Give every deduction an evidence status
| Status | Meaning | Comparison treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Known | Shown by a current authoritative record | Retain source and period |
| Estimated | Scenario input with a stated basis | Keep outside guaranteed cash |
| Optional | Depends on an employee election | Model choices separately |
| Employer-specific | Depends on plan or payroll terms | Request the governing document |
| Local | Depends on jurisdiction and current rules | Use a current local source |
| Unknown | Source, base or applicability is unresolved | Do not invent a default |
Collect documents before choosing rates
- Offer or contract terms showing the gross cash components and pay frequency.
- Benefit summaries showing employee cost, employer funding and election timing.
- Retirement or pension terms showing the employee and employer sides separately.
- A representative current payslip only when it is relevant to the same arrangement.
- Current official local guidance for statutory deductions and contribution bases.
- Written clarification for any deduction that HR or payroll cannot map to a document.
Keep the gross comparison and deduction ledger side by side
First compare the offers on a common gross period and keep stated benefits separate. Then add a deduction evidence ledger without silently subtracting uncertain amounts. This preserves the difference between an offer fact and an after-gross scenario.
- Normalise guaranteed gross pay to one period.
- Separate variable, contingent and non-cash components.
- Attach a base and frequency to each confirmed deduction.
- Run optional elections as separate scenarios.
- Write unresolved local or employer-specific items in the decision memo.
Route each confirmed component without building a shadow payroll tool
Use the Job Offer Comparison playbook to normalise guaranteed pay, benefits, time, costs and uncertainty.
After the evidence record is complete, read the Job Offer Comparison guide, use the Job Offer Comparison calculator, and inspect its methodology and keep its calculation on the documented gross, pre-tax basis.
To classify entered package components, read the Total Compensation guide, use the Total Compensation calculator, and inspect its methodology to prevent employer funding and personal benefit value from being counted twice.
For a documented retirement match formula, read the Employer Retirement Match Value guide, use the Employer Retirement Match Value calculator, and inspect its methodology and keep the plan threshold, employee contribution and employer cap visible.
For documented employer and employee health-plan amounts, read the Health Insurance Benefit Value guide, use the Health Insurance Benefit Value calculator, and inspect its methodology without treating entered cost as proof that two plans have equivalent coverage.
Only after the applicable rates and fixed deductions are confirmed, read the Gross to Net Pay Using Your Tax Rate guide, use the Gross to Net Pay Using Your Tax Rate calculator, and inspect its methodology and label the result as an entered-rate scenario rather than predicted payroll.
Use the take-home pay explanation to map confirmed bases and deductions before any entered-rate scenario.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I convert every offer to one predicted net-pay number?
- Not when important inputs are unknown or locally dependent. Preserve gross facts and show bounded after-gross scenarios separately.
- Can my current payslip be copied into a new offer?
- Only as evidence to investigate. Pay, benefit elections, contribution bases and local treatment can change between employers or arrangements.
Sources checked
- Check if the tax on your payslip is correct — HM Revenue & Customs (accessed 2026-08-01): A labelled UK example of gross pay, deductions and net pay, not a Global payroll rule.
- Starting your first job: understand payroll deductions — Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (accessed 2026-08-01): A labelled Canadian example of gross pay, net pay and deduction categories.