Estimates for personal planning — not tax, legal, or payroll advice. Every number above is gross pay unless a line says otherwise; the formula, its boundaries, and its test cases are published below.
How it works
new_annual = current × (1 + raise ÷ 100)
= $52,000.00 × 1.0400 = $54,080.00
per_check = (new − current) ÷ 26 = $2,080.00 ÷ 26 = $80.00
Salary increase calculator — by percent or by amount
Raises come in two shapes. A percent raise scales with what you earn: 4% of a $52,000
salary is $2,080 a year. A dollar raise is a fixed bump — common for hourly roles. The
calculator handles both: switch As between % percent and $ amount.
The math is pure algebra, so the result is exact, not an estimate.
Pay increase calculator, raise calculator, wage increase calculator — same math
These are the same calculation under different names, and this page does all of them. Whether you call it a pay increase, a pay raise, a salary increase, a salary raise, or a wage increase, the arithmetic is identical: new pay equals current pay times one plus the rate. What differs is only which figure you start from.
- Percentage increase — enter the rate in Raise with As set to
% percent. A 3.5% increase on $48,000 is $49,680. - Flat-amount increase — switch As to
$ amount. Useful when HR quotes “an extra $2,500 a year” rather than a percentage. - Hourly wage increase — set Per to
hour. A $1.25/hr bump at 40 hours a week is $2,600 more a year. - Working backwards — if you know the old and new figures and want the percentage, divide the difference by the old pay: ($54,080 − $52,000) ÷ $52,000 = 4.00%.
Wage increase for hourly workers
Set Per to hour. A $1/hr raise at 40 hours a week is
$1 × 40 × 52 = $2,080 a year — identical to a 4% raise on $52,000. That equivalence is one
of our published test cases: two different inputs, same asserted output.
What actually changes on your next check
The highlighted line divides the annual increase by 26 biweekly pay periods. It is a gross number — withholding will take its cut, and if the raise pushes you into a higher bracket, only the dollars above the bracket line are taxed at the higher rate. Your whole paycheck is never “taxed more because of a raise.”
Check the raise you were actually promised
“We're giving you a 4% bump” and the number on your next stub are two different claims. Put your current pay and the stated percentage in above, then compare the NEW PAY line against your offer letter. Two things commonly diverge: the raise was applied to base pay only (excluding a shift differential or car allowance you also receive), or it takes effect mid-pay-period, so the first check shows a blend of old and new rates. Neither is necessarily an error — but both are worth a question.
Merit raise, COLA, and market adjustment
The three arrive as the same percentage on your stub but mean different things. A merit raise rewards performance. A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) preserves purchasing power against inflation — it isn't a reward, and a COLA below inflation is a real-terms pay cut. A market adjustment corrects a salary that has drifted below what the role now pays. Knowing which one you received tells you whether to expect another this cycle.
From the public test suite
assert payRaise(52000, +4%).perCheck == 80.00 ✓
assert payRaise($25/hr, +$1/hr).newAnnual == 54,080.00 // same raise, different door ✓
// 36 cases · 96 assertions · runs on every deploy — see all
Sources
Pure algebra — this tool needs no jurisdiction data. The formula and its public test cases are the source.
Built and maintained by Ethan Chen, independent developer. No credential is claimed that we don't have — what this page offers instead is a published formula and a public test suite.