Be clear: "I am looking for a competitive package that includes base, bonus, equity, 401(k), and benefits." Then either: "I am looking for total comp package of $XX." or "I am looking for a base salary of $YY."
Never communicate or discuss a dollar amount without suffixing it with "base."
All of those other perks are either known, standard, or negotiable after the fact.
In general - save for a publicly traded company issuing RSUs - base salary is the most important factor to be optimizing for.
How does one answer that, when you consider benefits, 401k, average bonus, etc. It could be $10k difference. So, I usually say I need to see the whole package they are offering to get you a number.