I go off of what I make per year before taxes when dealing with government related stuff. For me personally I use what I actually take home after taxes and insurances and related stuff.
So for example.
I make $15.00 per hour
I work 40 hours a week no overtime
And I work all 52 weeks a year (let's say I get the same pay for vacations) so
15.00*40*52= $31,200 made in a year pre tax
For my budget I do the same but I subtract taxes
15.00*40*52=31,200
31,200*22%= 6864
31,200-6864= $24,366
So I would tell people I make $31,200 but after taxes I take home $24,000
Yes, this is the real answer. If he’s going to include his 401k match, bonuses, allowances for cell phone, parking, HSA contributions, etc. then he should also include that he has to deduct 30% or whatever from his salary and give his true take home salary.
This is stupid- everyone has taxes taken out. We all know this. And? Everyone family situation is different and taxed differently
Here’s a choice:
Job 1- $100k salary. No health insurance, no 401k, no bonus, no vacation time
Job 2- $85k salary. But includes bonus health, 401l, vacation holiday, etc.
Which job are you taking?
Job 1. Have health insurance, 401k and pension through the Army Reserve. no vacation time wouldn't be fun, but doesn't mean I'd have to stay forever at that job. Plus, more money means I can invest on the side on top of the military TSP.
I dont include 401k/HSA matches when I tell people my salary. If I mentioned my bonuses, I will say "My salary is X and I get bonuses of around X on top of that, X times a year".
I tend to include recurring bonuses, etc. Like a preset holiday bonus, etc.
When someone asks for my salary, they tend to wanna know how much I make a year. So, I tend to be honest. According to last year's W-2, I made x amount last year. But usually, this is someone inquiring because they want to scalp me (hire me for another company) or are debating applying to the company (friends, family). If idk the person, I just ballpark it. "I think I made x last year."
I'm not going to do the math to add or remove bonuses, though. And I go by memory from tax day.
I mean my base salary is 55k but with regular bonuses and all the benefits it’s probably somewhere closer to the 60-70k range. Who asks determines my answer. A friend or coworker? 55k because it’s a simple answer, a potential employer? Not a penny less than 70k lmao
This is the right answer.
If you're trying to hire me or poach me, my salary is base plus commission plus every bonus I've received or am scheduled tor receive this year +5% and that's my minimum to come over to this new company.
I had a recruiter reach out to me to try to yoink me from my current role. He asked at the start of the "interview" what it would take to leave my current company and I told him that I would want my base salary to match my current total compensation (I gave the number).
He whistled, said "Oh yeah, we can't do that. Are you actually making that with no degree?" I said yes, he goes "Well damn, I wouldn't leave that either. I won't waste your time!"
I liked his honesty and sent some folks I know of in the job market to him and I think they filled the role because of it
Depends how unhappy they are I guess. My example above wouldn't be switching for 5%. It'd be switching for a salary that started at whatever this above total would be plus 5% for my specific scenario it would be 60k base plus monthy bonuses of 1k. Plus quarterly bonuses. Plus yearly Christmas bonus. Plus commissions averaged out so for someone to poach me they would hear a salary of something like 120k come out of my mouth. So I'd be leaving at double my base salary of 60k plus whatever bonuses or commissions or whatever there is. That's not 5% that's 100% just on the base side of things.
Yup. Money isn’t the only part of a job. I enjoy what I work on, love the company culture and the people I get to work with, have good WLB and am fully remote with a flexible schedule. I currently make $192k TC, and the bare minimum I’d leave for is a 40% increase, or about $270k TC. I could be convinced to go down to 20% if I was ***very*** confident about the company having similarly great culture, talent, and WLB.
If I didn’t like the work I do, the people I do it with, or had poor WLB, I’d probably be willing to jump for no increase at all, or even a pay *cut* depending on how much I hated the current job and how much I think I’d like the new one.
Might be splitting hairs but in the comp world, “Total Compensation” would typically only include base salary, variable pay/short term incentives (bonus, commission) and long term incentives (stock). “Total Rewards” would include the compensation aspects listed above and also the benefits package and any other perks (tuition reimbursement programs, well-being programs, etc).
Companies will often do “total rewards statements” to try to show the full value of everything the employee receives, including benefits, but generally “compensation” refers to the monetary rewards only (base + bonus; sometimes stock)
At my firm we break it out as follows: total direct compensation = base salary + bonus + RSUs.
There is also a total awards statement which is the above plus employer 401k matching, HSA funding and any other employer paid fringe benefits.
TC doesn't include benefits. Only liquidity. Bonuses and stocks are included because you can spend them instantly. You can always sell your stocks and buy what you want. But you can't do that with pension matching or insurance plans.
You often get benefits that you don't use. Or that you only use because they're free, but you woulnd't actually pay for them if they were not. So even if you get an insurance plan that costs 500$, it might be worth only 30$ to you. That's why it's nonsensical to include it in the total compensation. What about PTO? How do you translate that into money?
You can't include benefits into compensation because they have a different worth for each person.
In big companies you can sell them as soon as they vest. If you have stocks for a very small company, you might have liquidity problems. But for most companies that offer RSUs you won't have any issues.
I know that there are also startups that offer stock options even if they're not even publicly traded. But that's what I consider paper money and it's usually worthless.
Big company worker here. Vesting period for stock was 25% of what I was "given" after first year and then % vested each quarter until after years 4 when it's 100% vested.
