Pay Raise Calculator
Enter your current salary and a raise percentage, raise amount or new salary to compare your old and new pay. An optional 2026 estimate shows how much of the raise you keep after tax.
How to calculate a pay raise
A raise given as a percentage is that percentage of your current salary. Work out the raise amount first, then add it to what you earn now:
- Raise amount = current salary × raise percentage ÷ 100
- New salary = current salary + raise amount
A 5% raise on a $60,000 salary is $60,000 × 5 ÷ 100 = $3,000, for a new salary of $63,000. If you were told the raise as an amount, add it to your current salary; if you were told your new salary, the raise amount is the new salary minus the current one. The calculator above takes any of the three and works out the other two.
How to calculate a raise percentage
To turn a raise amount or a new salary into a percentage, divide the change by the salary before the raise:
- Raise percentage = (new salary − current salary) ÷ current salary × 100
Going from $60,000 to $66,000 is a $6,000 raise, and $6,000 ÷ $60,000 × 100 = 10%. A $5,000 raise on the same salary is 8.33%. The percentage is always of the old salary, not the new one, which is why a 10% raise followed by a 10% cut does not bring you back to where you started. With no current salary there is nothing to take a percentage of, so the calculator shows the change in dollars only.
How much is a 5% raise?
A 5% raise adds one twentieth of your current salary. On $60,000 that is $3,000 a year before taxes: $250 a month, $125 twice a month, $115.38 every two weeks or $57.69 a week. At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, 2,080 hours a year, it is about $1.44 an hour. The table shows other common raises on the same salary:
| Raise | Annual increase | Monthly increase | New salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2% | $1,200 | $100 | $61,200 |
| 3% | $1,800 | $150 | $61,800 |
| 5% | $3,000 | $250 | $63,000 |
| 7.5% | $4,500 | $375 | $64,500 |
| 10% | $6,000 | $500 | $66,000 |
These are gross figures. The same percentage is worth more on a bigger salary and less on a smaller one, so enter your own salary above to see yours.
Gross raise vs take-home increase
The gross raise is the change in your salary before anything is taken out. The take-home increase — your raise after taxes — is what is left of it once the extra taxes it brings are paid, and it is smaller. Tick “Estimate 2026 take-home impact” in the calculator and choose your state and filing status to see it. The calculator works out your taxes for 2026 twice — at your current salary and at your new salary — and the estimated additional tax is the difference:
- Estimated additional taxes = taxes at the new salary − taxes at the current salary
- Estimated take-home increase = gross raise − estimated additional taxes
Both years use the same state, local tax, filing status and pre-tax deductions, so the only thing that changes is the salary. Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare, state income tax, state payroll contributions and local income tax are each compared.
Federal income tax is graduated. A raise can take part of your income into a higher tax bracket, but only the part above that bracket’s starting point is taxed at the higher rate; the rest of your salary is taxed as before. Social Security stops at the year’s wage base, so a raise above it adds no Social Security, while Medicare has no wage base. The estimate is the change in your tax for the year, not what your employer will withhold from each paycheck.
How a raise changes each paycheck
A raise is usually quoted per year, but it arrives one paycheck at a time. Divide the yearly raise by the number of paychecks in a year to see what each one gains before tax:
- Monthly: 12 paychecks — a $3,000 raise adds $250 to each
- Twice a month: 24 paychecks — $125 each
- Every two weeks: 26 paychecks — $115.38 each
- Weekly: 52 paychecks — $57.69 each
Your employer’s payroll rounding can make a real paycheck differ by a few cents, and a raise that starts partway through the year adds less than a full year’s worth in its first year. What reaches your bank account rises by less than the gross figure, because taxes rise too, and so does any deduction set as a percentage of pay, such as a 401(k) contribution. To see a whole paycheck after taxes at your new salary, use the US Paycheck Calculator; to turn the new salary into an hourly rate with your own hours, use the Salary to Hourly Calculator.
Raise vs cost-of-living adjustment
A cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is a pay increase meant to keep up with rising prices. It is often the same percentage for everyone in an organization, and some are tied to a price index such as the Consumer Price Index. A merit raise, a promotion or a new job is a change based on your work or your role.
The arithmetic is the same for all of them: a percentage of your current salary, or a new salary compared with the old one. What a raise buys depends on how prices changed over the same period — if they rose by more than the raise, the new salary buys less than the old one did. This calculator works out the money only; it does not adjust for inflation or judge whether a raise keeps pace with prices.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a pay raise?
Multiply your current salary by the raise percentage and divide by 100 to get the raise amount, then add it to your current salary for the new salary. A 5% raise on $60,000 is $60,000 × 5 ÷ 100 = $3,000, for a new salary of $63,000. If you know the raise amount instead, add it to your current salary.
How do I calculate my raise percentage?
Subtract your current salary from your new salary, divide the difference by your current salary and multiply by 100. Going from $60,000 to $66,000 is a $6,000 raise, and $6,000 ÷ $60,000 × 100 = 10%. The percentage is always of the salary before the raise.
How much is a 5% raise?
A 5% raise adds 5% of your current salary. On $60,000 that is $3,000 a year before taxes, for a new salary of $63,000 — $250 a month, $115.38 every two weeks or $57.69 a week. Enter your own salary above to see yours.
How does a raise affect my paycheck?
Your gross pay per paycheck goes up by the yearly raise divided by the number of paychecks: 12 if you are paid monthly, 24 twice a month, 26 every two weeks and 52 weekly. Your take-home pay rises by less, because taxes rise too, and so does any deduction set as a percentage of pay. The optional 2026 estimate shows how much less.
Will my whole raise be taxed at a higher rate?
No. Federal income tax is graduated: if a raise takes part of your income into a higher tax bracket, only the part above that bracket’s starting point is taxed at the higher rate, and the rest of your salary is taxed as before. A raise has no tax rate of its own; it is taxed as part of your wages for the year, along with Social Security, Medicare and any state or local income tax.
Can this calculator estimate my take-home increase?
Yes. Tick “Estimate 2026 take-home impact” and choose your state and filing status. The calculator works out your 2026 taxes at your current salary and again at your new salary, with the same deductions, and shows the change in each tax and the estimated take-home increase. It estimates the tax for the year, not what your employer will withhold.
Can I calculate a pay cut?
Yes. Enter a negative percentage or amount, such as −5, or a new salary below your current one. A 5% cut from $60,000 is $3,000 a year, for a new salary of $57,000. The results show the decrease in each pay period, and the optional estimate shows the change in taxes and take-home pay.
Does CalcPaid save my salary?
No. The calculation happens in your browser. Your salary, raise and other details are never sent to a server, never written to a URL, never saved in cookies or browser storage, and never shared with an analytics or advertising service. Copy and Share hand over the result as text only when you press them.
The site uses Google Analytics to count visits, and may show ads from Google. Those services see which page was opened, not what you typed into it. The privacy page has the detail.
More from CalcPaid
- US Paycheck Calculator — estimate take-home pay from an annual salary after federal, state and payroll taxes.
- Salary to Hourly Calculator — convert a salary to an hourly rate, or hourly pay to a salary, with monthly, biweekly and weekly equivalents.
- Bonus Paycheck Calculator — estimate the taxes on a one-time bonus and what you keep after them.
- Pay Stub Calculator — estimate one paycheck at your new salary, with each tax and deduction on its own line.