About SeveranceCalc
Helping workers organise severance questions with transparent model estimates and educational resources.
Our Mission
An offer can leave important questions unanswered. Before an offer, there may be no amount to compare. SeveranceCalc provides free model estimates and educational information to help people understand the assumptions, reported terms and unknowns.
A calculator cannot establish an employer's policy, a legal entitlement or what a person will receive.
Our Methodology
The main calculator produces lower, middle and upper model estimates from authored settings. These points are not measured payout averages, probabilities or a prediction of an employer's offer.
Base Formula
Gross estimate = Annual Base Salary ÷ 52 × Service Years × Assumed Industry Weeks per Year × Assumed Role Factor
The formula is a product assumption. The U.S. Department of Labor link provides background on severance pay; it does not validate this formula or its coefficients. These figures are estimates, a starting point, not a final figure. Your actual package may be higher or lower, and negotiation can move an offer in either direction, including not at all.
Industry and Role Assumptions
Industry rates and role factors are authored model settings. We have not established a measured payout sample that calibrates them. The linked Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) benefits material is background, not the source of a verified severance coefficient or role premium. The result's expandable formula shows the actual selected values and any fallback mapping.
Withholding Assumptions
The main US calculator always uses a fixed 22% federal income-withholding assumption plus the included state input. Unpublished state inputs are omitted, not treated as verified zero tax. The IRS Publication 15 link is a background reference. This simple engine excludes FICA, local taxes, cumulative supplemental-wage thresholds, other deductions and final annual tax. Its amount after assumptions does not establish payroll or take-home pay. The separate severance tax calculator supports additional withholding inputs.
State-Specific Rules
State context is separate from the cash model. Coverage, eligibility and the actual facts need their own review. Background references include individual state labor departments and the federal WARN Act guidelines.
Independent examples. Role pages use their own configured salary inputs and weeks-per-year ranges. Tenure pages multiply salary divided by 52 by configured total-week endpoints and their midpoint. These examples do not automatically use the main calculator's industry and role settings. The inline blog widget is another independent illustration: configured base weeks plus service years times its own rate, capped before conversion using salary divided by 52.
International results. The enhanced model reuses the authored industry and role assumptions across countries. Separate statutory and tax examples have their own stored rules and limitations; an enhanced model point is not a statutory entitlement or a verified local market outcome.
Community submissions. Voluntary self-reported packages are a separate source. A displayed comparison states its applied filters and sample count. Those submissions do not calibrate the authored model and are not a representative or employer-verified sample.
Our Data Sources
These links provide background for the subjects described below. A link does not validate every statement on the site or the model's numerical settings. Dated employer facts, configured examples and self-reported submissions are kept distinct.
- •U.S. Department of Labor (DOL): Federal severance pay guidance and WARN Act requirements
- •Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Supplemental wage withholding rates and tax treatment of severance
- •Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Background on employer benefits; no established calibration of this site's severance rates or role factors
- •State Labor Departments: State-specific employment laws, tax rates, and WARN Act variations
- •Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): OWBPA guidance for workers 40 and older
How We Update The Site
Source dates identify the scope reviewed on the relevant page or stored record. A copy change does not establish a fresh review of every law, tax rule or employer policy. Time-sensitive reporting and layoff coverage are separate from model configuration.
If a figure on the site is modelled rather than directly stated in a source, we treat it as an estimate and describe the assumption behind it. We do not treat modelled values as statutory entitlements.
Editorial Principles
- •We distinguish directly sourced facts, authored assumptions and separate self-reported samples.
- •We separate entitlement questions from tax-withholding estimates so users do not confuse the two.
- •We avoid presenting calculators as substitutes for contract review, payroll advice, or legal advice.
- •We welcome correction requests when a public source changes or a page no longer reflects current guidance.
Important Disclaimers
For educational and informational purposes only, not legal advice. Results are estimates, not a guarantee. Consult a licensed employment attorney about your specific situation.
A licensed employment attorney can assess specific agreement terms, deadlines and legal rights. A qualified tax professional can assess payroll treatment and final tax liability.
Contact Us
Questions about our methodology, a factual correction, or a page you think is out of date? Reach us at [email protected] or use the contact form.
When reporting an issue, include the page URL and, if possible, the public source you want us to review.