks per year, 6 years in",
      "values": {
        "salary": 95000,
        "years": 6,
        "weeksPerYear": 2,
        "ptoDays": 8
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Long tenure, capped",
      "description": "18 years but a 26-week cap",
      "values": {
        "salary": 120000,
        "years": 18,
        "weeksPerYear": 2,
        "capWeeks": 26,
        "ptoDays": 15
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Senior package",
      "description": "4 weeks per year plus prorated bonus",
      "values": {
        "salary": 185000,
        "years": 9,
        "weeksPerYear": 4,
        "bonus": 25000,
        "ptoDays": 12
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Is severance pay required by law in the US?",
      "a": "No. Outside of a contract, a union agreement, or a mass-layoff notice law like the federal WARN Act, no US employer is required to pay severance. Most packages are voluntary and offered in exchange for a signed release of claims — which is exactly why they're negotiable."
    },
    {
      "q": "How is severance taxed?",
      "a": "Severance is wages. Employers usually withhold federal tax at the 22% supplemental rate (37% on amounts over $1 million), plus Social Security, Medicare, and state tax. Withholding is not your final bill — if your total year's income lands in a lower bracket, you get some of it back at filing."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I collect unemployment while receiving severance?",
      "a": "It depends on your state and how the money is paid. States that treat severance as wages allocated to specific weeks will delay your benefits until that period ends. States that treat a lump sum as a one-time payment often let you claim right away. File as soon as you're separated and let the state decide."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I negotiate a severance offer?",
      "a": "Usually yes, and it's expected. The most commonly granted asks are additional weeks, a longer employer-paid health coverage window, keeping unvested equity that's close to vesting, a neutral or positive reference, and removing a non-compete. Ask for the offer in writing and take the review period you're entitled to."
    },
    {
      "q": "What is a typical severance formula?",
      "a": "One to two weeks of pay per year of service is the most common US range, with senior and executive roles seeing three to four weeks per year plus bonus treatment. Many policies add a floor (often four weeks) and a cap (often 26 or 52 weeks)."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pto-payout-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/overtime-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/take-home-pay-california"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Severance Pay Calculator — What Your Package Is Worth (2026) (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/severance-pay-calculator)"
}