Severance Runway Calculator
A severance payout buys time, and the useful question is how much. Enter your severance, any savings you will add, and your real monthly burn to see how many months you are covered, how long the severance lasts on its own, and the month your funds run out.
Fill in your numbers, results update as you type. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Reading your result
The headline months figure combines your severance and savings against your monthly burn. The breakdown below it shows two things people often confuse: how long the severance alone would last, and the calendar month your combined funds run out at this spending level. Severance is usually quoted in weeks or months of salary, but because your post-quit expenses are lower than your gross salary, the severance often stretches further in real months than its headline suggests.
Treat the run-out date as a deadline you are planning against, not a prediction. It tells you how much room you have to run a deliberate search rather than take the first offer that appears.
How to get an honest number
- Use the after-tax severance. Severance is frequently taxed, sometimes heavily withheld. Enter what you expect to keep, not the gross offer, or your runway will read longer than it is.
- Separate severance from your emergency fund. Add only the savings you plan to spend during the gap. Keep a dedicated cushion out of the calculation so a real emergency does not consume your search runway.
- Budget your post-quit burn, not your old salary. Add health cover you now pay yourself, remove commuting and work costs. The budget planner builds the number line by line.
- Leave benefits out of the base plan. Severance can delay or reduce unemployment benefits, and the rules vary. Plan on the payout and savings alone, then count any benefits as extra.
A worked example
Marco is laid off with 15,000 of severance after tax and adds 6,000 of spendable savings, for 21,000 in total. His real monthly burn, once health cover is added and commuting removed, is 3,000, with no other income. Total runway: 21,000 divided by 3,000 is 7.0 months.
The severance on its own lasts 15,000 divided by 3,000, which is 5.0 months, and his combined funds run out about seven months from today. That is enough room for a deliberate search in most fields, and it means Marco can decline a weak first offer rather than grab it in month two. Knowing the date, not just the amount, is what turns a payout into a plan.
Methodology, in plain English
Total runway in months equals severance plus savings, divided by monthly burn, where burn is your essential expenses minus any income that still comes in. Severance-only months equals severance divided by the same burn. The run-out date adds the total months to today. If income meets or exceeds expenses, runway is reported as indefinite, because savings are no longer the constraint. The tool does not model tax on severance, investment returns, inflation, or unemployment benefits, fold those into your inputs. Educational estimate, not financial advice. Full assumptions on the methodology page.
The mistakes that shorten severance runway
Using the pre-tax figure
The gross severance is not what lands in your account. Enter the after-tax amount, or you will plan around money you never receive.
Spending at your old salary level
A payout feels like a windfall and burn quietly rises. Hold your spending to your essential budget so the months last as long as the calculator says. How long savings last
Counting on benefits too soon
Severance can push back when unemployment support starts. Do not assume it bridges the gap, plan without it. Quitting without another job
Treating the amount as the answer
The figure matters less than the months and the date it covers. Convert the lump sum into time before you make decisions about it.
Read next
Quitting Without Another Job Lined Up
Who can absorb the risk, and how to shrink the gap a severance has to cover.
How Long Your Savings Last
The runway math, the costs people miss, and why estimates run optimistic.
Quit My Job Calculator
Turn the months into a readiness verdict with clear next steps.
Frequently asked questions
How long will my severance last?
Divide your severance by your monthly burn, which is your essential expenses minus any income that still comes in. A severance of three months of pay does not equal three months of runway if your expenses are lower than your old salary, it usually lasts longer, and the calculator shows the real figure for your numbers.
Should I count severance as after-tax?
Yes. Severance is often taxed, sometimes at a high withholding rate, so enter the amount you actually expect to keep, not the headline figure. Using the pre-tax number will overstate your runway. If you are unsure of the tax, estimate conservatively and treat any extra as a buffer.
Does severance affect unemployment benefits?
It can. In some places severance delays the start of unemployment benefits or reduces them for a period, and the rules differ by country and region. Because this varies, plan your runway on the severance and savings alone, and treat any benefits you do receive as a bonus rather than part of the base plan.
What is the difference between severance runway and ordinary runway?
Ordinary runway is built from your savings. Severance runway adds a lump sum you receive on leaving, often after a layoff, and shows both the combined months and how long the severance lasts on its own. It is useful when a payout, not just your own savings, is funding the gap.
People also ask
Should I keep my emergency fund separate from severance?
Usually yes. Keeping a dedicated emergency fund intact means a genuine surprise does not eat into the money funding your job search. Enter only the savings you intend to spend during the gap, and leave your emergency cushion out of the calculation so it stays available for emergencies.
Is a lump-sum severance better than salary continuation?
It depends on your situation. A lump sum gives you control and is counted in full from day one, while salary continuation can keep benefits running longer but ties you to a schedule. For runway planning, a lump sum is simplest to model, enter the after-tax amount and see the months it buys.
Is this calculator free and private?
Yes. It is free with no signup, and every calculation runs in your browser, so nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. The PDF summary is generated locally on your device.
Turn the months into a plan
The Job Exit Checklist covers everything beyond the math: benefits, paperwork, references, and the first 30 days after a layoff or a resignation.
Get the free checklist