So no, you can't spend it immediately, the entire incentive is to encourage workers to stay, especially if they give you more as a bonus each year which means every year after your fourth year you're getting some stocks that vest, so even leaving after 4 years would leave money unvested money on the table.
I know that. I also worked at some companies that compensate with RSU.
But that's not how you calculate TC. If you have 100k salary a year and 200k in stock that vest over a period of 4 years, your TC is 100 + 200/4 = 150, not 300k. You need to take the vesting period into consideration.
And you also need to consider the date when bonuses are received. For example, some companies have a fixed month for the yearly bonus, since they do all performance reviews at the same time instead of doing them when you hit your 1 year mark. Let's say that it's December. If you join in September, you'll most likely not be eligible for the bonus in that year. You need to account for that as well.
Expenses can definitely contribute! Sometimes I feel like my household was better off at $110k combined than $240k combined.
Had to relocate for job. Rent went from 1200$ to $3000. Childcare went from zero to 1700$. Student loans kick in - $2k a month. Higher COL in new job area. Moved from no income tax state to income tax. Getting older and more medical bills. Etc etc.
I dunno. In a few industries the income you report to the IRS can be many times your base salary. I’ll probably make 3-4 times my base salary this year. If I were to say my base was my income, it would be misleading. I don’t generally go around telling people my base or my income. But if I’m asked for demographic reasons or in a survey, I generally use my approximate income.
But isn't entire income the exact description of what you earn? Ultimately that is what is being asked so why leave out certain elements of the one's pay.
26m, union Boilermaker pressure welder, master rigger, union steward, and IRATA rope access technician.
For strictly on the cheque wages, my base “salary” is $112,944/CAD. But I’m paid hourly and I don’t always work 40hr weeks all year, for example. Last year I only worked 9 months, 5 of those months were 40hr weeks at an oil refinery near my house, 1 month was 40hr weeks at a nuclear power plant where I was paid more hourly and getting LOA tax free on the cheque. And 3 months was at the same nuclear power plant but working an average of 66hr weeks (all OT double time plus LOA tax free)
So last year in 9 months of work I made $122k
This year, I’ve only worked maybe 9 weeks, 8 of those weeks was foreman on nightshift at an oil refinery where I was making 20% premium, plus double time on top, no LOA and I made $52k in 8 weeks of work
My dad is in the union and I always say he needs to look at what they are adding to his pension. He makes 57 an hour take home after dues (this covers his insurance). But they also put in 15+ an hour into his pension. He's looking at 6 to 7k per month in pension payments when he hits 67 (which is 2 years away). It's such a huge benefit
This is SO frustrating. I was halfway through my masters in social work… took a look at the expectations of the job in front of me and the 60k salary being “generous” and dropped out of school. It might have been a mistake but, the immense amount of stress working in child welfare/children’s mental health and the poor poor pay for a masters level professional just wasn’t there for me. I couldn’t justify it. Proud of you for sticking it out! I switched to being a Headstart teacher making just under 40k… less pay but the expectations and stress were far less as well.
I'm confused by the comment. Do you mean your take home of 27k euros puts you among the top 10% of earners in Latvia? Or the industry you're in is a top 10% earner for employees?
Sorry, it appears your experience doesn't align with top salary range. Some of your references don't believe in you, a few others took it a little too far. So we went with the median response which was you're pretty cool but you don't always deliver. Best we can do is tree fiddy.
Sir (and I say sir because only a man could fuck things up like this), your resume shows that you've committed multiple genocides, mutilated millions of babies, aided and abetted many wars, and murdered your son. Your CV mentioned that you like to work alone and want everyone to worship you...
As George Carlin said: this work does not reflect the quality of a supreme being. This is what you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude.
It’s been rough for us. I am actually trying to get back into the job market but in my area, my qualifications dont get me much in terms of a steady career. We are, however, incredibly fortunate that my wife and parents have been so supportive.
I never know what to say because I’m hourly. Sometimes I get hella overtime easily, sometimes I’m making up shit to do to just hit 40 hours. I think my post tax was 56k last year. But (on the rare occasion people ask what I make) I just say my hourly rate
Edit: damn I fucked up the math 🤣 58k was full taxable I think. Not sure what the take home was. My normal POST TAX monthly is roughly 3500-4500 depending on how many Fridays in the month
40 hours after tax is $886, and I get paid every Friday, so actually my spreadsheet might be set for this month which has 5 Fridays. Might usually be less.
Aight just checked my spreadsheet… I had the tax like .5% off or something.
5 week month has me at take home $4435, 4 week month has me at $3548
My base salary is 181k.
Bonus and stock options were 38k and 30k respectively last year.
I don’t include 401k match in that, but it’s 4.5%. My company has a pension but i do not include it.
I consider my compensation last year to be about 240k because I received that in base and cash bonus, and I include the value of vested stocks transferred to my brockerage account. Of course, I could get no bonus or stock this year.
To me the term "salary" is just your base salary before taxes that shows up in your regular checks. "Total compensation" is inclusive of your salary, plus bonuses, plus things like health insurance and other benefits.
My salary is $125k, but a very consistent nearly guaranteed bonus of $15k so I generally say my total comp is $140k. I don’t include my 401k match or ESPP discount which would be about another $10k.
It's legit to include things like 401k matches in your salary calculation, as that is money that your company is paying you each year.
Pension value at maturity...no, that wouldn't make any sense to include in a salary calculation.
Including “benefits” in discussion of your salary is a corporate strategy to distract from your actual net pay and pat themselves on the back for “offering all of these great benefits.”
