What's a realistic attainment percentage for year 1 in a new sales role?

60-80% of OTE is realistic for experienced hires with a proper ramp. First-time sales reps often land at 40-60% year 1. Only 5-15% of first-year sales hires hit full OTE. Don't take on financial obligations (house, car) assuming full OTE in year 1 — plan for 70% and be pleasantly surprised if you beat it.

How do I evaluate whether a quota is achievable?

Ask for historical attainment data: 'What percentage of reps hit quota last year? What's the median attainment?' A healthy number is 55-70% of reps hitting quota and median attainment around 85-95%. If median attainment is below 70%, the quotas are too high and the plan is designed to underpay.

Is commission taxed differently than base salary?

No — it's all ordinary income. However, commission is often taxed at a 22-25% flat federal supplemental rate on the paycheck itself, which under-withholds if you're in a higher bracket. Most salespeople need to set aside an additional 5-10% of commission for year-end tax bills.

What's the difference between AE and SDR comp?

AE (Account Executive): quota-carrying closer role. OTE typically $140-250k with 50/50 pay mix. SDR (Sales Development Rep): outbound prospecting role, doesn't close deals. OTE $60-90k with 70/30 or 80/20 pay mix (more base-heavy). SDR is entry-level, AE is senior. Most AEs started as SDRs.

Should I take a role with higher OTE but lower base?

Depends on your risk profile and the company's track record. If the company's median attainment is strong (80%+) and the product is proven, higher OTE/lower base is usually a better deal because you capture more upside. If the company is early-stage or the product is unproven, lower OTE/higher base is safer. Rule of thumb: for mature companies go variable-heavy, for early companies go base-heavy.

What are accelerators and how much do they matter?

Accelerators are multipliers on commission rate for attainment above 100%. They're the difference between 'good year' and 'life-changing year' for top reps. A top-decile rep with a strong accelerator can earn 2-3x OTE. Without accelerators, the same performance earns 1.3-1.5x. If you expect to overperform, prioritize uncapped plans with steep accelerators over higher headline OTE.

Yes. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Salary, quota, and commission inputs never reach a server. Export the PDF if you want a record for offer negotiation or quarterly earnings planning.

Commission-Based Income Calculator

OTE is a promise, not a paycheck

Sales recruiters love the word OTE — on-target earnings. In an offer letter you'll see something like "$180k OTE: $90k base + $90k variable at 100% quota attainment." That number is what you earn IF you hit 100% of quota. Most salespeople don't.

Industry data from the last three years: only 45-55% of reps at most B2B SaaS companies hit quota in a given year. The median rep attains 70-85% of quota. This matters because commission is usually linear or near-linear on the downside — if you're at 70% attainment, you get 70% of your variable, which makes your realized comp meaningfully below OTE.

This calculator shows you the realistic picture. Plug in base, quota, commission rate, and realistic attainment (not optimistic). If the OTE is $180k and your realistic attainment is 85%, you're actually earning $166.5k on average — and that's before accounting for bad quarters where you're at 50%.

The commission structure decoded: base, variable, and rate

Most commission plans have three pieces you need to understand before signing:

Base salary: Guaranteed regardless of performance. Rule of thumb: 50-60% of OTE for AEs, 60-70% for SDRs, 40-50% for senior enterprise reps. If your base is below 40% of OTE, the role is high-risk comp.
Variable (target commission): What you earn at 100% quota. The split between base and variable is called the "pay mix." A 50/50 mix is normal for field sales; 70/30 is common for SDR roles.
Commission rate: Percentage of deal value that becomes commission. Typically 8-15% of ACV for SaaS, 2-5% for enterprise deals, 15-25% for high-margin products. Lower rates on larger deals, higher rates on smaller.

The math check: commission rate × quota should equal your variable target. If your quota is $1M and variable is $90k, your commission rate is 9%. If those numbers don't reconcile, ask the recruiter to walk you through the structure explicitly.

Accelerators: where the real money is made

Most plans have accelerators that kick in once you exceed 100% of quota. Common structures:

1.5x accelerator above 100%: Every dollar of quota above 100% earns 1.5x the base commission rate. On a 10% base rate, your rate on overachievement is 15%.
2x accelerator above 120%: Tiered — 1x from 0-100%, 1.5x from 100-120%, 2x above 120%.
Kickers / SPIFFs: One-time bonuses for hitting specific product targets or key accounts. Usually $2-10k per deal on strategic products.

Why this matters: top reps don't earn 1.5x OTE from hitting 150% quota. They earn 2-3x OTE because accelerators compound. A rep at 150% attainment on a $200k OTE plan typically lands around $350-450k. The upside is large enough that if you're confident you can outperform, the accelerator structure is more important than the base OTE.

Red flag: plans with caps on total commission. Some companies cap annual commission at 150-200% of target. If you're a top performer, a capped plan leaves significant money on the table. Uncapped plans are worth 20-40% more to someone who expects to outperform.

