See what your raise is really worth: your new salary, the percentage increase, and the extra take-home pay on every paycheck. Enter a raise as a percent, a dollar amount or your new pay, for a salary or an hourly wage, with 2026 taxes for every state.
| Raise | Before tax | After tax |
|---|
| Pay | Now | After raise |
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Know More: How the Raise Calculator Works
Updated for 2026. After-tax figures use the 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction, the $184,500 Social Security wage base and each state's 2026 income tax, the same rules as our paycheck calculators. The default inflation rate is 3.7%, the 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index to September 2026 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
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How to calculate a raise (percent and dollars)
New pay = current pay × (1 + raise % ÷ 100)
A 3% raise on a $60,000 salary is $60,000 × 0.03 = $1,800, so the new salary is $61,800. For hourly pay it works the same way: a 5% raise on $20 an hour is $1, so the new rate is $21 an hour.
To find the percentage from two amounts:
Raise % = (new pay − old pay) ÷ old pay × 100
Going from $52,000 to $55,000 is a $3,000 raise, and $3,000 ÷ $52,000 = 5.77%. To compare a salary with an hourly rate, the calculator uses 52 weeks at the hours you enter: $60,000 a year at 40 hours a week is $28.85 an hour.
| Current salary | 3% raise | 4% raise | 5% raise |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,200 | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| $60,000 | $1,800 | $2,400 | $3,000 |
| $75,000 | $2,250 | $3,000 | $3,750 |
| $100,000 | $3,000 | $4,000 | $5,000 |
Your raise after taxes (marginal rate)
A raise is taxed at your marginal rate, the rate on your last dollars of income, not at your average rate. It adds federal income tax at your top bracket, 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, and state and local tax. That is why the extra take-home pay is smaller than the raise.
A raise never lowers your take-home pay. Moving into a higher bracket only raises the tax on the dollars above the bracket line, not on all your income. The calculator works out the full-year tax before and after the raise, so the "Tax rate on your raise" is the real share that goes to taxes.
For example, a single filer in Texas earning $60,000 who gets a 3% raise keeps $1,446.30 of the $1,800 a year, or $55.63 more on each biweekly paycheck. About 19.6% goes to taxes: 12% federal income tax plus 7.65% Social Security and Medicare.
Real raise vs inflation
A raise only increases your buying power if it beats inflation. The real raise is:
Real raise = (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1
With prices up 3.7% over the past year, a 3% raise is a real raise of (1.03 ÷ 1.037) − 1 = −0.68%: your pay buys a little less than before. You would need $62,220 on a $60,000 salary just to keep up. A 5% raise is a real raise of +1.25%.
Real raise after 3.7% inflation
Inflation-adjusted value of each raise; CPI-U, 12 months to September 2026
Source: Digicalcy calculation using BLS CPI-U data.
Inflation changes every month, so you can type your own rate in the calculator, for example the rate for your city or the rate since your last raise.
Typical raise sizes
U.S. employers expect an average merit increase of 3.2% and a total salary increase budget of 3.5% for 2027, roughly in line with 2024 to 2026, according to Mercer's U.S. compensation planning survey. Budgets vary by industry, from about 3.0% in healthcare to 3.8% in high tech.
| Raise | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Under 2% | Below average; less than inflation |
| 2% to 3% | A standard cost-of-living or average merit raise |
| 3% to 5% | Around average to good; strong performers often land here |
| 5% to 10% | A very good merit raise, or a market adjustment |
| 10% or more | Usually a promotion, a new role or a job change |
So is a 4% raise good? In 2026 it is a little above the average budget and slightly ahead of 3.7% inflation.
How to ask for a raise
- Know your market rate: compare pay for your role, level and city using job postings and salary surveys.
- Show results: list projects, numbers and new responsibilities since your last raise.
- Pick the timing: ask before budgets are set, often a few months before the annual review, or after a big win.
- Ask for a number: name a specific salary or percentage, backed by your research.
- Think in take-home pay: use this calculator to see what each option adds to your paycheck, and weigh other benefits such as a higher 401(k) match or more paid time off.
Examples
Extra take-home pay per biweekly paycheck (and per year), single filer, 2026, no pre-tax deductions:
| Salary and raise | Raise a year | Texas | California | New York | Illinois |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000, 3% | $1,500 | $46.36 ($1,205) | $42.14 ($1,096) | $42.99 ($1,118) | $43.50 ($1,131) |
| $60,000, 3% | $1,800 | $55.63 ($1,446) | $50.57 ($1,315) | $51.59 ($1,341) | $52.20 ($1,357) |
| $60,000, 5% | $3,000 | $92.71 ($2,411) | $84.29 ($2,192) | $85.98 ($2,236) | $87.00 ($2,262) |
| $75,000, 4% | $3,000 | $81.17 ($2,111) | $70.44 ($1,832) | $74.44 ($1,936) | $75.46 ($1,962) |
| $100,000, 5% | $5,000 | $135.29 ($3,518) | $114.90 ($2,988) | $123.94 ($3,223) | $125.77 ($3,270) |
At $75,000, the raise crosses into the 22% federal bracket, so less of each extra dollar reaches your paycheck than at $60,000.
Methodology and last updated
The calculator converts your pay to a yearly amount (hourly rate × hours a week × 52), applies the raise, and estimates take-home pay for the full year before and after it using the 2025 and 2026 federal rules (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), Social Security and Medicare, and the same state and local rules as our state paycheck calculators, for a single job with no pre-tax deductions. Per-paycheck amounts are the yearly amounts divided by 52, 26, 24 or 12. The real raise uses the inflation rate you enter. Results are estimates, not financial or tax advice.
Last reviewed: November 1, 2026.
Raise Calculator FAQs
How do I calculate a percentage raise?
Subtract your old pay from your new pay, divide by your old pay and multiply by 100. Going from $50,000 to $52,000 is a $2,000 raise, and $2,000 divided by $50,000 is 4%. To apply a raise, multiply your pay by 1 plus the percentage: $50,000 x 1.04 = $52,000.
What is a 3% raise on $60,000?
$1,800 a year, for a new salary of $61,800. That is $150 more a month before tax, or $69.23 more on each biweekly paycheck. A single filer in Texas keeps about $55.63 of it per paycheck after 2026 taxes.
Is a raise taxed at a higher rate?
A raise is taxed at your marginal rate, the rate on your top dollars, which is usually higher than your average tax rate. Only the income above a bracket line is taxed at the higher rate, so a raise always increases your take-home pay.
What is a good raise?
U.S. employers plan an average merit increase of about 3.2% for 2027, according to Mercer. A raise above inflation, 3.7% for the 12 months to September 2026, increases your buying power; 5% or more is generally a strong raise, and 10% or more usually comes with a promotion.
How much more will I take home?
Usually 60% to 80% of the raise, depending on your federal bracket, Social Security and Medicare, and your state tax. Enter your pay, raise and state in the calculator to see the extra take-home pay per paycheck, month and year.
More paycheck and pay calculators
- Salary & Paycheck Calculator: take-home pay in every state
- Salary to Hourly Calculator: convert any pay rate
- Hourly Paycheck Calculator: take-home pay for hourly workers
- Bonus Tax Calculator: what you keep from a bonus