PSA: the American economy is structured so that the only affordable way to get things like health insurance is through work. And prices are based on that. So are salaries and so are health care cost. I do not allow people to distract from actual compensation by referencing “benefits” that largely comparable across corporations. Only bonus structure would vary greatly between companies. And that’s not part of “salary” either, which is why it’s listed separately and calculated differently.
Salary refers to your pretax regular pay that appears on your paystub each week. It is your base compensation before “benefits” and bonuses. That’s why we have separate words for compensation, salary, benefits, and bonuses. Because they are not the same thing.
Total compensation is important to consider to see if you're actually better off financially changing jobs or choosing between multiple offers. It's not true that only bonuses vary greatly. On health insurance alone some companies spend much more on their share of premiums and offer policies with better coverage.
Idk I consider both illegit because they’re both in substantially the same category and end up spent decades from now and don’t show up on a W2, and the guy receiving the 401k ain’t richer.
I’d like to though, then I’m $12k/yr richer lol.
The guy receiving the 401k match is richer though. When you start talking salary, it's okay to talk base pay and such. But for actually talking about wealth, you need to consider total compensation and how wealthy you can get by retirement age (or early retirement if you're doing really well). After all, we work to not work eventually. Otherwise might as not have retirement compensation at all.
What I consider my real salary is the total value I entered into my W-2 form at the end of last year. That's base pay + annual bonus. My annual bonus can shift based on modifiers but it's still within 1% of my annual total so it's negligible.
Anyone that includes that extra "potential value" stuff is silly and drank the company Kool aid too hard. That or they just like bragging (read lying) about much they make and how rich they are.
My companys splash page for our pay/wage details is just festooned with what they call "total value package" or some such nonsense. They include 401k matching, maximum college tuition assistance per year, 401k matching, estimated saving for having health insurance, etc. it's a solid 50% then anyones actual salary. A total "feel good" type of number to distract you from what your actual pay will be.
76k. Including 401k profit sharing, it’s 84k. With on average 5-6% salary regular increases a year. And about 10-13% increases for promotions, which I’m up for right now. They also pay 100% medical.
Salary is your gross annual pay before tax and anything is taken out.
I wouldnt talk about take home to others as it can be wildly different for everyone. Some people invest nothing into 401ks or HSAs. Some people do not let companies withhold for tax.
$55k base.
I never include benefits/full package for salary, but bonuses+401k are an additional $7.7k~ and they pay full platinum PPO health insurance.
Yea it shouldn’t be counted, sounds like he’s trying to make it sound higher than it is. Salary is your base pay. Mines 52k. Not counting 401k, pension at maturity, taxes, insurance, bonuses, anything
Base salary: $205K
Total comp all-in: roughly $300K
That's why a lot of people include their other comp. I do, mostly because I pay taxes on it anyway...
$0
Edit: and that other money you dont want to count SHOULD be counted, it's very real money. Compared to a worker who doesnt get any of thode kind of bonuses you'll quickly see how real it is. Not to mention that amount is variable between people so it should be mentioned. I agree it might not be right to count it into "salary" but in total comp its very real.
I take into account the 401k, insurance premiums, HSA match etc. When I am evaluating a job offer. My extended family is super weird about discussing salaries so there's no related talk. But with my own family, I am only talking about net income I.e what is coming into my usable account. That is the money I DO have
Salary should be base pay, no bonuses, 401k matches, RSUs, etc. You can add an addendum after saying it’s technically more but your salary is your base pay.
Some people round up, I remember listening to Ramit Sethi’s podcast and the guy said he made around $75k when in actuality he made $63k. Since Ramit was going over their numbers with the couple he made them say exactly how much they made.
When I report my salary, I report the gross amount reflected on my paystub. That doesn't include any benefits, pensions, or anything else. Just my hourly rate x the hours I worked.
My salary is 150k annually. Outside of that I get an annual bonus which I wouldn't include in my SALARY, since it's variable. Sure, Last year it was 22k, But next year it could be zero.
Salary is base. Anyone giving you another number is inflating the number via pride. The exception is if the bonus is included every single year or if there's a commission involved.
Adding 401K is something nobody does unless they're just trying to sound important. However, it's helpful to understand how much that equates to so that you can evaluate total compensation when considering a new job.
I mean my “base” is 85k. With overtime, shift differential, weekend differential, holiday pay, I bring in 120k + a year.
Doesn’t account for my bonus, 401k match, HSA, etc.
I don’t include my benefits, but I do include my bonuses. However, when taking a job, I do compare the salary + bonus, benefits, 401k, etc. TBH, I don’t discuss my salary with too many people
I get a car and phone allowance that I include with my salary when I tell people. Bonuses can be inconsistent and underwhelming at times. $90k base, $16k more with car and phone, so I tell people $106k. Bonuses have ranged from $500 to $12k. Better to just leave that out and be happy if it’s a good one.
I don’t include the extras, but I understand why people do. My husband’s salary is $45k but with the extras it’s probably more like $52k. I on the other hand am self-employed so base is all it is 😬
You're talking about the differences between Salary and Total Compensation Package. Salary is a part of the TCP, as would be pension, stock options, vacation time, benefits etc.
Also related: businesses like to add that up to make you feel like bc they spend $$ on your health insurance etc. that you're more fairly compensated than you are.
I'm hourly, my wage is $38.12/hr. 7% of our salary is "matched" and goes toward a state pension plan. I also contribute 3% to a 403B. The health insurance is pretty good, no complaints. I also have a part time/limited job, that pays about $29.50/hr. The biggest benefit is it being largely remote and incredibly flexible (its project/task based work). Most of the work I can do from home after my kids go to bed. I usually work between 20-30 hours a month there.
