StubRate · Guides · 6 min read
Take-Home Pay vs Salary: Why Your Offer Is Not What You Keep
Learn why a $95,000 salary often becomes ~$70,000 after taxes and deductions—and how to estimate your real paycheck.
Gross salary is marketing. Net pay is reality.
Job offers advertise gross salary because it looks bigger. Your landlord, grocery store, and credit card do not care about gross. They care about what hits your bank account after federal tax, state tax, Social Security, Medicare, health insurance, and retirement contributions.
On a typical U.S. W-2 salary, stub rates often land between 60% and 75% depending on state, filing status, and benefits. High earners in high-tax states can keep even less of each additional dollar.
The five leaks that shrink every paycheck
Federal income tax uses progressive brackets—so your marginal rate is higher than your effective rate. State income tax (or lack of it) can swing thousands of dollars a year. FICA (Social Security + Medicare) takes 7.65% of most wages. Pre-tax 401(k) and health premiums lower taxable income but also lower cash today. Local taxes and wage garnishments can add more.
StubRate estimates these leaks so you can compare offers in the currency that matters: monthly cash you actually keep.
How to use this when negotiating
Convert every offer to monthly take-home in the same state and filing status. Then subtract commute, parking, and work lunches. The “smaller” offer with remote work or no state income tax often wins.
Bring numbers, not vibes, to negotiation: “I need $X net monthly to match my current true take-home.” That framing is harder to dismiss than asking for a round gross number.