Understanding take-home pay
Gross vs net salary: what is take-home pay?
Understand the difference between your salary, your take-home estimate and the cash left after saving.
Comparing locations
Comparing countries: what take-home keep rate tells you
Keep rate is the share of gross income remaining as take-home after modeled deductions. It helps compare the tax-and-deduction side of salary scenarios. It does not convert currencies, measure purchasing power or decide which country is the better place to live.
Supported countries · Check each model; Ontario worked example · 2026 Canadian example; selected periods elsewhere
A share of salary, not a currency conversion
Use the take-home amount divided by gross income for a scenario calculated in one currency. Our Ontario example shows both Canadian-dollar amounts and the resulting keep rate. The table explains the comparison method without inventing a second country’s rules or treating equal currency numerals as equal salaries.
A keep-rate difference should be expressed in percentage points. A larger share does not necessarily mean a larger amount of money: the gross offer also matters. An RRSP contribution can reduce spendable take-home while moving value into savings, so keep rate is not a complete measure of compensation.
| Ontario · 2026 | Result |
|---|---|
| Gross, in local currency | CA$60,000.00 |
| Take-home, in local currency | CA$47,339.75 |
| Overall keep rate | 78.9% |
Local amountsCompare each offer and its expenses in that currency.
Keep rateCompare the share retained, with model scope stated.
Fictional full-year resident employee, basic claims, ordinary CPP/EI treatment. No other income or deductions. RRSP and TFSA are zero except in their named cases. Display amounts rounded to cents; rates to one decimal. Engine verification: 9 October 2026.
References: FCAC · Understanding your pay and deductions · CRA · Registered Retirement Savings Plan
Start with the actual offers and supported facts
Calculate each offer in its local currency and supported tax period. Select the relevant region and supply the model’s required residence, employment and contribution facts. Check whether the result represents annual liability, annualized withholding or a labeled combination.
TaxCalcy’s coverage differs by country. A region selector does not mean every local rule is included. Some scenarios require explicit scope confirmation, and unsupported combinations may be unavailable. The methodology and result warnings explain what can fairly be compared.
Add the costs the rate cannot see
Housing, healthcare, transport, childcare and debt payments affect what a salary supports. Employment rights, benefits, immigration and household needs also matter. Those facts are outside a take-home keep rate.
A separate exchange reference, when displayed, is not a conversion of your entered salaries. Any converted comparison needs a stated rate and date; it still cannot replace a local budget. Changing a planner’s currency label does not convert its amounts.
Build a comparison you can explain
Use Compare locations for the existing salary scenarios, then record local expenses separately. State currency, tax period, region and exclusions alongside each result. Keep unknown costs and benefits distinct from an explicit zero.
If two outputs use materially different coverage, resolve that difference before drawing a conclusion. The best next step may be confirming an employer benefit or checking an official rule, rather than choosing the higher keep rate.
Sources and verification
Official references checked 2026-10-09. Examples reproduced with the existing TaxCalcy engine; no qualified human tax review is recorded.
- FCAC · Understanding your pay and deductionsGross/net definitions and common pay-stub deductions
- CRA · Registered Retirement Savings PlanDeductible contributions can reduce tax; withdrawals generally taxable
- CRA · January 2026 payroll formulasEmployee contributions, basic credits and Ontario adjustments; annualized model reference
Example inputs and model record
Canada · Ontario · 2026 · annual salary · full-year resident employee · basic claims. Other income, household entries, FHSA and other deductions are zero. Hours/week: 40; weeks/year: 52. No professional review is claimed.
baseline
Salary CA$60,000.00; RRSP CA$0.00; entered RRSP room CA$0.00; TFSA CA$0.00.
Model: ca-2026-2105625dff9c · release taxcalcy-candidate-2026-09-27.10 · schema 1 · approval NEEDS_REVIEW
Reproduced 2026-10-09; amounts to cents, rates to one decimal. Recorded inputs and outputs are retained in the repository.
Found something that needs correcting? Contact TaxCalcy with the guide title and the issue.
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