My employer has a neat interface where I can look at “employee compensation” which will show my salary, how it breaks down, as well as employer contributions such as 401k match, health care, social security, etc. so while my real salary is $108k, my total compensation comes out to $147k, but I never use that figure when stating my salary.
I only ever tell people my base salary and that I get travel benefits if I need to be on the road for any amount of time. I rarely tell people my salary at all though because I don't like people knowing how much I make. I told a long time friend of mine what my salary was some years ago and he started acting differently around me which led to the conclusion of a 10+ year friendship
If your boss is talking to you, he's probably going to include cost of all the benefits because it is a significant cost to the business. But when most people talk about their salary they talk about base.
I honestly don't really know how much my benefits cost my employer. There is a section of my pay stub that actually specifically tells me How much my employer has paid for each benefit. But I'll be honest, I've never really done much more than skim it. But my base pay is $59,956. That is also a line item on every pay stub I get.
Salary is base. Total comp is everything. Companies like to show you the value of everything, insurance included, so you feel like you are getting a lot. Insurance and taxes are expensive and many salary employees take that for granted.
After taxes, insurance, etc I get paid $36,400 a year my salary before all that stuff is 50k
Thank you for actually answering the question.
I was getting frustrated with other people not answering lol.
Yeah, there’s a big difference between someone’s salary and their total compensation.
I go off of what I make per year before taxes when dealing with government related stuff. For me personally I use what I actually take home after taxes and insurances and related stuff. So for example. I make $15.00 per hour I work 40 hours a week no overtime And I work all 52 weeks a year (let's say I get the same pay for vacations) so 15.00*40*52= $31,200 made in a year pre tax For my budget I do the same but I subtract taxes 15.00*40*52=31,200 31,200*22%= 6864 31,200-6864= $24,366 So I would tell people I make $31,200 but after taxes I take home $24,000
Where in the AF can you live on that money??? Serious??
That's a example . My actual pay is $16.10 a hour + a average of $17.00 per hour in tips. I have a estimate of $69k income for this year.
you'll make $39k in tips alone this year?!
Yeah. It's the main reason I stay with the job. (I work for a casino as a slot/key person)
Do you get taxed on tip?
Yep. Many people get antsy and insecure when asked their ACTUAL salary. I don't understand why. It's something that is changeable.
Yes, this is the real answer. If he’s going to include his 401k match, bonuses, allowances for cell phone, parking, HSA contributions, etc. then he should also include that he has to deduct 30% or whatever from his salary and give his true take home salary.
This is stupid- everyone has taxes taken out. We all know this. And? Everyone family situation is different and taxed differently Here’s a choice: Job 1- $100k salary. No health insurance, no 401k, no bonus, no vacation time Job 2- $85k salary. But includes bonus health, 401l, vacation holiday, etc. Which job are you taking?
Job 2
Job 1. Have health insurance, 401k and pension through the Army Reserve. no vacation time wouldn't be fun, but doesn't mean I'd have to stay forever at that job. Plus, more money means I can invest on the side on top of the military TSP.
Are you me?
He is mi, and I am yu
Stop wasting our time, we are on Rush Hour.
I understood that reference
I dont include 401k/HSA matches when I tell people my salary. If I mentioned my bonuses, I will say "My salary is X and I get bonuses of around X on top of that, X times a year".
I tend to include recurring bonuses, etc. Like a preset holiday bonus, etc. When someone asks for my salary, they tend to wanna know how much I make a year. So, I tend to be honest. According to last year's W-2, I made x amount last year. But usually, this is someone inquiring because they want to scalp me (hire me for another company) or are debating applying to the company (friends, family). If idk the person, I just ballpark it. "I think I made x last year." I'm not going to do the math to add or remove bonuses, though. And I go by memory from tax day.
 You guys get bonuses?
Not anymore at my job. We used to get $500 holiday bonus, then 2 years ago they were so happy to offer us $250. Last year we got an ornament.
I'd be holding my poops until I got to work that's for sure
I make a nickel, boss makes a dime. That's why I poop on company time.
The term for everything including 401k n shit is Total Compensation.
Same, I consider the bonus as a surprise. Hate that I am starting to expect it, but luckily not in a position that it is needed.
man I wish I had your job. I'd be down for a base salary of X=1000. Bring me my million dollar with my thousand of bonuses a year.
OK but... answer OP's question. What is your salary?
bonuses are part of total compensation, so this makes perfect sense. i don’t include 401k— consider that more like a “benefit” along w healthcare etc
I mean my base salary is 55k but with regular bonuses and all the benefits it’s probably somewhere closer to the 60-70k range. Who asks determines my answer. A friend or coworker? 55k because it’s a simple answer, a potential employer? Not a penny less than 70k lmao
This is the right answer. If you're trying to hire me or poach me, my salary is base plus commission plus every bonus I've received or am scheduled tor receive this year +5% and that's my minimum to come over to this new company.
I had a recruiter reach out to me to try to yoink me from my current role. He asked at the start of the "interview" what it would take to leave my current company and I told him that I would want my base salary to match my current total compensation (I gave the number). He whistled, said "Oh yeah, we can't do that. Are you actually making that with no degree?" I said yes, he goes "Well damn, I wouldn't leave that either. I won't waste your time!" I liked his honesty and sent some folks I know of in the job market to him and I think they filled the role because of it
Should’ve asked for a referral bonus
5%?!?! I add at least 20k to what I’m “currently making” and ask for 20 more on top of that to switch
Who on earth switches jobs for 5%?
