How much is a 5% raise after taxes?

A 5% raise on a $75,000 salary adds $3,750 in gross pay. After federal tax (22% bracket), FICA (7.65%), and a 5% state tax, you keep roughly $2,100–$2,400 — about 56–64 cents per raise dollar. Use this calculator to see the exact amount for your bracket and state.

How does a raise affect my tax bracket?

A raise only pushes income in the new, higher bracket — the portion below the threshold is still taxed at lower rates. So if you're in the 22% bracket and a raise pushes a small amount into the 24% bracket, only that excess is taxed at 24%. Most raises don't cause a dramatic jump in overall taxes.

What is a good annual raise percentage?

A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) typically runs 2–4%. A merit raise is usually 3–6%. A promotion can yield 10–20%. Switching jobs is the highest-leverage move, often producing 15–30% increases. Anything above inflation (roughly 3%) represents a real pay increase.

How do I negotiate a raise effectively?

Research market rates on Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Levels.fyi. Document specific accomplishments with measurable impact. Request a meeting during a performance review cycle or after a major win. Ask for 10–15% above your target to leave room for negotiation, and be prepared to justify why your contributions warrant the increase.

Pay Raise Calculator — Salary Increase

Item	Current	After Raise
Gross Salary	$75,000	$78,750
Federal Tax Estimate (Selected Rate)	$16,500	$17,325
FICA (SS + Medicare)	$5,738	$6,024
State Tax	$3,750	$3,938
Take-Home (Net)	$49,013	$51,463

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Walk-through

How to Use This Calculator

5 steps

1

Enter Current Salary

Input your current gross annual salary. This is the baseline for computing the raise percentage and the new tax bracket impact.

2

Enter Raise Amount or Percentage

Specify the raise as a percentage increase. Typical merit raises are 3–5%; promotion raises 10–20%; new-job raises 15–30%+.

3

Set Your Tax Assumptions

Choose the federal marginal rate that applies to the next dollar of income and enter an approximate state income-tax rate. This calculator uses those selected rates rather than building a full tax return.

4

Choose Your Pay Frequency

Select weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly pay so the calculator can show the estimated new take-home amount and increase per pay period.

5

Review Net Take-Home Change

Inspect your annual and per-pay-period take-home change after the selected federal marginal rate, state rate, and employee FICA assumptions.

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Reference

Formula & Methodology

2 formulas

Net Take-Home Change

Net Increase = Gross Raise − ΔFederal Estimate − ΔState Tax − ΔEmployee FICA

The calculator estimates the change using the selected federal marginal rate, state rate, and employee FICA: 6.2% Social Security up to the 2026 wage base, 1.45% Medicare, and 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000.

Employee FICA on a Raise

FICA = 6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare + 0.9% Additional Medicare when applicable

Employee Social Security withholding stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Medicare withholding continues on all wages, and the calculator adds 0.9% Additional Medicare withholding on wages above $200,000 using a simplified single-filer threshold.

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YMYL

Trust, Methodology & Sources

Written by Quinn Sumner · Updated 2026-08-10 · 4 sources

Editorial accountability

Author: Quinn Sumner - Editor

Owner: Quinn Sumner - Editorial owner

Last reviewed: 2026-08-10

Last verified: 2026-08-10

Data effective: 2026-01-01

Methodology

Pay Raise Calculator computes a simplified net take-home change from the entered salary and raise percentage. It applies the selected federal marginal rate, entered state rate, employee Social Security withholding through the 2026 wage base, 1.45% Medicare withholding, and 0.9% Additional Medicare withholding above $200,000; it then divides the modeled annual totals by the selected pay frequency.

Assumption: Pay Raise Calculator relies on the user-entered salary, raise, pay frequency, selected federal marginal rate, and state-rate approximation and does not access payroll or tax records directly.

Assumption: The selected federal rate is a marginal-rate assumption, not a full progressive tax-return calculation. State taxes, filing status, credits, deductions, benefits, and payroll-specific rules can change the actual result.

Assumption: Benefit changes (401(k) match, bonus targets, equity) are not embedded unless explicitly modeled.

Limitations & guidance

Pay Raise Calculator does not predict future tax-law changes, inflation-adjusted purchasing power, COLA adjustments, or salary trajectory.

Self-employment, supplemental income, alternative minimum tax, and stock-option exercises may produce different effective marginal rates than the basic estimate.

Professional guidance: Pay Raise Calculator is for compensation-planning education only and is not tax, financial, or career advice. Complex compensation situations should be reviewed with a CPA or financial advisor.

Primary sources

Tax Withholding Estimator - Internal Revenue Service

Consumer Price Index - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Topic 401 — Wages and Salaries - Internal Revenue Service

Tax year 2026 inflation adjustments - Internal Revenue Service

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Glossary

Key Terms Explained

6 terms

Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Salary increase intended to maintain purchasing power against inflation. Distinct from merit raises — COLA typically matches CPI inflation; merit raises exceed it.

Merit Increase Performance-based salary increase, typically 3–5% in normal years. Reflects individual contribution above the COLA baseline.

Bracket Creep When a raise pushes part of your income into a higher tax bracket. Only the marginal dollars are taxed at the higher rate — total tax doesn't jump discontinuously.

Pay Frequency How often wages are paid. The calculator divides annual take-home by 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, or 12 monthly payments.

Marginal Tax Rate The federal marginal rate selected for the next dollar of earned income, combined with the entered state rate and employee FICA assumptions. It estimates how much of a raise you keep after modeled payroll taxes.

Benefit-Loaded Raise Total compensation increase including not just base salary but also 401(k) match increases, bonus targets, equity grants, and benefit upgrades. Often 20–40% larger than the headline raise.

