{
  "id": "total-compensation",
  "version": "15b23e2733a6",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Total Compensation Calculator",
  "question": "What is my total compensation?",
  "summary": "Adds up a year of pay and employer-paid benefits (salary, bonuses, insurance, retirement contributions, payroll taxes, equity) into total compensation, with the benefits share and the hourly value.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "tax-and-pay",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/total-compensation-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/total-compensation-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Cash pay = base pay + bonuses and commissions + overtime and extra pay. Benefits = insurance + retirement contributions + employer payroll taxes + other benefits. Total compensation = cash pay + benefits + equity. Per month = total ÷ 12; per hour = total ÷ hours worked.",
  "assumptions": [
    "All amounts are for the same year and are what the employer pays (not what you pay toward insurance).",
    "Paid time off is part of base pay here; the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts it as a benefit.",
    "Arithmetic is exact on the typed decimals; money shows to the cent and the share to 2 decimals, halves rounded up."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "salary": {
        "title": "Base pay for the year",
        "description": "Salary or wages for the year before tax, paid time off included.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0.01,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "bonus": {
        "title": "Bonuses and commissions",
        "description": "Cash bonuses, commissions and profit sharing for the year.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "ot": {
        "title": "Overtime and extra pay",
        "description": "Overtime, shift differentials and other extra cash pay.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "ins": {
        "title": "Employer-paid insurance",
        "description": "What the employer pays for health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "ret": {
        "title": "Employer retirement contributions",
        "description": "401(k) or 403(b) matching and other employer contributions, or the pension cost.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "tax": {
        "title": "Employer payroll taxes",
        "description": "The employer’s Social Security and Medicare tax, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "equity": {
        "title": "Stock and equity awards",
        "description": "The value of stock or options that vest this year.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "other": {
        "title": "Other benefits",
        "description": "Tuition help, commuter benefits, stipends and other perks paid for you.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000000
      },
      "hours": {
        "title": "Hours worked a year",
        "description": "For the value per hour: 2,080 is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. Optional.",
        "type": "number",
        "minimum": 1,
        "maximum": 8784
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "total": {
      "label": "Total compensation",
      "description": "Cash pay + benefits + equity.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "cash": {
      "label": "Cash pay",
      "description": "Base pay + bonuses and commissions + overtime and extra pay.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "benefits": {
      "label": "Benefits",
      "description": "Insurance + retirement contributions + payroll taxes + other benefits.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "share": {
      "label": "Benefits share",
      "description": "Benefits ÷ total compensation × 100.",
      "format": "percent"
    },
    "monthly": {
      "label": "Per month",
      "description": "Total compensation ÷ 12.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "hourly": {
      "label": "Per hour worked",
      "description": "Total compensation ÷ hours worked. Shown when the hours are typed.",
      "format": "money"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "salary": 80000,
      "bonus": 5000,
      "ins": 12000,
      "ret": 4000,
      "hours": 2080
    },
    "outputs": {
      "total": 101000,
      "cash": 85000,
      "benefits": 16000,
      "share": 15.841584158415841,
      "monthly": 8416.666666666666,
      "hourly": 48.55769230769231
    },
    "text": "Base pay of $80,000.00 with benefits and extras comes to total compensation of $101,000.00 a year ($8,416.67 a month)."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "salary": 80000,
        "bonus": 5000,
        "ins": 12000,
        "ret": 4000,
        "hours": 2080
      },
      "expect": {
        "total": 101000,
        "cash": 85000,
        "benefits": 16000,
        "share": 15.841584158415841,
        "monthly": 8416.666666666666,
        "hourly": 48.55769230769231
      },
      "source": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures: Concepts (total compensation = wages and salaries + benefits), https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm; hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-137/xcheck.py: 85,000 + 16,000 = 101,000; 16,000 ÷ 101,000 = 15.84%"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "salary": 70408,
        "ins": 8798.4,
        "ret": 5262.4,
        "tax": 7092.8,
        "other": 11315.2,
        "hours": 2080
      },
      "expect": {
        "total": 102876.8,
        "benefits": 32468.8,
        "share": 31.56085725839062,
        "hourly": 49.46
      },
      "source": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, Table 1 (civilian workers, cost per hour worked), https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm: wages and salaries $33.85, benefits $15.61, total $49.46 an hour; benefits 31.6% of total compensation"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "salary": 150000,
        "bonus": 20000,
        "ot": 0,
        "ins": 15000,
        "ret": 9000,
        "tax": 11000,
        "equity": 40000,
        "other": 2500
      },
      "expect": {
        "total": 247500,
        "cash": 170000,
        "benefits": 37500,
        "share": 15.151515151515152,
        "monthly": 20625
      },
      "source": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures: Concepts (total compensation = wages and salaries + benefits), https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm; hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-137/xcheck.py: 170,000 + 37,500 + 40,000 = 247,500"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures: Concepts: total compensation includes employer costs for wages and salaries and for employee benefits; benefits are paid leave, supplemental pay, insurance, retirement and savings, and legally required benefits (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation); cost per hour worked. https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm (retrieved 2026-10-19)",
    "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026), Table 1: civilian workers $49.46 an hour in total, $33.85 wages and salaries (68.4%), $15.61 benefits (31.6%): paid leave $3.71, supplemental pay $1.73, insurance $4.23, retirement and savings $2.53, legally required $3.41. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm (retrieved 2026-10-19)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "salary",
    "employee-cost",
    "compa-ratio",
    "hourly-to-salary"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}