Why you don’t keep your whole raise
Every extra dollar of salary is taxed at your marginal rate: your top federal bracket, plus Social Security and Medicare, plus your state’s top rate and any state payroll taxes. That combined rate is higher than your average (effective) rate, so the share of a raise you keep is smaller than the share of your current pay you keep. The calculator runs your whole paycheck twice — before and after — and shows the difference line by line.
How to calculate a raise
- New salary = old salary × (1 + raise %). A 4% raise on $65,000 is $65,000 × 1.04 = $67,600.
- Raise percentage = (new salary − old salary) ÷ old salary.
- Per-paycheck gross change = annual raise ÷ number of paychecks (26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, 52 weekly, 12 monthly).
Worked example: 5% on $65,000
| Per biweekly paycheck | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,500.00 | $2,625.00 | $125.00 |
| Federal income tax | $216.15 | $237.88 | $21.73 |
| Social Security & Medicare | $191.25 | $200.81 | $9.56 |
| Take-home pay | $2,092.60 | $2,186.30 | $93.71 |
Single filer, no state income tax, no pre-tax deductions. The raise keeps 75.0% of its value after tax; the marginal federal bracket is 22%.
How much of a $5,000 raise you keep at different salaries
Same assumptions (single, no state income tax). The share kept generally falls as income moves into higher brackets. Above the Social Security wage base the Social Security part of FICA stops, which nudges the share kept back up for very high earners.
| Salary | Extra take-home per year | Share kept |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 → $55,000 | $4,018 | 80.3% |
| $75,000 → $80,000 | $3,518 | 70.3% |
| $100,000 → $105,000 | $3,518 | 70.3% |
| $150,000 → $155,000 | $3,418 | 68.3% |
Working backwards: the raise you need
If you know how much more you want in each paycheck, divide by the share you keep. In the example above you keep 75.0% of each extra dollar, so an extra $100 per biweekly paycheck ($2,600 a year after tax) needs a raise of about $3,468 a year before tax. Use the calculator with your own state and filing status to refine it — the share kept changes as your income moves through the brackets.
Raise or bonus?
A one-time bonus and a permanent raise of the same size are taxed the same at filing, but they are not worth the same. A raise repeats every year, usually compounds with future percentage raises and may increase your 401(k) match and benefits tied to salary. A bonus is withheld differently (often at a flat supplemental rate), so the check can look smaller than its real after-tax value — see the bonus tax calculator.
Things that change how much of a raise you see
State taxes
In a state with graduated brackets, a raise may also cross a state bracket edge. Pick your state in the calculator; state payroll taxes such as disability insurance scale with pay too, up to their caps.
401(k) percentage
A percentage contribution grows with your salary, so some of the raise goes into retirement savings — it is still your money, just not in this paycheck.
Benefit phase-outs
Near the Child Tax Credit phase-out or the income limits of the 2025–2028 deductions, a raise can also shrink those benefits. This calculator doesn’t ask about children, tips or overtime; to see those effects, run the paycheck calculator at both salaries. Credits outside our model (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit) can make the share kept smaller.
When the raise shows up
Payroll usually applies a raise from a specific pay period, so the first paycheck after it may include a partial period or retroactive pay. Retroactive pay paid as a lump sum can be withheld as supplemental wages, at a flat rate, which makes that one check look heavily taxed. From the next full period on, each paycheck should match the “after” column above, give or take the difference between our annual estimate and your employer’s withholding tables. If you also change your 401(k) percentage or benefits at the same time, run both changes together in the paycheck calculator.
All figures are estimates of annual tax divided across your paychecks; actual withholding follows your W-4.