About this tool
A 5% raise on $55,000 is $2,750 a year, $229 a month, or $1.32 an hour before tax, and roughly 70% of that after tax. Employers talk in percentages and employees live on monthly numbers, so this calculator translates between them and shows the take-home difference, which is what actually changes your budget.
It also works backwards: enter the new salary you are asking for and see the percentage it represents, which helps in a negotiation where 8% sounds bold but $4,400 sounds reasonable.
How to use it
- Enter your current yearly salary.
- Give the raise as a percentage, a yearly amount, or the new salary.
- Set filing status and state to see how much of it you keep.
Questions
Will a raise push me into a higher bracket and cost me money?
No. US brackets are marginal: only the dollars above a threshold are taxed at the higher rate. A raise always increases take-home pay; the marginal rate shown is what applies to the raise itself.
What is a typical raise?
Cost-of-living adjustments run 3 to 4%; merit raises 4 to 6%; promotions 10% and up. A job change often brings 10 to 20%, which is why the same calculation with a new salary is worth running.
How accurate is the tax estimate?
Federal income tax and FICA follow the official brackets, standard deduction, and wage base for the selected year, which makes the estimate close for a single job with no unusual deductions. Credits (child tax credit, EITC), itemized deductions, bonuses withheld at a flat rate, and local taxes are not included, so a real paycheck can differ. Use it to compare options, then confirm with a tax professional or your payroll stub.
What does the state field change?
It applies that state's income tax (its brackets, standard deduction, and personal exemption for the tax year, from the Tax Foundation's yearly tables) and the payroll programs its employees pay into: California SDI at 1.3% of every dollar in 2026, New Jersey TDI and FLI, New York SDI and PFL, and the paid leave premiums in Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and Minnesota. Nine states tax no wages at all (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming), though Washington and Alaska still have small payroll deductions.
Why is my California paycheck lower than the estimate?
Two usual reasons. The estimate does not know about city taxes or extra withholding on your W-4, and California withholding tables run a little heavy, so the refund catches up at filing time. What it does include is the part most calculators miss: SDI, which comes off every dollar of wages with no cap, on top of the state income tax.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser; nothing is stored or transmitted. Refresh the page and it starts clean.
Is it free, are files uploaded, which browsers work: the general questions are answered once for the whole site.