Taking into account only the federal income tax brackets, this is true. But tax cliffs exist, e.g. see: https://smartasset.com/financial-advisor/tax-cliff https

Taking into account only the federal income tax brackets, this is true. But tax cliffs exist, e.g. see: https://smartasset.com/financial-advisor/tax-cliff https://smartasset.com/financial-advisor/tax-cliff so accounting for all taxes and other factors, there could be a situation where you earn more pre-tax, but end up with less after all is accounted for. For most high-earners it's less relevant as they are past of the most cliffs anyway, but sometimes things like losing access to IRA deductions may be a factor too.