Paycheck Comparison Calculator: Compare Two Job Offers
Compare two job offers side by side for 2026. See annual gross, federal, state, and FICA withholding, take-home per paycheck, and which offer really wins.
Paycheck Comparison Calculator: Compare Two Job Offers
Offer A
Used to annualize an hourly offer and to show take-home per hour worked. No overtime premium is applied, so price extra hours with the overtime pay calculator.
Offer B
Two offers with the same pay but different hours rarely tie once you look at take-home per hour worked.
Filing and pay
Filing status and pay frequency apply to both offers, so the comparison stays like for like.
Estimate only. State income tax uses one representative 2026 rate per state and does not include local taxes, credits, or state special taxes (CA SDI, NY PFL). Benefits, 401(k) match, equity, and cost of living are not modeled. Sources: IRS, SSA, Tax Foundation.
How to compare two job offers by take-home pay
An offer letter quotes gross pay. What decides the choice is net pay, the amount left after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare come out. Comparing two offers fairly takes four steps.
- Annualize both offers onto the same basis. A salary offer is already annual; an hourly offer is rate x hours per week x 52.
- Subtract the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status: $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household.
- Run the federal progressive brackets on what is left, then apply the state rate for each offer's work state. Add FICA last: 6.2% Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base and 1.45% Medicare on all wages, plus the 0.9% surtax above $200,000 (single or head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).
- Compare take-home per paycheck, not gross, and only then weigh benefits.
The calculator above runs all four steps on both offers and reports the gap in take-home, annual and per paycheck.
Why state income tax decides more offers than you think
Federal tax, Social Security, and Medicare are identical in every state. State income tax is the only line that moves, and it swings from 0% in nine states to a 13.3% top rate in California. Nine states levy no income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Among the rest, some charge one flat rate: Pennsylvania 3.07%, Colorado 4.4%, Illinois 4.95%. Others run graduated brackets that climb with income, California and New York and Oregon among them.
Here is a single filer weighing $85,000 in Texas against $95,000 in California, paid biweekly, using this calculator's own math:
| Line | Offer A: $85,000, Texas | Offer B: $95,000, California |
|---|---|---|
| Annual gross | $85,000.00 | $95,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | $9,870.00 | $12,070.00 |
| State income tax | $0 | $4,734.00 |
| Social Security | $5,270.00 | $5,890.00 |
| Medicare | $1,232.50 | $1,377.50 |
| Annual take-home | $68,627.50 | $70,928.50 |
| Per paycheck (26) | $2,639.52 | $2,728.02 |
| Effective tax rate | 19.3% | 25.3% |
Offer B still wins, by $2,301.00 a year or $88.50 a paycheck, but only about 23% of the $10,000 raise survives the move. The trade-off runs the other way too: no-income-tax states often lean on higher property or sales taxes, so a fatter paycheck is not always a smaller total tax bill. To see one offer priced across every state, use the salary after tax by state calculator.
Comparing an hourly offer to a salary offer
Mixed offers need the hourly side annualized first: rate x hours per week x 52. That conversion flatters hourly work. It assumes 52 paid weeks, with no unpaid holidays or time off unless the offer provides them, and it applies no overtime premium to hours above 40. Price those separately with the overtime pay calculator.
Even so, the smaller number can win. A single filer comparing $34 an hour in Texas ($70,720 a year at 40 hours) against a $75,000 California salary keeps $58,581.52 on the hourly offer versus $58,058.50 on the salary. That is $523.02 more per year from an offer $4,280 lower on paper, and $28.16 per hour worked against $27.91. For the paycheck detail behind an hourly offer, use the hourly paycheck calculator, and for a contract versus employee fork, see the 1099 vs W-2 calculator.
What take-home pay does not tell you
Net pay settles the tax half of the question. The rest of an offer is worth real money too. An employer 401(k) match is an immediate 3% to 6% of salary. The gap between two health premiums can run thousands of dollars a year, and every PTO day is worth a day of pay. Equity, bonus target, and commute costs move the total as well, and cost of living can erase a raise on its own.
This page also simplifies the tax side. State tax comes from one representative 2026 rate per state. Local and city taxes are skipped, and so are state special taxes such as California SDI and New York PFL. For exact per-state progressive brackets, both W-4 withholding modes, pre-tax deductions, and employer-side SUTA and FUTA, the Payroll Calculator app from WorkLogs44 runs the full payroll, for one worker or a whole team. Once you have accepted an offer, the salary to paycheck calculator turns it into a per-period paycheck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about paycheck comparison calculator: compare two job offers
Which job offer actually pays more after taxes?
The one that leaves more in your bank account, which is not always the one with the bigger salary. Take a single filer choosing between $85,000 in Texas and $95,000 in California: the Texas offer nets $68,627.50 a year and the California offer nets $70,928.50. The $10,000 gap on paper shrinks to $2,301 after federal tax, state tax, and FICA, or about $88.50 per biweekly paycheck.
Should I compare job offers on gross salary or take-home pay?
Compare take-home first, then benefits. Gross salary is what the offer letter advertises; net pay is what covers rent. Two offers with the same gross can land thousands of dollars apart once state income tax and filing status are applied. Once you have picked an offer, the salary to paycheck calculator breaks that single offer down per pay period.
How do I compare an hourly offer to a salary offer?
Annualize the hourly side first: rate x hours per week x 52. A $34 an hour offer at 40 hours a week is $70,720 a year, and it can beat a $75,000 salary once state tax enters. In Texas it nets $58,581.52 against $58,058.50 for the California salary. This tool does not price overtime eligibility or unpaid weeks, and the benefits package can still flip the answer. For per-period hourly detail, use the hourly paycheck calculator.
How much does state income tax change take-home pay?
Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare are identical in every state, so state income tax is the only line that moves between two offers with the same salary. It runs from 0% in the nine states that do not tax wages up to a 13.3% top rate in California. That spread is worth thousands of dollars a year. To see one offer across states, use the salary after tax by state calculator.
Why is my take-home difference smaller than the salary difference?
Marginal rates. Every extra dollar of the raise is taxed at your top federal bracket plus 7.65% FICA plus whatever your state charges, so you commonly keep 60% to 75% of the gap. The Texas to California example is harsher still: a $10,000 gross gap becomes $2,301 of extra take-home, roughly 23%, because the higher offer also moves you into a state that taxes wages.
Does a higher salary always mean a bigger paycheck?
No. A $34 an hour Texas offer ($70,720 a year) nets $523.02 more than a $75,000 California salary, even though it is $4,280 lower on paper. Social Security also stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500, so wages above that base stop accruing the 6.2%. That slightly favors very high offers.
Does this calculator include Social Security and Medicare?
Yes. Social Security is 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 (a maximum of $11,439), and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages with no cap. The 0.9% Additional Medicare surtax applies to wages above $200,000 for single and head of household filers, or $250,000 for married filing jointly, and it is calculated on each offer separately.
What does this comparison leave out?
401(k) match, health premiums, PTO, equity, bonus and signing bonus, local or city income tax, state special taxes such as California SDI and New York PFL, tax credits, and cost of living. State tax here uses one representative 2026 rate per state. For exact per-state brackets, both W-4 modes, deductions, and full multi-employee payroll, use the Payroll Calculator app.