Calculate how much your paycheck increases after a raise. See before and after pay breakdown, estimated tax impact, inflation-adjusted gains, and 5-year earnings projection.
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A pay raise represents an increase in your compensation, whether it comes as a percentage bump, a flat dollar amount, or a new salary figure. Understanding the full impact of your raise means looking beyond the headline number. You need to account for how taxes reduce your take-home increase, whether the raise keeps pace with inflation, and how it compounds over multiple years. This calculator breaks down every angle of your raise so you can evaluate any offer with confidence.
A pay raise is an increase in your base compensation, typically expressed as a percentage of your current salary. Employers grant raises for many reasons: annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), merit-based performance rewards, promotions, market adjustments, and retention offers. The basic formula multiplies your current salary by one plus the raise percentage. For example, a 5% raise on a $50,000 salary yields $52,500. However, the real impact requires understanding marginal tax rates, FICA withholding, and inflation erosion.
Pay Raise Formula
New Salary = Current Salary x (1 + Raise% / 100)A 5% raise does not mean 5% more in your pocket. Federal income tax and FICA (Social Security + Medicare) reduce your net increase. This calculator estimates your marginal tax impact so you know exactly what hits your bank account.
If inflation runs at 3% and your raise is 3%, your real purchasing power has not changed. Our calculator shows your inflation-adjusted (real) raise so you can tell whether you are actually earning more or just keeping pace.
Is your 4% raise competitive? The calculator compares your raise to the US national average so you can gauge whether your compensation growth is above, at, or below market.
A raise compounds over your career. Even a modest annual increase accumulates to tens of thousands of extra dollars over five years. See the cumulative projection before and after taxes.
Whether you are evaluating an offer or preparing to ask for more, concrete numbers strengthen your position. Walk into the conversation knowing your per-paycheck increase, effective tax rate on the raise, and real purchasing power gain.
You received a 4.5% merit raise on your $65,000 salary. Use the calculator to see that your $2,925 gross raise becomes roughly $2,100 after federal and FICA taxes, adding about $175 per month to your take-home pay.
Your company offers a 3% COLA. Plug in a 3% raise alongside 3% inflation to confirm your real raise is near zero — you are maintaining purchasing power, not gaining it.
Moving from $55,000 to $65,000 — an 18% jump. The calculator shows the higher marginal tax bracket you may enter and how much of that $10,000 increase reaches your paycheck.
Going from $18 to $19 per hour at 40 hours per week. The calculator converts this to an annual $2,080 increase and estimates your after-tax weekly bump.
Offer A pays $70,000 and Offer B pays $75,000. Run both scenarios with your current salary to compare the net after-tax difference per month.
Your employer offers 3% but you want 5%. Show the five-year earnings difference between the two scenarios: that extra 2% could mean $6,000+ in cumulative pre-tax earnings over five years.
A 5% raise on $50,000 adds $2,500 per year to your gross salary, bringing your new annual pay to $52,500. After estimated federal tax (12% bracket) and FICA (7.65%), you would keep roughly $2,010 per year, or about $167 more per month in take-home pay.
The US average merit raise in 2025 is around 3.5% to 4%. A raise above 5% is considered strong, while 7% or higher is excellent, often associated with a promotion or market adjustment. Any raise below the current inflation rate means your real purchasing power is decreasing.
Multiply your annual raise by (1 minus your combined marginal tax rate), then divide by 12. For example, a $3,000 raise at a combined federal + FICA rate of ~30% nets about $2,100 per year, or $175 per month. This calculator does this automatically.
The US uses marginal tax brackets, so only the income within the new bracket is taxed at the higher rate. If your current income is near a bracket boundary, part of the raise is taxed at the higher rate. The calculator uses your filing status and 2025 brackets to estimate this precisely.
A nominal raise is the headline percentage increase. A real raise subtracts inflation. If you get a 4% raise and inflation is 3%, your real raise is only 1%, meaning your purchasing power increases by just 1%.
At 40 hours per week for 52 weeks, a $1/hour raise equals $2,080 per year before taxes. After estimated federal tax and FICA, you would keep roughly $1,500 to $1,700 per year depending on your tax bracket.
Either is fine, but percentages are more common for salaried workers while hourly workers often negotiate in dollar amounts. This calculator lets you input either format and instantly converts between them.
It depends on your current pay and pay frequency. For example, a 3% raise on a $60,000 annual salary adds $1,800/year gross. After taxes, on a biweekly schedule (26 paychecks), that is roughly $50 more per paycheck.