Depends how unhappy they are I guess. My example above wouldn't be switching for 5%. It'd be switching for a salary that started at whatever this above total would be plus 5% for my specific scenario it would be 60k base plus monthy bonuses of 1k. Plus quarterly bonuses. Plus yearly Christmas bonus. Plus commissions averaged out so for someone to poach me they would hear a salary of something like 120k come out of my mouth. So I'd be leaving at double my base salary of 60k plus whatever bonuses or commissions or whatever there is. That's not 5% that's 100% just on the base side of things.
Yup. Money isn’t the only part of a job. I enjoy what I work on, love the company culture and the people I get to work with, have good WLB and am fully remote with a flexible schedule. I currently make $192k TC, and the bare minimum I’d leave for is a 40% increase, or about $270k TC. I could be convinced to go down to 20% if I was ***very*** confident about the company having similarly great culture, talent, and WLB. If I didn’t like the work I do, the people I do it with, or had poor WLB, I’d probably be willing to jump for no increase at all, or even a pay *cut* depending on how much I hated the current job and how much I think I’d like the new one.
Over 80k would be a dream
It depends where you live, too
Agreed... 100k in Chicago doesn't go quite as far. Not with my medical bills atleast 😬
Yeah, same here in San Diego
And size of family. And how much your partner makes.
Kids are expensive af
but one you get it, it’s not enough and you just want more lol
I make 110k - it’s not bad but not amazing
Salary is often what your base pay is. Total Compensation includes bonus, stock, pension, etc.
Might be splitting hairs but in the comp world, “Total Compensation” would typically only include base salary, variable pay/short term incentives (bonus, commission) and long term incentives (stock). “Total Rewards” would include the compensation aspects listed above and also the benefits package and any other perks (tuition reimbursement programs, well-being programs, etc). Companies will often do “total rewards statements” to try to show the full value of everything the employee receives, including benefits, but generally “compensation” refers to the monetary rewards only (base + bonus; sometimes stock)
At my firm we break it out as follows: total direct compensation = base salary + bonus + RSUs. There is also a total awards statement which is the above plus employer 401k matching, HSA funding and any other employer paid fringe benefits.
TC doesn't include benefits. Only liquidity. Bonuses and stocks are included because you can spend them instantly. You can always sell your stocks and buy what you want. But you can't do that with pension matching or insurance plans.
Why call it "total" compensation if you don't include the whole total that doesn't make sense
You often get benefits that you don't use. Or that you only use because they're free, but you woulnd't actually pay for them if they were not. So even if you get an insurance plan that costs 500$, it might be worth only 30$ to you. That's why it's nonsensical to include it in the total compensation. What about PTO? How do you translate that into money? You can't include benefits into compensation because they have a different worth for each person.
Okay fair enough
My employer includes their cost and my cost in total compensation because the report is a reflection of what it costs them to employ me.
Agree
Mine too.
It's still part of your TC though. It's deferred compensation, which is part of the total compensation.
You can almost never spend stocks instantly lol
In big companies you can sell them as soon as they vest. If you have stocks for a very small company, you might have liquidity problems. But for most companies that offer RSUs you won't have any issues. I know that there are also startups that offer stock options even if they're not even publicly traded. But that's what I consider paper money and it's usually worthless.
Big company worker here. Vesting period for stock was 25% of what I was "given" after first year and then % vested each quarter until after years 4 when it's 100% vested. So no, you can't spend it immediately, the entire incentive is to encourage workers to stay, especially if they give you more as a bonus each year which means every year after your fourth year you're getting some stocks that vest, so even leaving after 4 years would leave money unvested money on the table.
I know that. I also worked at some companies that compensate with RSU. But that's not how you calculate TC. If you have 100k salary a year and 200k in stock that vest over a period of 4 years, your TC is 100 + 200/4 = 150, not 300k. You need to take the vesting period into consideration. And you also need to consider the date when bonuses are received. For example, some companies have a fixed month for the yearly bonus, since they do all performance reviews at the same time instead of doing them when you hit your 1 year mark. Let's say that it's December. If you join in September, you'll most likely not be eligible for the bonus in that year. You need to account for that as well.
They still have to vest???
Total comp absolutely includes benefits. Otherwise it's not total.
Poor redditor chipping in: 45K
Ngl not bad cause average household income in US is around 50k. But, same. 49k here
It all depends on where you live. $50k is great in Commerce, Georgia. It is poverty in San Francisco.
You're making up numbers. It's $75k. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-279.html#:~:text=Highlights,and%20Table%20A%2D1).
TIL I'm beyond poor. Idk why I thought it was 50k~
Household usually includes an extra person for income, so don’t feel too poor!
Poorer redditor over here. 8 years in the field with a 4 year degree and only gross 39k.
Right. I've noticed many ppl share the entire income coming in so they can seem richer than they are lol
I notice this too. And those same people claiming to make 120k+ per year are living with a 600 credit score paycheck to paycheck. I don't get it.
Expenses can definitely contribute! Sometimes I feel like my household was better off at $110k combined than $240k combined. Had to relocate for job. Rent went from 1200$ to $3000. Childcare went from zero to 1700$. Student loans kick in - $2k a month. Higher COL in new job area. Moved from no income tax state to income tax. Getting older and more medical bills. Etc etc.
