How much of a raise reaches your paycheck

A raise is quoted as a yearly amount or a percentage, but what you notice is the change in each check. That change is always smaller than the raise divided by your pay periods, because the new dollars are subject to withholding too. This guide shows how to estimate the difference with the paycheck calculator and what affects how much of a raise you keep.

The quick way to estimate it

1. Enter your current salary as an Annual salary, with your filing status, pay frequency, and dependents.
2. Write down the Estimated pay per check and Annual take-home.
3. Change only the salary to the new amount.
4. Subtract the old numbers from the new ones.

The difference in annual take-home is the estimated amount of the raise you keep for the year. The difference in pay per check is what each check should grow by, before anything the calculator does not model.

Why you keep less than the full raise

Three federal pieces come out of the new dollars:

• Federal income tax at your marginal rate. The raise sits on top of your existing income, so it is taxed at the rate for your top bracket, or partly at the next one if it crosses a line. It is not taxed at your average rate. See effective federal rate vs tax bracket (link to `/effective-vs-marginal-rate` once published) for why those differ.
• Social Security. The IRS lists the employee share at 6.2% of wages up to an annual wage base, which it lists as $184,500 for 2026 (IRS Topic 751, checked 2026-09-25). If you are already above the wage base, a raise does not add Social Security withholding.
• Medicare. The IRS lists the employee share at 1.45% of all wages, with no wage base, plus a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax that employers withhold on wages over $200,000 in a calendar year (same source).

Put together, a raise usually adds less per check than people expect, but it always adds something. Moving into a higher bracket only changes the rate on the dollars that land in that bracket.

An illustration of the method

Illustration only: Suppose someone's salary goes from a hypothetical $50,000 to $55,000, a $5,000 raise. Divided by 26 biweekly checks, that is about $192 more gross per check. The calculator will show a smaller increase in take-home, because federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare each take a share of the new $192. Run your own numbers on the calculator; this example does not state what anyone's tax will be.

Things that can make the real change smaller

The calculator only covers federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Your actual raise may also be reduced by:

• State and local income tax, where they apply.
• Percentage-based deductions such as a 401(k) contribution set as a percent of pay. A 6% contribution grows when your pay grows.
• Benefits or credits that phase out as income rises. The calculator does not model phaseouts, including the income limits on the child tax credit.
• Timing. A raise that starts mid-year only affects the checks after it starts. Your employer's payroll system may also recalculate withholding differently than this annual estimate.

Raises vs bonuses

A bonus is not the same as a raise for withholding. Employers often withhold on bonuses using a separate method for supplemental wages, so the amount taken from a bonus check can look very different from a regular check. The calculator does not model bonus withholding. If you are comparing a raise to a one-time bonus, compare the yearly total you keep from each, and ask payroll how the bonus will be withheld. For 2026, IRS Publication 15 lists a 22% flat rate that employers may use to withhold federal income tax on supplemental wages such as bonuses, and a mandatory 37% rate on supplemental wages over $1 million in a calendar year (IRS Publication 15).

Deciding what to do with a raise

Knowing the per-check change helps with planning: raising a retirement contribution by the same percentage, adjusting a budget, or checking whether your W-4 still fits your situation. If your household income is changing a lot, the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator can help you check whether withholding will cover your tax for the year.

Estimates only. This page and the calculator give educational estimates, not tax, legal, payroll, or financial advice. Your actual withholding depends on your Form W-4, state and local rules, benefits, and deductions. Confirm figures with your employer's payroll team or a tax professional.

Common questions

• Why didn't my check go up by the raise divided by my pay periods? Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare come out of the new dollars too, along with any state tax and percentage-based deductions.
• Can a raise lower my take-home pay? Tax brackets alone do not cause that, because only the dollars in the higher bracket pay the higher rate. Benefit or credit phaseouts are a separate issue this calculator does not model.
• Does a raise change Social Security? Yes, until your wages reach the annual Social Security wage base. After that, the Social Security line stops for the rest of the year.
• Is a bonus withheld the same way? Often not. Employers can use a separate method for bonuses, which the calculator does not model.