Pay Raise Calculator

Getting a raise feels great until you see your first paycheck and realize the increase is smaller than expected. The gap between your gross raise and your net raise is entirely caused by taxes, and understanding exactly how much of your raise you keep is essential for making informed financial decisions about negotiating compensation, switching jobs, or evaluating promotions.

Federal income tax is progressive, which means your raise is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate. If your current salary puts you in the 22% bracket and your raise keeps you there, roughly 22 cents of every additional dollar goes to federal income tax. But if your raise pushes you into the 24% bracket, the portion above the threshold is taxed at 24%. This is why higher earners keep a smaller percentage of each raise compared to lower earners.

FICA taxes take another bite. Social Security tax at 6.2% applies to all wages up to $184,500 in 2026, and Medicare tax at 1.45% applies to all wages with no cap. Together, FICA takes 7.65% of your raise if you are below the Social Security wage base. Once your total wages exceed $184,500, Social Security stops and only Medicare continues, so very high earners actually keep more of a raise in percentage terms once they pass that threshold.

Your filing status significantly affects how much of a raise you keep. Married filing jointly has wider tax brackets and a higher standard deduction ($32,200 vs $16,100 for single filers in 2026), which means more of your income is taxed at lower rates. A single filer earning $100,000 who gets a 10% raise keeps less of that raise in percentage terms than a married couple where one spouse earns the same amount, because the single filer hits higher brackets sooner.

This calculator shows you the full picture: your new salary, the gross raise amount, what your old and new take-home pay look like after federal tax and FICA, the net raise you actually receive, and the percentage of your raise that survives taxation. Use these numbers when negotiating your next raise or evaluating whether a new job offer truly represents a meaningful income increase.