A bigger salary doesn't always mean more money in your pocket. Two offers with the same number on the letter can differ by thousands once you count the actual benefits package — health insurance premium and deductible, 401(k) match, PTO — plus what it costs you to get to work, whether that's a long commute, a short one, or none at all. This tool runs both offers through real 2026 tax brackets for your state, then factors in your health insurance premium and deductible, 401(k) match, PTO, and commute cost and time, so you're comparing what each job is actually worth, not just the salary line.
This is a free planning tool, not tax or financial advice. It is not affiliated with the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or any state tax agency or employer, and results are estimates only — your actual take-home pay can differ based on your employer's payroll setup, local taxes, credits, and other factors this calculator doesn't account for. For decisions that matter, confirm your numbers with a licensed tax or financial professional.
Already know which offer wins? Get the exact per-paycheck number with the full paycheck calculator.
Open paycheck calculatorEach job's take-home pay is calculated the same way a real paycheck would be: 2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction for your filing status, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), and state income tax, after your health insurance premium and 401(k) come out. From there, an employer's 401(k) match is added as real value even though it's not cash in your paycheck today, and PTO days are converted to dollars using your daily pay rate. Your health insurance deductible is subtracted as a planning assumption — it's the most you'd owe out of pocket before coverage kicks in, so treating it as a cost gives you a conservative, apples-to-apples comparison between two benefit packages, even if you don't end up spending all of it in a given year. Commute cost is miles × days worked × weeks × your cost per mile, and any other monthly job costs (parking, tolls, a work wardrobe, extra lunches out) are added on top. Commute time is shown separately in hours per year, since time isn't really interchangeable with money — but if you put a dollar value on your time above, it gets folded into the comparison too.
State tax uses the same accuracy rules as the paycheck calculator: several big states (California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts) and every no-tax or flat-tax state use exact 2026 numbers, while the rest of the multi-bracket states use a simplified top-rate estimate, labeled as such in the results.
A richer benefits package (lower insurance premium or deductible, a bigger 401(k) match, more PTO) or a shorter commute can each be worth thousands a year on their own — and together they can outweigh a higher salary once you account for what the higher-paying job actually costs you to take.
The IRS standard mileage rate is built from real average costs of gas, maintenance, depreciation, and insurance combined, so it's a solid stand-in for "what does driving actually cost per mile" without having to track each expense separately. You can edit the rate if you want to use your own numbers.
That's up to you. Some people would happily pay to get 5 hours a week back; others don't mind a longer drive with a podcast. The calculator shows hours per year on their own so you can weigh it yourself, and lets you optionally assign a dollar value to your time if you want it folded into the total.
That's fair — it's a deliberate, conservative assumption, not a prediction. Treating the deductible as a cost lets you compare two benefit packages by their worst-case exposure rather than guessing how much healthcare you'll need this year. If you'd rather compare on premium alone, just leave the deductible field at 0.
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CalmScreen's job offer comparison tool is an independent, free tool for general planning purposes only. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRS, the Social Security Administration, any state government, or any employer. Figures are estimates based on published 2026 tax rates and the inputs you provide, and may not match your actual take-home pay. Always verify important numbers with a licensed tax or financial professional before making a job decision.