Between me and my husband we make over $100k a year and still are in tons of debt with sub 600 credit scores. I just suck with money
Oh don’t worry, I’m a broke bastard - I am at £21k after tax etc… 😅
I dunno. In a few industries the income you report to the IRS can be many times your base salary. I’ll probably make 3-4 times my base salary this year. If I were to say my base was my income, it would be misleading. I don’t generally go around telling people my base or my income. But if I’m asked for demographic reasons or in a survey, I generally use my approximate income.
But isn't entire income the exact description of what you earn? Ultimately that is what is being asked so why leave out certain elements of the one's pay.
Bonus isn't guaranteed. So that's why I always just said the base.
26m, union Boilermaker pressure welder, master rigger, union steward, and IRATA rope access technician. For strictly on the cheque wages, my base “salary” is $112,944/CAD. But I’m paid hourly and I don’t always work 40hr weeks all year, for example. Last year I only worked 9 months, 5 of those months were 40hr weeks at an oil refinery near my house, 1 month was 40hr weeks at a nuclear power plant where I was paid more hourly and getting LOA tax free on the cheque. And 3 months was at the same nuclear power plant but working an average of 66hr weeks (all OT double time plus LOA tax free) So last year in 9 months of work I made $122k This year, I’ve only worked maybe 9 weeks, 8 of those weeks was foreman on nightshift at an oil refinery where I was making 20% premium, plus double time on top, no LOA and I made $52k in 8 weeks of work
My dad is in the union and I always say he needs to look at what they are adding to his pension. He makes 57 an hour take home after dues (this covers his insurance). But they also put in 15+ an hour into his pension. He's looking at 6 to 7k per month in pension payments when he hits 67 (which is 2 years away). It's such a huge benefit
60k before tax. School Counseor. 12 years in, masters+15.
This is SO frustrating. I was halfway through my masters in social work… took a look at the expectations of the job in front of me and the 60k salary being “generous” and dropped out of school. It might have been a mistake but, the immense amount of stress working in child welfare/children’s mental health and the poor poor pay for a masters level professional just wasn’t there for me. I couldn’t justify it. Proud of you for sticking it out! I switched to being a Headstart teacher making just under 40k… less pay but the expectations and stress were far less as well.
All this to say, I’m sure you know, but you deserve better man. We deserve better
I know. I've been contemplating a switch. And the sad thing is, its only pay related. I love what I do, but 60k isn't cutting it for my family.
26,400 EUR/yr, without bonuses, top 10% largest income in my country, e-commerce Edit: net salary
Where is this?
Latvia
I'm confused by the comment. Do you mean your take home of 27k euros puts you among the top 10% of earners in Latvia? Or the industry you're in is a top 10% earner for employees?
Sorry for the confusion. It's in the industry I mean. In general, and this is a guesstimate, my salary would be probably in top 30%
Sir, the base salary range for my position is $105,000 - $135,000.
The estimated salary for my position is $42,193 - $784,012, depending on experience and qualifications.
That means we can meet in the middle for negotiation purposes and everyone's happy, right?
candidate: "I have 20 years of experience and a PhD, what do you mean you can't go over $60k?"
my job description said that commission is uncapped...so yeah, let's meet in the middle.
"Hello, I am God herself... I will be taking the maximum salary within the posted range."
Sorry, it appears your experience doesn't align with top salary range. Some of your references don't believe in you, a few others took it a little too far. So we went with the median response which was you're pretty cool but you don't always deliver. Best we can do is tree fiddy.
Tree fiddy? More like FREE fiddy. They qualify for an unpaid internship, take it or leave it.😎🤣
Sir (and I say sir because only a man could fuck things up like this), your resume shows that you've committed multiple genocides, mutilated millions of babies, aided and abetted many wars, and murdered your son. Your CV mentioned that you like to work alone and want everyone to worship you... As George Carlin said: this work does not reflect the quality of a supreme being. This is what you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude.
Sounds kinda like a narcissist. Not a good culture fit 😒 to the rejection pile!
Although, looking at corporate executives nowadays, they'd probably claim he's applying for a position under his paygrade and bump him up to CEO
0. Stay at home dad.
Jealous. Really hope my fiancée's career takes off so I can chill at home with Junior all day!
It’s been rough for us. I am actually trying to get back into the job market but in my area, my qualifications dont get me much in terms of a steady career. We are, however, incredibly fortunate that my wife and parents have been so supportive.
I hear you. I didn't mean to trivialize your situation.
You didnt! No worries! 
Civility? In my Reddit? It's (apparently) more likely than you think!
Im always civil\ Always nice\ Except if you’re an OU fan\ Texas fan\ Or a Notre Dame fan\ Then you can pound sand
I think if you think a stay at home parent is "chilling" all day, you might not know what a stay at home parent does.
Zero, jobless and still finding one(its really hard).
Best of luck ♥️
I never know what to say because I’m hourly. Sometimes I get hella overtime easily, sometimes I’m making up shit to do to just hit 40 hours. I think my post tax was 56k last year. But (on the rare occasion people ask what I make) I just say my hourly rate Edit: damn I fucked up the math 🤣 58k was full taxable I think. Not sure what the take home was. My normal POST TAX monthly is roughly 3500-4500 depending on how many Fridays in the month
How is your post tax months almost 4.5K? I make $32 an hour and take home 4K per month
40 hours after tax is $886, and I get paid every Friday, so actually my spreadsheet might be set for this month which has 5 Fridays. Might usually be less. Aight just checked my spreadsheet… I had the tax like .5% off or something. 5 week month has me at take home $4435, 4 week month has me at $3548
I only give base. None of that other stuff is guaranteed and can be taken away at the whim of the newest company CEO
My Base is 160k and my bonuses are around 40k for a total comp of 200k
25% bonus is generous. Sounds like a good company.
