What is my CTC?
Suppose Mr. A and B both have 10 LPA base salary and 10 LPA stocks for 4 years totalling 40L in stocks.
Mr. A, when asked what's his CTC answers 20LPA (10 + 10). Mr. B, when asked what's his CTC answers 50LPA (10 + 40). The reasoning is the options are already issued on the first year they just vest over 4 years.
Who is right?
Whenever I ask people their CTC I get either of these answers. Mr. A generally tends to be startup employees and Mr. B generally tends to be FAANG/Big Tech employees.
CTC is usually talked in terms of per year. So you should consider what is bound to you per year. Mr. A is right.
By B's logic, B can work in the same org for 10 years and they'll be paid for all the years they work. So they can't just say, their CTC is 10 base * 10 years = 1 crore.
But people do this to flaunt their CTC and companies too inflates their number to make the employee feel good.
Personally, I feel the right way is to mention your base + other variables + RSUs, as the other components are subject to staying for a year.
