Offer A
$
Offer B
$
More options
$
A year, if any
$
A year, if any
%
% of salary your employer adds
%
% of salary your employer adds
Offer B takes home more
$295 a month
$3,542 a year after tax
- Offer A take-home
- $6,598 a month
- Offer B take-home
- $6,894 a month
- Offer B salary that matches A
- $114,065
Offer B pays 20.0% more before tax, and 4.5% more after tax, moving from Texas to New York City.
What this means
A pay gap always shrinks after tax, because the extra salary is taxed at your top rate. Compare offers on take-home pay, not the headline salary.
Take-home pay isn’t everything: also weigh the retirement contributions, health cover, time off, commute and living costs that come with each job.
Side by side, a year
| Offer A | Offer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay before tax | $100,000 | $120,000 |
| Federal income tax | -$13,170 | -$17,570 |
| Social Security | -$6,200 | -$7,440 |
| Medicare | -$1,450 | -$1,740 |
| New York income tax | $0 | -$6,180 |
| New York City income tax | $0 | -$3,905 |
| NY SDI | $0 | -$31 |
| NY Paid Family Leave | $0 | -$412 |
| Take-home pay | $79,180 | $82,722 |
| Average tax rate | 20.8% | 31.1% |
Where the difference comes from (2026)
| Pay before tax | +$20,000 |
| New York income tax | −$6,180 |
| Federal income tax | −$4,400 |
| New York City income tax | −$3,905 |
| Social Security | −$1,240 |
| NY Paid Family Leave | −$412 |
| Medicare | −$290 |
| NY SDI | −$31 |
| Take-home pay | +$3,542 |
Assumptions in this estimate
- Both offers are worked out with 2026 tax rules for the filing status you choose, with no other income and no pre-tax deductions such as pension or retirement contributions.
- Bonuses are taxed as part of your yearly pay. Tax taken from a bonus payment can be higher at first, but it evens out over the year or on your tax return.
- The Offer B salary that matches A keeps Offer B’s location and bonus, and gives the same take-home pay as Offer A.
- Living costs such as rent, and benefits such as health insurance, aren’t included. Compare those separately.
- Assumes wages are your only income and you take the standard deduction.
- Federal tax is your estimated annual liability spread evenly across paychecks; your employer’s withholding (based on your W-4) can differ.
- Includes the 2025–2028 deductions for overtime (when you enter hourly pay over 40 hours a week, the extra half of time-and-a-half) and for people 65 or older. The tips and car-loan interest deductions are not included.
- The earned income credit assumes the children you enter are qualifying children and that you have no investment income over $12,200; married people filing separately are treated as not eligible.
- The $500 credit for other dependents (for example, children 17 or older) is not included.
- Additional Medicare Tax is shown as what you owe for the year. Employers withhold it on wages over $200,000 whatever your filing status, so your paychecks can differ.
- The 65+ option assumes you are not enrolled in Medicare: once you are, you can no longer contribute to an HSA.
- Includes New York’s tax benefit recapture above $107,650 of income and the NYC school tax credit.
- From 2026, New York subtracts qualified tips, up to the amount of the federal tips deduction. New York doesn’t allow the overtime deduction.
- Yonkers income tax surcharge is not included.
- The refundable Empire State child credit ($1,000 per child under 4, $500 per child 4 to 16) and the New York State and City household credits are not included.