Educational only: Work and pay decision support, not tax, legal, financial or career advice.
Privacy: No account is required. Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral work and pay planning using your own assumptions.
What this calculator helps you decide
Best for
Contractors planning for a gap between paid engagements.
Outputs
Lost net earnings, incremental costs and net gap burden.
Start here
Enter baseline weekly net earnings, gap weeks and any replacement income.
- Close-intent boundary
- Do not use this to calculate unemployment benefits; use Second Job Worth It Calculator for one additional paid job.
Compare offers and work arrangements
Contract Gap Cost: lost net earnings
Lost net earnings, incremental costs and net gap burden.
Contract gap assumptions
Enter the weekly net baseline, gap length, incremental costs and replacement income.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Weekly net earnings that would otherwise be received.
Length of the contract gap.
Extra weekly costs during the gap.
Income that offsets the total gap burden.
Calculated result
The engine returns a 12,000 net gap burden.
Use one currency consistently across all inputs.
PDF and CSV exports stay on this device. Clean page links contain no inputs.
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Entered scenario12,000.00Baseline
Gap weeks: 714,500.002,500.00
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Net contract-gap burden
Net contract-gap burden
gapBurden = baselineWeeklyNet × gapWeeks + incrementalWeeklyCosts × gapWeeks − replacementIncome12,000.00 currency unitsResult12,000.00 currency units
Lost net earnings plus incremental costs minus replacement income. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Net contract-gap burden formula →Lost net earnings
Lost net earnings
lostNetEarnings = baselineWeeklyNet × gapWeeks12,000.00 currency unitsResult12,000.00 currency units
Baseline weekly net earnings multiplied by gap weeks. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Lost net earnings formula →Incremental gap costs
Incremental gap costs
incrementalCosts = incrementalWeeklyCosts × gapWeeks3,000.00 currency unitsResult3,000.00 currency units
Incremental weekly costs multiplied by gap weeks. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Incremental gap costs formula →Inputs used
- Baseline weekly net earnings
- 2,000.00 currency units
- Gap weeks
- 6
- Incremental weekly costs
- 500.00 currency units
- Replacement income
- 3,000.00 currency units
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario values are visible in the URL, calculations run in the browser, and optional saved state stays only on this device. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| baselineWeeklyNet | Weekly net earnings that would otherwise be received. | currency units/week | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 2000 |
| gapWeeks | Length of the contract gap. | weeks | 0 to 53 | Required | 6 |
| incrementalWeeklyCosts | Extra weekly costs during the gap. | currency units/week | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 500 |
| replacementIncome | Income that offsets the total gap burden. | currency units | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 3000 |
Contract Gap Cost: lost net earnings
Use the burden as a planning scenario for the entered gap length.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- gapBurden = baselineWeeklyNet × gapWeeks + incrementalWeeklyCosts × gapWeeks − replacementIncome
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the work-value formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Act on the result
Check replacement income and incremental costs against the same horizon.
Stress-test the decision
Retest gap weeks and baseline weekly net earnings.
When this estimate can be misleading
- This is not an unemployment-benefit calculator.
- Tax, probability and timing within weeks are excluded.
- Use the burden as a planning scenario for the entered gap length.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Use these practical guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- How to use the Contract Gap Cost calculator
Estimate lost net earnings and incremental costs after user-entered replacement income.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
What burden does the entered gap between contracts create?
Check replacement income and incremental costs against the same horizon.
Which official source and period does this use?
This market-neutral tool does not use an official local policy rule.
Can I share or save a scenario?
Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
How should I validate the estimate before acting?
Use the estimate as a bounded planning range and replace assumptions with current work and pay records before committing.