Salaryitis — Understand, Negotiate, and Grow Your Pay

Clear, expert guidance on the money side of work: reading your paycheck, understanding payroll taxes, negotiating salary, evaluating offers, and building fair, growing pay over a career. Every guide is written by a named compensation, tax, or career specialist.

Paycheck & Deductions

Understanding Your Paycheck: A Line-by-Line Guide to Every Deduction

Read your pay stub with confidence. A payroll specialist explains gross vs net pay, federal and state withholding, FICA, pre-tax deductions, and how to catch errors.

By Priya Nadkarni, Payroll & Tax Specialist

How Payroll Taxes Actually Work: FICA, Withholding, and Who Pays What

A payroll specialist breaks down the payroll tax system: Social Security and Medicare, employer matching, marginal vs. effective rates, and self-employment tax.

By Priya Nadkarni, Payroll & Tax Specialist

Overtime Rules Explained: Exempt vs. Non-Exempt and the FLSA Tests

A compensation analyst explains overtime law: the FLSA 1.5x rule, exempt vs. non-exempt classification, the salary threshold, and the duties tests that decide eligibility.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

Retirement Contributions: The Employer Match, Roth vs. Traditional, and Limits

How 401(k) and IRA contributions work: capturing the full employer match, Roth vs. traditional, contribution limits, vesting, and why order of operations matters.

By Priya Nadkarni, Payroll & Tax Specialist

Minimum Wage Explained: Federal, State, Tipped, and the Real Rules

A compensation analyst clarifies minimum wage: the federal floor, higher state and city rates, tipped-wage credits, exemptions, and how the highest applicable rate wins.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

Earning More

How to Negotiate Your Salary: Scripts, Leverage, and Real Numbers

A former recruiter's field guide to salary negotiation: anchoring, the counter-offer script, negotiating the whole package, and the mistakes that leave money behind.

By Marcus Reyes, Career & Negotiation Strategist

Raises and Promotions: How to Ask, When to Ask, and What Moves Pay

A career strategist explains how to earn raises and promotions: building the business case, timing to the budget cycle, market adjustments, and the promotion vs. merit distinction.

By Marcus Reyes, Career & Negotiation Strategist

Bonuses and Equity Compensation: RSUs, Options, Vesting, and Real Value

A compensation analyst decodes variable pay: bonus types, RSUs vs. stock options, vesting cliffs, the 22% supplemental tax, and how to value an equity offer honestly.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

Evaluating a Job Offer: Total Compensation Beyond the Salary Number

How to compare job offers properly: total compensation, health plans, 401(k) match, PTO, equity, and the hidden value that a base-salary comparison completely misses.

By Marcus Reyes, Career & Negotiation Strategist

Career Switching and Pay: Managing the Money Side of a Pivot

A career strategist on the compensation realities of changing fields: the temporary pay dip, transferable-skill leverage, runway planning, and how to reprice yourself fast.

By Marcus Reyes, Career & Negotiation Strategist

Modern & Fair Pay

Remote Work Pay: Location-Based Salaries, Taxes, and Negotiation

A compensation analyst on how remote pay really works: location-based vs. national pay bands, geographic adjustments, multi-state tax, and negotiating a remote salary.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

Cost of Living and Pay: Comparing Salaries Across Cities Honestly

How to compare salaries across locations using cost-of-living indexes, COLA raises, real vs. nominal wages, and the taxes and housing costs that change everything.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

Salary Transparency: Pay Ranges, Disclosure Laws, and Using the Data

How salary transparency works: pay-range disclosure laws, pay bands and compa-ratio, using posted ranges as leverage, and what transparency does and doesn't reveal.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

The Gender Pay Gap Explained: Raw vs. Adjusted, Causes, and Fixes

A compensation analyst clarifies the gender pay gap: the difference between raw and adjusted gaps, the real drivers, and concrete steps individuals and employers can take.

By Dana Whitfield, Compensation Analyst

Freelance and Contractor Income: Rates, Taxes, and the W-2 Comparison

A tax specialist on contractor pay: self-employment tax, setting a rate that beats a salary, quarterly estimated taxes, deductions, and W-2 vs. 1099 classification.

By Priya Nadkarni, Payroll & Tax Specialist