Pay Raise Calculator
See your new hourly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual pay after a percent, dollar, or new-pay raise.
Pay Raise Calculator
Enter a raise as a percent, dollar amount, or new pay rate and see your new hourly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual gross pay, plus how much more (or less) lands in each paycheck.
Current Pay
Your gross pay before taxes, in the period selected below.
Current Pay Period
Pick the period that matches the dollar amount you entered above.
Hours Per Week
Used to convert between hourly and salaried pay periods.
Raise Type
Choose how you want to enter the raise.
Raise Percentage
Negative values are allowed for a pay cut.
Raise Amount
Dollar amount added to current pay, in the same period.
New Pay
The new pay rate, in the same period as your current pay.
Estimates only. Gross pay before taxes and deductions. Not tax or legal advice.
Paycheck Impact
Track every hour with Timeclock44 to see exactly where your new pay lands each pay period.
Know What You Actually Take Home
Log your shifts in Timeclock44 and watch your new pay rate flow through to weekly, biweekly, and annual totals automatically.
How to use the pay raise calculator
Start by entering your current pay and selecting the period that matches it: hourly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or annual. Adjust hours per week if you do not work a standard 40-hour schedule, since that number drives every conversion between hourly and salaried periods.
Pick the raise type that matches what you know. Percent works when an offer letter says "3.5 percent merit increase." Dollar works when you know the per-period bump (for example, $2 per hour). New pay works when you already know the final number. The results panel shows your new pay across every period, plus the dollar change per biweekly paycheck and per year.
The pay raise formula explained
The core formula is short: new pay equals current pay times (1 plus raise percent divided by 100). It works on any pay period as long as both sides use the same unit. If you want the inverse (what percent raise did I actually get?), use raise percent equals (new pay minus old pay) divided by old pay, times 100.
Period matters less than people think. A 5 percent hourly raise is also a 5 percent weekly, monthly, and annual raise, because the math scales evenly. The dollar impact does change with hours worked, which is why the calculator asks for hours per week.
What is a typical raise in 2026?
Merit increases at most employers run in the 3 to 5 percent range. Cost-of-living adjustments tend to follow inflation: Social Security's 2026 COLA came in at 2.8 percent, which is a reasonable floor for COLA-style raises this year. Promotions and job changes consistently beat internal raises, with 10 to 20 percent (or more) common when moving between companies.
The BLS Employment Cost Index pegged overall wages and salaries up 3.4 percent year over year through March 2026. If your raise is well below that and you have been in the role for over a year, it might be worth a conversation. Track every hour with Timeclock44 so the receipts are ready when you bring it up.
Pay raise vs. take-home pay
This calculator shows gross pay, before any withholding. Your actual paycheck will be smaller after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2 percent), Medicare (1.45 percent), and any benefit deductions you have set up.
A common worry is that a raise will move part of your income into a higher bracket. That can happen, but only the dollars above the bracket threshold get taxed at the higher marginal rate. Your existing income stays at its old rate, so a raise still leaves you with more net pay. For deeper tax math, see our overtime tax savings calculator or the retroactive pay calculator if the raise is back-dated.
Related calculators
Round out the picture with the salary vs. hourly calculator, the overtime calculator, the regular rate of pay calculator, the retroactive pay calculator, and the overtime tax savings calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about pay raise calculator
How do I calculate a pay raise?
Multiply your current pay by one plus the raise percentage divided by one hundred. For a worker earning $20 per hour with a 5 percent raise, the math is 20 times 1.05, which works out to $21.00 per hour. The same formula applies to weekly, monthly, and annual pay as long as both sides use the same period.
What is a good pay raise percentage?
Merit increases usually run between 3 and 5 percent per year. Cost-of-living adjustments tend to fall in the 2 to 3 percent range and roughly track inflation. Promotions and job changes often deliver 10 to 20 percent or more. The BLS Employment Cost Index reported wages and salaries up 3.4 percent over the 12 months ending March 2026.
How much is a 3 percent raise on $20 an hour?
A 3 percent raise on $20 per hour adds $0.60, bringing the new rate to $20.60 per hour. That works out to about $24 more per week on a 40-hour schedule, or roughly $1,248 more per year before taxes.
How do I convert an hourly raise to an annual raise?
Multiply the new hourly rate by your weekly hours and by 52 weeks. The formula is annual pay equals hourly rate times hours per week times 52. At $21 per hour on a 40-hour schedule, that is $21 times 40 times 52, or $43,680 per year.
Will a raise push me into a higher tax bracket?
Only the income above the bracket threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Your existing income keeps its old rate. A raise almost always leaves you with more take-home pay, even if part of it is taxed at a higher marginal rate.
How do I calculate the raise percentage from old and new pay?
Subtract the old pay from the new pay, divide the result by the old pay, and multiply by 100. For example, ($55,000 minus $50,000) divided by $50,000, times 100, equals a 10 percent raise.
Does this calculator account for taxes?
No. The results are gross pay, before federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any other withholdings. Use the numbers to budget and negotiate, then check your paystub for the actual net change after a raise lands.
When should I ask for a raise?
The strongest moments are during annual performance reviews, after delivering a major project, when taking on more responsibility, or when you have a competing offer in hand. Coming in with documented results and current market pay data makes the conversation easier on both sides.