The US has no federal law requiring severance pay. This calculator shows the typical market range of 1–2 weeks of base pay per year of service, flags whether the WARN Act applies to your employer, notes state exceptions (New Jersey, Maine, Puerto Rico, mini-WARN laws), and estimates the tax as supplemental wages — so you can benchmark any offer your employer makes.
In the United States, severance pay is not a legal entitlement for most employees. The Fair Labor Standards Act — the federal law that sets minimum wage and overtime — has no severance provision. Unless your employment contract, a company severance policy, or a collective bargaining agreement promises severance, your employer is generally free to terminate your employment without any severance payment. What most people call "severance" in the US is therefore a negotiated benefit, not a statutory right.
The widely used market benchmark is 1–2 weeks of base pay per year of service. This calculator shows both ends of that range — a "typical" 1 week per year and a "generous" 2 weeks per year — so you can see the band an employer is likely to offer and use it to benchmark any actual offer. Senior executives, long-tenured employees, and those who negotiate (often in exchange for a release of claims) frequently receive more. The figure is a starting point for negotiation, not a guarantee.
The federal WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees to give 60 days' advance notice of mass layoffs or plant closings — or pay in lieu of that notice. WARN is a notice law, not a severance mandate, but pay in lieu of notice can effectively equal up to 60 days' wages on top of any negotiated severance. Several states have "mini-WARN" laws with lower thresholds: California's Cal-WARN applies at 75+ employees, and New York's NY WARN applies at 25+ employees or 1/3 of the workforce (with a $2.5M payroll threshold). This calculator flags WARN relevance based on your employer size and state.
A few jurisdictions mandate severance in narrow mass-layoff situations. New Jersey requires 1 week of severance per year of service (no cap) for covered mass layoffs when 90 days' notice is not given. Maine and Puerto Rico also mandate severance in specific plant-closing or mass-layoff scenarios. These are exceptions to the general rule — for an ordinary individual termination in most states, severance remains a matter of policy and negotiation.
Severance is taxed as supplemental wages: 22% flat federal income-tax withholding plus Social Security and Medicare (FICA, 7.65% employee share). State income tax may also apply. This calculator estimates the net severance after the 22% + 7.65% federal withholding so you can see roughly what hits your bank account. Your actual tax depends on your total annual income and state — a large severance in January, for example, is taxed differently than one spread across a year.
No federal law requires severance pay for ordinary individual terminations — the Fair Labor Standards Act has no severance provision. Severance is a matter of company policy, an employment contract, or negotiation. A few states have narrow exceptions: New Jersey requires 1 week of severance per year (no cap) for covered mass layoffs if 90-day notice is not given, and Maine and Puerto Rico mandate severance in specific mass-layoff or plant-closing situations. The federal WARN Act is a NOTICE law (60 days' advance notice for mass layoffs at 100+ employee employers), not a severance mandate.
The common market range is 1–2 weeks of base pay per year of service. This calculator shows both a "typical" estimate (1 week per year) and a "generous" estimate (2 weeks per year). Senior executives and long-tenured employees often negotiate more. Anything is negotiable — the figure is a starting point, not an entitlement.
Yes. Severance is taxed as supplemental wages: 22% flat federal income-tax withholding plus Social Security and Medicare (FICA, 7.65% employee share). State income tax may also apply. This calculator estimates the net severance after the 22% federal + 7.65% FICA withholding. Your actual tax depends on your total annual income and state.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law requiring employers with 100+ full-time employees to give 60 days' advance notice of mass layoffs or plant closings — or pay in lieu of that notice. It is a notice law, not a severance mandate, but pay in lieu of notice can effectively equal up to 60 days' wages on top of any severance. Several states have "mini-WARN" laws with lower thresholds (California at 75+ employees, New York at 25+ employees or 1/3 of the workforce).
No. It provides planning estimates using typical market rates and publicly available 2026 figures. Your actual severance depends on your contract, employer policy, state law, and negotiation. Confirm with an employment lawyer before signing a severance agreement — you may be giving up the right to sue.
The US has no federal law requiring severance pay. This calculator shows the typical market range of 1–2 weeks of base pay per year of service, flags whether the WARN Act applies to your employer, notes state exceptions (New Jersey, Maine, Puerto Rico, mini-WARN laws), and estimates the tax as supplemental wages — so you can benchmark any offer your employer makes.