'What's Your Current Salary?' How to Answer Without Undercutting Yourself

The recruiter has been friendly for fifteen minutes. You’re building rapport. Then, almost casually, comes the question that can quietly cost you thousands of dollars: “So, what are you making currently?”

Here’s what most candidates don’t realize. That question isn’t small talk. It’s an anchor. Whatever number you say becomes the ceiling of your next offer, and sometimes the floor of your disappointment. If you’re making $75,000 and the role actually budgets for $110,000, sharing your current salary tells the recruiter they can probably get you for $85,000 and call it a generous 13% bump. You just lost $25,000 a year because you were polite.

The good news? You don’t have to answer. In many places it’s illegal for employers to even ask. And in every state, you have better options than blurting out a number that’ll be used against you. Let’s walk through exactly what to say, what to avoid, and how to pivot the conversation to your target range without sounding difficult or evasive.

Why This Question Is Designed to Cost You Money

Pay negotiations are information games. Whoever reveals their number first usually loses. When you share your current salary, you’re giving the company a reference point that has nothing to do with the value of the role you’re applying for. It’s just the last price tag someone put on you, and that tag might’ve been unfair, outdated, or based on a completely different job market.

Recruiters know this. That’s why the question gets asked early and often. It’s not because they need the data to match you to a role. It’s because knowing your current number lets them calibrate an offer just high enough to feel like a win, while staying well below what they’d actually have paid. When you flip the script and make them share their range first, you’re not being rude. You’re leveling an unfair field.

States and Cities Where Asking Is Actually Illegal

Salary history bans have spread quickly over the past few years. As of 2026, around 22 states plus dozens of cities and counties have laws restricting what employers can ask about your pay history. The specifics vary, but the general rule is: in these places, employers can’t require you to disclose prior pay, and many can’t even ask.

States with broad bans include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Cities like Philadelphia, New Orleans, Kansas City, Toledo, and Cincinnati have their own rules. Some laws apply only to public sector jobs. Others cover every employer in the state. A few ban asking entirely, while others only prohibit using the info to set pay.

Before your next interview, spend three minutes searching “[your state] salary history ban 2026.” If you’re protected, you have a clean, legal reason to decline the question. If you’re not, you still don’t have to answer. No law requires you to play along with a question designed to undercut you.

How to Deflect the Question (3 Scripts That Actually Work)

The trick to deflecting well is sounding helpful while saying nothing useful. You want the recruiter to move on feeling like you’re cooperative, not like you’re hiding something. Here are three scripts that do exactly that, pulled from real candidates who’ve run them dozens of times.

Script 1: The Redirect

“I’d rather focus on what this role pays than what I’ve made before. Based on my research and the scope of this position, I’m targeting something in the $X to $Y range. Does that work with your budget?”

This one’s clean and professional. You’re not being cagey, you’re just steering toward the relevant question. It also forces the recruiter to either confirm or adjust their range, which gives you valuable intel.

Script 2: The Legal Nudge

“In my state, employers can’t require salary history, and I’d prefer not to share it. I’m happy to discuss my salary expectations for this role, though. I’m looking for $X to $Y based on the market for similar positions.”

Only use this if you’re actually in a covered state. The mention of the law signals you’ve done your homework without making it confrontational. Most recruiters will drop the topic immediately.

Script 3: The Irrelevance Frame

“Honestly, my current salary reflects a situation that isn’t really comparable to this role. What I can tell you is that for a position like this, I’m looking at $X to $Y. Is that aligned with what you’re budgeting?”

This works especially well if you’re underpaid, changing industries, or coming from a role with different responsibilities. You’re not lying. You’re reframing. The recruiter gets what they need, which is a target number, without getting what they wanted, which is leverage.

When You’re Actually Forced to Answer

Sometimes the pressure is real. An online application form has a required “current salary” field. A government job requires past W-2s. A recruiter won’t submit you without a number. These situations are rarer than recruiters pretend, but they happen.