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Scenarios

Real-World Examples

3 worked examples

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Standard Merit Raise

Annual 4% raise on $80K salary

Current Salary $80,000 Raise % 4% New Salary $83,200 Marginal Rate (Fed+State+FICA) ~30% Net Take-Home Increase ~$2,240/year ($86/biweekly)

$3,200 gross raise nets approximately $2,240 under the selected federal, state, and FICA assumptions. Modest but meaningful for a typical merit cycle. Compounded across 10 years, 4% annual raises produce 47% nominal salary growth.

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Promotion-Driven Raise

Senior promotion with 15% raise

Current Salary $110,000 Raise % 15% New Salary $126,500 Marginal Rate ~32% Net Take-Home Increase ~$11,220/year

Promotion gross raise: $16,500. Net after taxes: $11,220 — $935/month additional take-home. Plus likely bumped 401(k) match and bonus target increase. Promotion-driven raises typically outperform merit cycles for career trajectory.

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New-Job Negotiation

Job change with 25% raise

Current Salary $95,000 New Job Offer $118,750 (+25%) Marginal Rate ~32% Net Take-Home Increase ~$16,150 Bonus + 401(k) Match Adjustment +$3,800 estimated

Job changes typically produce the largest raises — 15–30% is common, vs 3–5% for staying. Net of taxes plus benefit improvements, the job change adds ~$20K in total compensation. Worth running a 5-year scenario before deciding.

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Reference

Cite This Calculator

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Use either format to cite this calculator in a paper, report, or resource list.

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Deep Dive

What Your Raise Actually Means After Taxes

4 chapters · 4 min read

A pay raise feels like a financial win, but the headline number tells only part of the story. Taxes, benefit changes, payroll timing, and pay frequency can make the cash increase look very different from the advertised percentage.

The Tax Bite on a Raise

Every additional dollar earned is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate. For a middle-income earner, this is typically 22% federal + 4–7% state + 7.65% FICA = roughly 32–37% total. A $5,000 raise nets approximately $3,000–$3,400 in take-home pay. High earners ($200K+) face even steeper marginal rates: 32% federal + state + 2.35% additional Medicare = 40–46% total. This is why high-income raises feel disproportionately smaller — half the raise often disappears to taxes. Bracket creep is real but limited — only the dollars in the higher bracket are taxed at the higher rate, not your entire income.

Pay Frequency Changes the Cash-Flow View

The annual after-tax estimate does not change when you select a different pay frequency, but the way the raise arrives does. The calculator divides the annual modeled take-home by 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, or 12 monthly payments. Actual checks can differ because payroll calendars, benefit deductions, withholding elections, and partial-year raises are not modeled.

Beyond the Headline Number — Total Compensation

The headline salary raise often understates total compensation increase. Promotions typically bring: higher 401(k) match (if match is percentage-based and you save more), higher bonus target (often 5–25% of salary), restricted stock or stock options, expanded benefits, and improved retirement contribution limits in defined-benefit plans. A 15% salary raise on $100K with a bumped bonus target (from 10% to 15%) and 1% additional 401(k) match adds: $15K salary + $7.5K bonus + $1.5K match = $24K total comp increase, not $15K. Always evaluate raises in total compensation terms, especially for promotions and job changes.

Negotiating for Better Outcomes

The single highest-leverage negotiation moment is a new job offer. Within-company merit cycles are constrained by HR budgets and equity considerations; job offers operate within market-rate ranges where you have real leverage. Research market rates for your role and geography using sources like levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics. Then negotiate base salary first (it compounds for the rest of your career), then sign-on bonus (one-time), then equity grants (uncertain value), then benefits (smaller dollar value). Most candidates undernegotiate — recruiters report that 60–70% of candidates accept first offers. Counter-offering with specific data on market rates produces a 5–15% improvement on average, with no downside risk in legitimate job-offer situations.

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Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

6 questions

How much of my raise will I actually keep?+

Typically 60–70% for middle-income earners (after 30–40% taxes). High earners (>$200K) keep 55–60%. Use marginal rates not average rates because raises are added at the top of your income. State of residence matters — no-tax states (TX, FL, WA) keep 7–10% more than high-tax states (CA, NY).

Does a raise push me into a higher tax bracket?+

Possibly, but only the dollars in the higher bracket face the higher rate, not your entire income. For 2026 single filers, the IRS lists the 22% bracket above $50,400, the 24% bracket above $105,700, and the 32% bracket above $201,775. A $10K raise that moves you from $95K to $105K remains within the 22% bracket before other deductions and credits are considered.

Why can my paycheck differ from this estimate?+

This calculator estimates annual take-home using a selected federal marginal rate, an entered state rate, and simplified employee FICA rules. Actual paychecks can differ because of filing status, credits, deductions, retirement and health benefits, withholding elections, local taxes, payroll timing, and other employer-specific adjustments.

Should I negotiate raises annually?+

Yes — most companies expect employees to advocate for themselves. Annual review cycles typically deliver 3–5% raises. Documented contributions, market-rate research, and confident asks can push that to 5–10%+. The downside risk is essentially zero in normal circumstances; the upside compounds across the entire career.

When do raises take effect tax-wise?+

Tax withholding adjusts immediately upon the raise. Federal withholding for the new salary level applies to the next paycheck after the raise takes effect. Your annual tax liability is based on total earned for the year.

Is a sign-on bonus better than higher salary?+

Higher salary is almost always better long-term because it compounds with all future raises (which are typically percentage-based). Sign-on bonus is a one-time event. Exception: if you're confident you'll leave the role within 2–3 years, a large sign-on bonus may produce more total compensation.

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