Current pay bands for SWEs
Recent job posts show Senior full‑stack roles listing US remote pay of $132,600–$179,400, while backend openings list $102,000–$138,000 — concrete market signals for 2026 offers. Canadian salary surveys put starting SWE roles at roughly CAD $90k–$130k and mid‑career roles at CAD $150k–$180k, underscoring a wide but high‑value market across provinces. ( )
Levels.fyi’s US senior software‑engineer dashboard shows average total compensation for senior roles running roughly $175,000–$352,500, illustrating employer‑by‑employer variance in base vs. equity splits. (levels.fyi)) Built In’s March 2026 remote‑senior data lists an average base of $180,947 and a median total compensation of $204,713 for remote senior software engineers. (builtin.com)) Glassdoor’s Senior Full‑Stack distribution places the 25th percentile at $138,091 and the 75th percentile at $221,038, providing concrete quartiles for anchoring counteroffers. (glassdoor.com)) Levels.fyi’s Canada page reports software‑engineer totals from about CA$99,768 to CA$180,215, while PayScale shows a 2026 Canadian median near CA$87,855, confirming the card’s signal that Canadian ranges are wide and province‑sensitive. (levels.fyi)) Most equity grants in tech use time‑based RSU schedules with a one‑year cliff and the remainder vesting over the next three years (a standard four‑year schedule), which shapes when cash from grants becomes available. (dott.legal)) The Tax‑Free Savings Account (TFSA) annual dollar limit for 2026 is $7,000 and unused TFSA room accumulates from 2009 onward, while the RRSP 2026 dollar limit is $33,810 (or 18% of 2025 earned income, whichever is lower), both of which are principal vehicles for sheltering proceeds from exercised options or RSU sales. (canada.ca)) Canada’s CRA treats employee stock‑option benefits as employment income at exercise (reported on the T4), and federal proposals touching inclusion rates and the stock‑option deduction were deferred with clarifications announced through early 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, impacting after‑tax outcomes of option exercises. (canada.ca)) Negotiation data and negotiation‑theory guidance converge on practical targets: studies aggregating 2024–25 outcomes found negotiators lifted offers by an average ~18.83%, and negotiation guidance from the Program on Negotiation recommends anchoring with verified market data and asking for 10–20% where roles and skills justify it. (blog.theinterviewguys.com))
