Career & Income Calculators
Salary, raise, total compensation, freelance-vs-employee breakeven, and take-home pay scenarios — modeled honestly, with taxes and benefits included instead of glossed over.
How to think about a career income decision
Most career-income questions — "should I take this offer?", "is my raise fair?", "should I go freelance?" — feel personal but reduce to four numbers: gross compensation, taxes, benefits value, and time cost. The calculators below isolate each one so you can answer the question on math instead of vibes.
A $140k W-2 with a 6% 401(k) match, $1,200/mo employer health premium, and 4 weeks PTO is not the same as a $160k 1099 contract with no benefits. Once you adjust for the 7.65% employer-side payroll tax you'll pay as a contractor, the unmatched 401(k), the self-paid health premium, and the unpaid PTO, the breakeven is usually higher than the headline 1099 number. See our freelance vs salary calculator for the full breakdown.
For raise negotiations, the right input isn't "what I want" — it's "what's market for my role and geography." Use the salary-to-rate calculator to translate any quote into an apples-to-apples annual figure, and our freelance rate guide for the full pricing framework.
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The four numbers that matter for any career decision
| Number | Why it matters | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Gross comp | Headline number on the offer letter | Comparing 1099 gross to W-2 gross |
| Effective tax rate | What the IRS and state actually keep | Using marginal rate as if it applies to everything |
| Benefits value | 401(k) match, health, PTO, equity | Pretending benefits are zero because you don't see them |
| Time cost | Hours worked + commute + cognitive load | Comparing two roles at the same hourly without normalizing |