Work & Income
Glossary
Every term used in this calculator, defined plainly.
- True Hourly Rate
- Your real hourly compensation: take-home pay minus work-related expenses, divided by all work-related hours (including unpaid overtime, commuting, and prep time).
- Effective Tax Rate
- The percentage of your gross income actually paid in taxes — total taxes paid ÷ gross income. Different from your marginal tax bracket, which only applies to the top portion of your income.→ Used in the calculator: Used in the "Effective tax rate %" field
- Billable Hours
- Hours you spend directly on paid work, as opposed to commuting, prep, decompression, or job-related errands.
- Work-Related Expenses
- Costs you incur specifically because of your job — commuting, work clothing, work lunches, childcare, professional dues, tools. Subtracted from take-home to get true net income from work.
- Commute Time
- Time spent traveling to and from work. Included in total job-related hours because it's time your job requires, even though it's unpaid.
Ready to calculate?
Put these terms to work in the calculator.