Counter-Offer Scripts With the Numbers Already Worked Out

The offer on the table

Your counter asks for ₹1,40,000 more fixed pay, which is 11.11% on the fixed line. Everything else stays where it is, so the conversation has one moving part.

What the ₹1,40,000 is worth after tax

Assume the variable pays in full and employee PF is ₹36,000 a year in both cases.

The ₹1,40,000 becomes ₹1,18,160 after tax, about ₹9,847 a month. Knowing that figure stops you trading it away for something that sounds similar but is worth less. The rates are on the department's slab page.

Script 1: the direct ask on fixed pay

"Thank you, I would like to accept. The one thing I would ask you to look at is fixed pay. Could it be ₹14,00,000? That reflects the client-facing deployment work in this role, which I have done in my current job."

Why it works: one number, one component, one reason. It also tells the recruiter you are close to yes, which gives them something to take upward.

Script 2: when fixed pay is capped by a band

"I understand fixed pay is at the top of the band. Would a one-time joining bonus of ₹1,40,000 be possible instead?"

Know what you are giving up. A joining bonus pays the gap once. A higher fixed pay pays it every year, and later raises are calculated on it. At an assumed 10% raise in year two, the fixed gap grows to ₹1,54,000, so two years of a higher base is ₹2,94,000 against ₹1,40,000 once. A bonus is also salary for tax: section 18(1)(b)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 2025_Bill.pdf) treats a sum received before joining as profits in lieu of salary. Ask whether it has a clawback before you accept it as a substitute.

If you take the bonus route, a fairer ask is a bonus plus an early review, which is Script 3.

Script 3: an early review with a stated figure

"If ₹12,60,000 is the most you can do today, could we agree a review at six months, with ₹14,00,000 as the target if I have delivered the first deployment?"

Get the review date, the target figure and the condition written into the offer letter or an email from the hiring manager. A verbal "we will look at it" has no number and no date. It is not a counter-offer you have won.

Script 4: asking the employer to cover a cost of joining

"To join on the 1st, I need to buy out 30 days of my notice. My current employer has quoted ₹1,05,000. Could you cover that?"

This is often easier to approve than salary because it is a one-off with a clear document behind it. It still has a tax cost to you. If the new employer pays an amount that is otherwise your obligation, that is a perquisite under section 17(1)(f), taxable as salary. So either ask for a grossed-up figure or accept that part of it goes in tax. Notice period buyout works out the gross-up.

Script 5: when you hold a second offer

"I have another offer at ₹15,00,000 fixed. I would rather join you, because of the deployment work in this team. Could you reach ₹14,00,000?"

Say the other figure only if it is true and you would take it, because the recruiter may ask to see it. Note that you are asking for less than the other offer. That signals the counter is about closing a gap, not an auction, and it gives the recruiter a figure below the competing one to defend.

Deciding your walk-away number before you call

Write down three figures before the conversation, not during it:

Having the acceptable figure written down stops you agreeing to the first improvement just to end an awkward silence. Each row should be something you would actually do; a walk-away you would not act on is just a bluff that the other side can test.

Mistakes that weaken a counter

• Countering on CTC. A higher CTC can be met by moving variable pay or benefits, which leaves fixed pay unchanged.
• Asking for several things at once. Salary, title, remote days and a bonus in one message force the recruiter to choose which to refuse.
• Giving a range. A range of ₹13,50,000–₹14,50,000 is heard as ₹13,50,000.
• Negotiating after accepting. Once you have signed, the leverage has gone.

The same habit of attaching a number and a reason to every request is useful in client work. Our FDE for Freshers course runs for about 30 weeks, live online with optional in-person labs at our Noida centre. Eligible learners who meet the attendance and capstone criteria get assured job interviews through our hiring network, plus a post-course internship.