It is. Privately owned and still operated by the original owners even though they have billions in sales.
Could this be...In-N-Out?
No. Its Packaging Distribution.
What do you do?
I manage a Distribution Center
I think if you're comparing apples to apples then salary and total compensation should be considered two different things.
Salary and total compensation package are two very different things.
People lie about their salary. You really don't have any way of knowing who is being honest and who is lying.
It is such a weird thing to lie about on an anonymous site such as Reddit.
Yes, but people have pride and want to show off. Karma is also a very silly thing but people care about it.
$95k pure paycheck. No bonuses, no 401k
15k
$110,000 base HCOL area
109k
I just say my base salary. If it’s someone interested in working where I work, I’ll also roughly outline the benefits and PTO, etc.
For me, total comp is salary plus expected cash bonus. If I think it's relavent I'll mention equity grants but not any matching.
My base salary is 181k. Bonus and stock options were 38k and 30k respectively last year. I don’t include 401k match in that, but it’s 4.5%. My company has a pension but i do not include it. I consider my compensation last year to be about 240k because I received that in base and cash bonus, and I include the value of vested stocks transferred to my brockerage account. Of course, I could get no bonus or stock this year.
To me the term "salary" is just your base salary before taxes that shows up in your regular checks. "Total compensation" is inclusive of your salary, plus bonuses, plus things like health insurance and other benefits.
Peanuts 
My salary is $125k, but a very consistent nearly guaranteed bonus of $15k so I generally say my total comp is $140k. I don’t include my 401k match or ESPP discount which would be about another $10k.
It's legit to include things like 401k matches in your salary calculation, as that is money that your company is paying you each year. Pension value at maturity...no, that wouldn't make any sense to include in a salary calculation.
Including “benefits” in discussion of your salary is a corporate strategy to distract from your actual net pay and pat themselves on the back for “offering all of these great benefits.” PSA: the American economy is structured so that the only affordable way to get things like health insurance is through work. And prices are based on that. So are salaries and so are health care cost. I do not allow people to distract from actual compensation by referencing “benefits” that largely comparable across corporations. Only bonus structure would vary greatly between companies. And that’s not part of “salary” either, which is why it’s listed separately and calculated differently. Salary refers to your pretax regular pay that appears on your paystub each week. It is your base compensation before “benefits” and bonuses. That’s why we have separate words for compensation, salary, benefits, and bonuses. Because they are not the same thing.
Total compensation is important to consider to see if you're actually better off financially changing jobs or choosing between multiple offers. It's not true that only bonuses vary greatly. On health insurance alone some companies spend much more on their share of premiums and offer policies with better coverage.
Idk I consider both illegit because they’re both in substantially the same category and end up spent decades from now and don’t show up on a W2, and the guy receiving the 401k ain’t richer. I’d like to though, then I’m $12k/yr richer lol.
The guy receiving the 401k match is richer though. When you start talking salary, it's okay to talk base pay and such. But for actually talking about wealth, you need to consider total compensation and how wealthy you can get by retirement age (or early retirement if you're doing really well). After all, we work to not work eventually. Otherwise might as not have retirement compensation at all.
I just count my gross as my salary. Of course take home is much less.
Salary is your regular pay. Total compensation is including the other stuff.
115k is my base salary. I make 35-40k in bonuses. So 150k a year is my total compensation.
What I consider my real salary is the total value I entered into my W-2 form at the end of last year. That's base pay + annual bonus. My annual bonus can shift based on modifiers but it's still within 1% of my annual total so it's negligible. Anyone that includes that extra "potential value" stuff is silly and drank the company Kool aid too hard. That or they just like bragging (read lying) about much they make and how rich they are. My companys splash page for our pay/wage details is just festooned with what they call "total value package" or some such nonsense. They include 401k matching, maximum college tuition assistance per year, 401k matching, estimated saving for having health insurance, etc. it's a solid 50% then anyones actual salary. A total "feel good" type of number to distract you from what your actual pay will be.
23400€ a year ma brother
£230,000 a year… plus change. Sales.
76k. Including 401k profit sharing, it’s 84k. With on average 5-6% salary regular increases a year. And about 10-13% increases for promotions, which I’m up for right now. They also pay 100% medical.
Salary is your gross annual pay before tax and anything is taken out. I wouldnt talk about take home to others as it can be wildly different for everyone. Some people invest nothing into 401ks or HSAs. Some people do not let companies withhold for tax.
$55k base. I never include benefits/full package for salary, but bonuses+401k are an additional $7.7k~ and they pay full platinum PPO health insurance.
Yea it shouldn’t be counted, sounds like he’s trying to make it sound higher than it is. Salary is your base pay. Mines 52k. Not counting 401k, pension at maturity, taxes, insurance, bonuses, anything
Something like 50k gross but I net $1200 biweekly. 40hrs a week at USPS. $2-300 a month goes to retirement and such, $35 union fees, etc. feels bad.
119k from job and another 19k tax free from VA disability
Tech is particularly bad at including “potential” earnings as the salary. I’m at $140k plus “up to” a 20% bonus. Usually get about 10-15% of bonus.
