Raise Calculator

How to calculate a raise

New pay = current pay × (1 + raise % ÷ 100)
Raise % = (new pay − current pay) ÷ current pay × 100

The calculator turns your pay into a yearly amount first (hourly pay × hours per week × 52, or monthly pay × 12), applies the raise, and then shows the result per month, per biweekly paycheck, per week and per hour.

Worked example

You earn $55,000 a year and get a 4% raise:

• New salary: 55,000 × 1.04 = $57,200, or $2,200 more a year
• Per month: $4,583.33 → $4,766.67 (+$183.33)
• Every two weeks: $2,115.38 → $2,200.00 (+$84.62)
• Per hour at 40 hours a week: $26.44 → $27.50

The extra $84.62 per paycheck is before tax. Depending on your bracket and state, roughly 20 to 35% of it goes to tax; the paycheck calculator shows the exact take-home difference.

Your raise after inflation

A raise only increases your buying power if it beats inflation. The real raise is:

Real raise = (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1

A 4% raise in a year with 3% inflation is a real raise of (1.04 ÷ 1.03) − 1 = 0.97%. A 2% raise with 3% inflation is a real pay cut of about 0.97%. Enter the inflation rate for the past 12 months (the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) to see your real raise.

What a raise means for your take-home pay

Your take-home pay rises by less than the gross raise, because each extra dollar is taxed at your marginal rates: your top federal bracket, 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, and any state tax. For a single filer earning $55,000 in 2026, taxable income is $55,000 − $16,100 standard deduction = $38,900, inside the 12% bracket that runs to $50,400. So about 19.65% of the raise (12% + 7.65%) goes to federal tax and FICA, plus any state tax. If you also contribute a percentage of pay to a 401(k), that contribution grows with the raise too, which lowers the take-home increase further but adds to your savings.

Merit raise, cost-of-living raise or promotion

• Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA): a raise meant to keep pace with prices, usually close to the past year's inflation rate. It keeps your buying power level rather than raising it.
• Merit raise: a raise for performance, typically a few percent, often on top of or combined with a cost-of-living increase.
• Promotion or new job: usually the biggest jump. Changing employers has historically brought larger increases than staying, though it also resets things like vesting and paid leave.

Preparing to ask for a raise

Know your numbers before the conversation. Look up the pay range for your role and location in published salary surveys or job postings, list what you have delivered since your last raise in concrete terms (sales, savings, projects, new responsibilities), and decide on a specific figure. Asking for a percentage near the top of what is realistic leaves room to meet in the middle. Use this calculator to turn that percentage into the yearly and per-paycheck amounts, so you know exactly what each offer means.

Common mistakes

• Adding percentages across years. Two 5% raises are a 10.25% increase, not 10%, because the second raise applies to the higher pay.
• Thinking a raise can lower take-home pay by pushing you into a higher bracket. Only the dollars above the bracket threshold are taxed at the higher rate, so more gross pay always means more take-home pay from income tax alone.
• Comparing a raise with a bonus. A $2,200 raise repeats every year and raises future raises and retirement contributions; a $2,200 one-time bonus does not.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), 12-month percentage change.
• Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 tax brackets.

Last reviewed 21 October 2026. Results are estimates; see our disclaimer.