Ramp periods and the first-year reality

No one hits full quota in their first quarter. Most plans build in a "ramp" to account for this:

Months 1-3: No quota or 25% of normal quota. You're paid full base plus minimum commission. Effective realized comp: 50-70% of OTE.
Months 4-6: 50-75% of quota. Still below-target comp expected.
Months 7-12: Full quota. Year 1 realized comp commonly 60-80% of OTE.

Ask during the offer stage: "What's the ramp plan? How much of OTE do reps typically earn in year one?" If they say "full OTE," they're lying or the company has an unusually fast ramp cycle. If they say "60-70%," they're being honest.

One trap: recruited-from-competitor reps often don't get ramp. If you're hired specifically because you have industry experience, the assumption is you'll be productive in Q1. Negotiate a 90-day ramp guarantee if possible — even for experienced hires, the first quarter is typically 40-60% of long-term productivity.

A real case: the $180k OTE that paid $142k

Devon joined a mid-market SaaS company as an AE. Offer: $90k base + $90k variable at 100% quota = $180k OTE. Quota was $1.1M in new ARR.

Year 1 reality: Ramp months 1-3 paid out $22k base + $4k minimum commission = $26k. Q2-Q4 he closed $680k in new ARR against a $825k pro-rated quota = 82% attainment on the full-year Q2-Q4 piece. Variable earned: $82k × 82% = $67k. Plus $68k base for Q2-Q4.

Total year-1 comp: $90k base + $71k variable = $161k. Not $180k.

Year 2: No ramp. Full quota of $1.2M. He hit 105% → $95k variable + $5k in accelerator = $100k. Total: $90k + $100k = $190k. Slightly above OTE.

Year 3: Strong year. 140% attainment. $90k base + $90k at 100% + $60k accelerator on the 40% overperformance = $240k. 33% above OTE.

Three-year average: $197k. The headline OTE of $180k understated his earning power over the full cycle, but overstated his year-1 take-home. When evaluating sales offers, always model years 1-3 separately — the story is different at each stage.

The metrics beyond quota that determine your year

Quota is the headline metric, but three others determine whether you actually hit it:

Territory quality. Two reps with the same $1M quota can have very different outcomes if one has a territory with 50 qualified accounts and the other has 200. Ask: "What's the total addressable quota in my territory? What's the historical attainment rate for this territory?" If historical attainment is 60%, you'll probably hit 60%.
Lead flow. Inbound lead volume per rep varies 5x across companies. At Salesforce, enterprise AEs get 80-120 inbound leads per quarter. At unknown startups, it's often 5-15. Your hit rate matters, but your at-bats matter more.
Sales cycle length. A 30-day cycle means you can recover from a slow Q1 in Q2. A 9-month cycle means Q4 is determined by what you started in Q1 — you can't save a bad year with late effort.

When comparing offers, these context metrics matter more than OTE. A $160k OTE at a company with great inbound leads and 3-month cycles will usually beat a $200k OTE at a company with no leads and 9-month cycles.

Clawbacks and draws: the fine print that hurts

Two common commission plan features that can turn a great quarter into a bad year:

Clawbacks: If a customer churns within 12 months (or sometimes 6), the company reverses your commission on that deal. You literally pay it back — either via paycheck deduction or offset against future commission. Enterprise SaaS companies almost all do this. Ask explicitly: "What's the clawback window?" and "What causes a clawback?" Answers can range from "90 days, only for fraud" (favorable) to "24 months, any churn" (brutal).
Draws: Some companies pay a "draw" — a commission advance — that you pay back from future commissions. A "recoverable draw" means you owe it back if you don't earn it; a "non-recoverable draw" is essentially a floor on your commission. Non-recoverable is better; recoverable can leave you in a hole if you start slow.

Red flag: any plan where multiple quarters of underperformance can leave you owing the company money. Read the compensation document carefully before signing.

Negotiating the commission plan (yes, it's negotiable)

Most candidates think the commission plan is fixed. It's not — the structure is usually set, but specific terms are negotiable:

Higher base / lower variable — particularly for candidates coming from a higher base-salary role. Shifting $20k from variable to base reduces upside but reduces downside risk. Good for risk-averse candidates or those with large fixed expenses.
Guaranteed ramp commission — negotiate a floor of 80-100% of variable for the first two quarters. Protects you from the ramp-period shortfall.
Faster quota credit — some plans pay commission on contract signature, others on customer payment (30-90 days later). Sign-date commission beats payment-date commission for cash flow.
Lower territory ramp — if your territory is underdeveloped, negotiate a smaller year-1 quota ($800k instead of $1.1M) to give yourself runway.
Accelerator at lower threshold — if the standard accelerator kicks in at 100%, try to negotiate it at 90% for high performers.

Most sales comp plans have flexibility in these dimensions. Ask for all five during offer negotiation; you'll usually get at least one.