[adoyle]

In the US, these discussions are pretty much always about gross pay. People also don't include the value of benefits other than bonuses, and as you see, bonuses are explicitly stated. I gather that in other countries it makes more sense to talk about net.

[z92]

So how much should one expect to pay as taxes off his, say 170K salary?

[assemble]

I'm not a tax guy, but based off my experience:

Assuming he's single: Federal taxes will be around $47.6k. (~28% at $170k, the 33% bracket hits you at $171,550.) State taxes vary widely. Some cities even have income taxes (e.g. NYC). Next you would have to add in investments, interest on investments, things like that as your income. Then you've got to consider deductions from your home, education, etc.

So it's a bit more complex than a simple percent; however, I would budget for a 35-40% effective income tax rate ($59.5k - $68k) in my state; however, in my state the cost of living is about half that--so taxes would be off $85k instead of $170k.

[notimportant]

http://www.paycheckcity.com/netpaycalc/netpaycalculator.asp

I have used this calculator in the past - it seems to be pretty close to accurate when I have attempted to determine what I should ask for in terms of future raises.

[petercooper]

FWIW, in the UK, everyone always talks about gross too.