First, check if “0” or “N/A” works in form fields. It usually does, and it doesn’t count as dishonest since you’re clearly not answering. If that fails, enter your total compensation, not just base salary. That means adding bonuses, stock vesting, 401(k) match, health benefits value, and anything else your employer pays on your behalf. Someone making $80,000 base might reasonably claim $110,000 in total comp once you add it all up. You’re not inflating; you’re being accurate about what you actually cost your employer.

If a recruiter flat-out refuses to move forward without a number, ask them directly: “Can you share the budgeted range for this role first? I want to make sure we’re in the same ballpark before I share anything.” About 80% of the time they’ll give you a range. If they still won’t, that’s a red flag about how they negotiate. You can walk away or give them your target range as your “expectation” rather than history. Check our salary negotiation guide for deeper tactics here.

How to Pivot to Your Target Range

Deflecting only works if you have something to pivot to. That means walking into every salary conversation with a researched, defensible target range ready to deploy. Without one, you’ll freeze, and freezing often leads to accidentally blurting out your current number.

Your target range should be based on three data points: market data for the role in that geography, the company’s glassdoor and levels.fyi data if available, and your own floor (the minimum you’d accept). The top of your range should be a number that’d make you genuinely excited. The bottom should be slightly above your real walk-away point. That way, if they come in at the bottom of your stated range, you’re still getting a number you’re okay with.

When sharing the range, sound confident and specific. “I’m looking for $95,000 to $115,000” lands harder than “somewhere around, I don’t know, maybe a hundred grand?” Practice saying your number out loud before the call. It sounds silly, but candidates routinely sabotage their own negotiations because the number feels weird to say. It won’t feel weird on the fifth rehearsal.

What Recruiters Actually Want From This Question

Understanding the recruiter’s motivation helps you navigate the question without feeling guilty about deflecting. Recruiters aren’t villains, but they have incentives that don’t always align with yours. They’re often measured on filling roles quickly and within budget. Your current salary is information that helps them do both.

Here’s what they actually care about:

• Whether you’re in the right ballpark for the role’s budget
• Whether they can close you without exceeding their internal range
• Whether you have realistic expectations for the market

Notice that none of those require your actual salary history. Your target range answers every single one. That’s why experienced recruiters accept the pivot without pushing back. They got what they needed. Only inexperienced or aggressive recruiters keep pressing after you’ve given them a reasonable range. If you want to understand the recruiter relationship better, read our guide on working with recruiters.

What to Do If They Keep Pushing

Most recruiters accept your deflection on the first pass. Some don’t. If you’re getting pushback, stay calm and repeat your position with slightly different wording. Don’t apologize or explain too much, since over-explaining reads as weakness.

Try something like: “I understand you’re asking, and I want to be helpful. What I can share is that for this role, I’m looking at $X to $Y. Can we work within that range?” If they push again, you can add: “I’ve chosen not to share my salary history, but I’m fully committed to finding a number that works for both of us based on this role’s scope.” That’s three attempts with the same message, and at this point either they’ll accept it or reveal themselves as a company that negotiates in bad faith.

If they actually threaten to pull you from consideration, that’s your answer. A company willing to disqualify you for exercising a legal right, or even just a reasonable preference, is telling you everything you need to know about how they’ll treat you as an employee. Better to find out now than after you’ve signed. You can always circle back to the phone screen interview guide to prep for your next one.

The candidates who walk away from pushy salary history conversations almost always land somewhere better. Not because walking away is magical, but because companies that respect candidate boundaries tend to pay better, negotiate more fairly, and build healthier cultures overall. Your refusal to play the game is filtering for the companies you actually want to work for. And when you do get the offer, you’ll want our guide on how to evaluate a job offer to make sure you’re looking at the whole picture, not just the base salary.

The salary history question is going to keep showing up, even in states where it’s technically illegal. That’s fine. You don’t need the question to disappear. You just need a calm, prepared response that redirects the conversation to where it should’ve been all along: the value of the role you’re applying for, not the price tag someone else put on you last year.