How True Keep is built.

Cash wages

Base + target bonus (assumed paid in full) + signing bonus spread evenly across the years you enter. A one-time signing check is not treated as recurring income.

Tax · 2026

Federal income tax uses Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 2026 ordinary brackets and the standard deduction ($16,100 single / $32,200 married filing jointly / $24,150 head of household). Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax uses the 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500 at 6.2%, Medicare at 1.45%, and the 0.9% additional Medicare tax above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint.

California uses 2026 Franchise Tax Board (FTB) schedules (single and joint) plus 1.3% State Disability Insurance (SDI) on wages. New York City offers include New York City personal income tax. Other states use a published progressive schedule or the statutory flat rate. Except for California, state schedules are not fully filing-status-aware.

Remote (US average) is priced at a 1.00 index and taxed as if there is no state income tax. If you live in a taxing state while remote, pick that metro instead.

Public equity

Public restricted stock units (RSUs) are treated as wages in the vest year. Cash wages are taxed first; the grant is valued at what is left after the extra tax it triggers. After-tax cash and counted equity are separate lines. They are not added twice.

Private equity

Private restricted stock units (RSUs) and options are not treated as cash. They are marked down by company stage, then reduced as if sold at ordinary rates. The haircut is an illustrative probability weight — not a valuation, an Internal Revenue Code section 409A appraisal, or a forecast.

• Seed22% of mark
• Series A32% of mark
• Series B45% of mark
• Series C+58% of mark
• Pre-IPO / late72% of mark
• Public100% of mark

Incentive stock options (ISOs) are not modeled with alternative minimum tax (AMT) or qualified long-term capital gains. That is conservative on tax and silent on downside.

Benefits

Employer 401(k) match (capped at $12,000 in this model) plus the employer health contribution you enter. Employee deferrals, health savings account (HSA) contributions, and other pre-tax elections are not deducted from wages.

Cost of living

True Keep = (after-tax cash + benefits + counted equity) ÷ metro price index. US average = 1.00. San Francisco Bay Area = 1.32. Austin = 1.06. The index is a regional-price-parity style estimate of what a dollar buys, not your rent or a personal budget. Two offers in the same city share an index; the ranking between them does not change.

Typical month in the city

The paid report lists rounded 2026 market estimates for one adult: a mid-city one-bedroom, groceries, a transit pass, utilities, and a phone/internet/basics line. Leftover is after-tax cash minus those items. It is a reference, not your lease or a personal budget. True Keep still uses the price index above; the month table is a second, concrete view for people who think in rent and groceries.

Four-year and hourly

Vesting is modeled as even across the years you enter — no one-year cliff, no monthly vest, no refresh grants. Four-year Keep is the sum of those year rows, not four times year one. Hourly Keep divides annual True Keep by hours per week × 47 working weeks.

What is omitted

Alternative minimum tax, net investment income tax, itemized deductions, SALT cap, dependents, spouse income, city taxes other than New York City, Washington capital-gains tax, bonus actually paid below target, unvested cancellation, and liquidation preference on private paper. These can move a real return by a lot. Keep is a comparison tool, not a complete tax picture.

Disclosures

Keep provides estimates for personal comparison and negotiation prep only. It is not tax, legal, accounting, or investment advice. It is not a tax return, a compensation opinion, or a recommendation to accept or reject an offer. No certified public accountant (CPA), attorney, or fiduciary relationship is created by using this site.

Figures can be wrong, incomplete, or out of date. You are responsible for your own decisions. Confirm material numbers with a qualified tax professional and with the written offer before you sign or resign.

$29 is a one-time payment for unlimited offer briefs on the account you pay with. Briefs are estimates stored for your retrieval. We do not file anything on your behalf.