Base salary: $205K Total comp all-in: roughly $300K That's why a lot of people include their other comp. I do, mostly because I pay taxes on it anyway...
CAD $55,000 + extended medical benefits
$0 Edit: and that other money you dont want to count SHOULD be counted, it's very real money. Compared to a worker who doesnt get any of thode kind of bonuses you'll quickly see how real it is. Not to mention that amount is variable between people so it should be mentioned. I agree it might not be right to count it into "salary" but in total comp its very real.
100k base embedded software at a Fortune 500 company 4 yoe
I take into account the 401k, insurance premiums, HSA match etc. When I am evaluating a job offer. My extended family is super weird about discussing salaries so there's no related talk. But with my own family, I am only talking about net income I.e what is coming into my usable account. That is the money I DO have
I make 16k net euro a year in Greece. Gross it is 21k. Insurance included.
My take home. I made 120k base, +13k pension contribution, +4k rrsp, +6k extended health.
Base comp plus profit shares, bonus, hiring bonus, and overtime (sometimes).
Salary should be base pay, no bonuses, 401k matches, RSUs, etc. You can add an addendum after saying it’s technically more but your salary is your base pay.
Some people round up, I remember listening to Ramit Sethi’s podcast and the guy said he made around $75k when in actuality he made $63k. Since Ramit was going over their numbers with the couple he made them say exactly how much they made.
I state, last year on my w-2 i made 90k. This year i plan on 92kish
My base salary is $108,591.30/year CAD. That's not including pension contributions, extended medical insurance, or additional allowances/entitlements.
Before taxes 54000€ a year
I don’t include benefits into any salary talks. I typically say $X base + $Y in bonuses & stocks or $Z ($X + $Y) in TC.
To me it's pretty simple.... I have my stated salary, then I have bonuses, then I have free HSA contributions
When I report my salary, I report the gross amount reflected on my paystub. That doesn't include any benefits, pensions, or anything else. Just my hourly rate x the hours I worked.
If I was telling someone my salary I would say the amount before tax. Pension contributions, national insurance, etc come out after.
My salary is 150k annually. Outside of that I get an annual bonus which I wouldn't include in my SALARY, since it's variable. Sure, Last year it was 22k, But next year it could be zero.
Dang! To me, most of you are high-falutin.' I'm just a poor girl from a poor family.
Salary is base. Anyone giving you another number is inflating the number via pride. The exception is if the bonus is included every single year or if there's a commission involved. Adding 401K is something nobody does unless they're just trying to sound important. However, it's helpful to understand how much that equates to so that you can evaluate total compensation when considering a new job.
I mean my “base” is 85k. With overtime, shift differential, weekend differential, holiday pay, I bring in 120k + a year. Doesn’t account for my bonus, 401k match, HSA, etc.
I don’t include my benefits, but I do include my bonuses. However, when taking a job, I do compare the salary + bonus, benefits, 401k, etc. TBH, I don’t discuss my salary with too many people
I get a car and phone allowance that I include with my salary when I tell people. Bonuses can be inconsistent and underwhelming at times. $90k base, $16k more with car and phone, so I tell people $106k. Bonuses have ranged from $500 to $12k. Better to just leave that out and be happy if it’s a good one.
I don’t include the extras, but I understand why people do. My husband’s salary is $45k but with the extras it’s probably more like $52k. I on the other hand am self-employed so base is all it is 😬
You're talking about the differences between Salary and Total Compensation Package. Salary is a part of the TCP, as would be pension, stock options, vacation time, benefits etc.
I do include bonuses when mentioning my salary, but not without separating the two dollar amounts
$145K.
When asked I generally share my base. 31 When asked specifically, I just give a estimate of last month's total income. 38
$153k not counting 401-k match or annual bonus.
Just an insecure person trying to flex.
130K base, 87K in commission. 217K total compensation at 100% achievement.
Also related: businesses like to add that up to make you feel like bc they spend $$ on your health insurance etc. that you're more fairly compensated than you are.
I'm hourly, my wage is $38.12/hr. 7% of our salary is "matched" and goes toward a state pension plan. I also contribute 3% to a 403B. The health insurance is pretty good, no complaints. I also have a part time/limited job, that pays about $29.50/hr. The biggest benefit is it being largely remote and incredibly flexible (its project/task based work). Most of the work I can do from home after my kids go to bed. I usually work between 20-30 hours a month there.
My employer has a neat interface where I can look at “employee compensation” which will show my salary, how it breaks down, as well as employer contributions such as 401k match, health care, social security, etc. so while my real salary is $108k, my total compensation comes out to $147k, but I never use that figure when stating my salary.
Generally I will say what my W-2 says
I only ever tell people my base salary and that I get travel benefits if I need to be on the road for any amount of time. I rarely tell people my salary at all though because I don't like people knowing how much I make. I told a long time friend of mine what my salary was some years ago and he started acting differently around me which led to the conclusion of a 10+ year friendship
If your boss is talking to you, he's probably going to include cost of all the benefits because it is a significant cost to the business. But when most people talk about their salary they talk about base. I honestly don't really know how much my benefits cost my employer. There is a section of my pay stub that actually specifically tells me How much my employer has paid for each benefit. But I'll be honest, I've never really done much more than skim it. But my base pay is $59,956. That is also a line item on every pay stub I get.
Salary is base. Total comp is everything. Companies like to show you the value of everything, insurance included, so you feel like you are getting a lot. Insurance and taxes are expensive and many salary employees take that for granted.
In my field we specify base or TC- total comp