2026 tax model + official BLS wage context

Job Offer Reality Check

A headline salary is not the whole offer. Separate base take-home, expected bonus, one-time cash, employer-provided value, required work costs and the time the job asks from you.

No arbitrary score. PaycheckForge shows the financial layers and assumptions; it does not pretend a formula can decide whether you should accept the job.

Private, in-browser calculation

Describe the offer

Separate dependable salary, expected cash, one-time cash, employer value and costs you pay yourself.

Pay and tax assumptions
BLS state median$140,270May 2025
Offer value and work costs
Use a conservative amount, not the advertised maximum.
Shown only in the year-one view.
Known match, HSA funding and benefits you value; not spendable cash.
Commute, parking, equipment or other after-tax costs.
Include PTO and paid holidays you expect to use.

Showing an example registered nurse offer in California.

Decision view

What the offer may be worth

Inputs stay in your browser
Recurring spendable after stated job costs $100,477 $8,373 per month
Year-one spendable$103,430Includes stated sign-on cash
Employer-provided value$8,000Kept separate from cash
Spendable per working hour$521,920 estimated hours/year

Offer layers

6.7% of recurring gross depends on the expected bonus.
Base salary take-home
$98,172
Expected bonus after modeled tax
$5,905
Recurring take-home before job costs
$104,077
Required job costs
−$3,600
Sign-on bonus after modeled tax
$2,953
Recurring decision value
$108,477
Year-one decision value
$111,430
Official market context

Base salary vs. BLS wage thresholds

Your salary matches the official BLS P50 median wage threshold.

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, retrieved 2026-09-02.

Bonus and sign-on amounts are modeled as ordinary annual wage income, not as a prediction of one paycheck's withholding. The 401(k) percentage is applied to all modeled cash compensation. Employer-provided value is added only as a separate planning value; vesting, eligibility and tax treatment are not verified. Local taxes, equity, insurance coverage quality and personal living costs are outside this result.

How to read it

Cash you can spend is not the same as total offer value.

Recurring spendable starts with salary plus your conservative expected cash bonus, runs that amount through the 2026 annual tax model, and subtracts only the required after-tax job costs you entered.

Employer-provided value remains separate because a retirement match, HSA contribution or employer-paid benefit cannot necessarily fund this month's rent. Year-one spendable includes the modeled after-tax effect of sign-on cash, but recurring figures do not.

Frequently asked questions

Does this tell me whether I should accept a job offer?

No. It separates the financial layers of an offer so you can compare dependable cash, variable cash, one-time cash, employer-provided value and costs you pay yourself. Career growth, stability, culture and personal priorities still require judgment.

How are bonuses taxed in this calculation?

The calculator adds the expected bonus to annual wage income and measures the change in modeled annual take-home. It does not predict the supplemental withholding shown on one paycheck, which can differ from final annual tax liability.

What belongs in employer-provided value?

Use only amounts you can reasonably value, such as an expected retirement match or HSA contribution. This amount is kept separate from spendable cash because eligibility, vesting and tax treatment vary.