Salary Raise Calculator
What a pay rise is actually worth, per month, after tax.
Extra take-home, per month
+229 €
You keep 55% of a 5.000 € gross raise after tax
Estimate only — not tax advice. Figures are estimates based on publicly available tax rules and may not reflect your full circumstances. See our methodology & sources. Always confirm with an official tax authority or a licensed adviser before making decisions.
A €5,000 raise doesn't add €5,000 to your take-home — tax and contributions take a share at your marginal rate. This calculator shows what a pay rise is actually worth, per month, after tax, so you can judge an offer on the number that lands in your account.
Enter your current salary and the gross raise for your country to see the real monthly difference and the percentage you keep.
The number in the offer is not the number in your account
A raise is taxed entirely at your marginal rate, because it sits on top of everything you already earn. If your marginal rate is 42%, a headline 10% raise is a 5.8% raise in take-home. That is not a reason to refuse it, but it is a reason to negotiate on a figure that survives payroll rather than one that reads well in an email.
The effect compounds in the wrong direction at thresholds. A raise that crosses a band boundary, tapers an allowance or ends eligibility for a benefit can have an effective marginal rate far above the top statutory rate, occasionally above 100% over a narrow range, where a small raise leaves you worse off. Running the before-and-after figures is the only way to see it.
Judging a raise against inflation
A raise below inflation is a pay cut in real terms, and it is a larger pay cut than it looks once tax is applied: the raise is taxed at the marginal rate while the price rises apply to everything you spend after tax. Matching inflation therefore requires a gross raise somewhat above the inflation figure, not equal to it.
The practical test is whether your monthly take-home, divided by the change in prices you actually face, has gone up. Rent and energy usually dominate that basket far more than the headline index suggests, which is why a raise that looks adequate on paper can still feel like standing still.
Total compensation, not just base
Base salary is the most heavily taxed part of most packages, so it is worth checking whether the same cost to the employer could reach you more efficiently elsewhere. Pension contributions, salary sacrifice arrangements, additional leave and training budgets are all taxed differently, and in several systems considerably more favourably.
Ask what the total package costs the employer and what each component is worth to you after tax. That framing often finds room where a pure base-salary negotiation has stalled, because it costs the employer the same and leaves you with more.
What to ask for when the answer is no
A refused raise is not always a closed conversation. Where the budget genuinely is not there, the same value can often be found in things that cost the employer less than salary does: additional leave, a formal title change that raises your market value, a training or conference budget, a four-day week at the same daily rate, or an agreed review date with a named figure attached.
The last of those is the most underrated. An agreed number and an agreed date converts a vague promise into something you can hold an employer to, and it gives you a decision point: if the review passes without the raise, you have your answer about whether to look elsewhere, backed by a record rather than a feeling.
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
+How much of a pay rise do you actually keep?
Usually 50–75% of a gross raise, depending on your country and which tax band the extra income falls into. In high-marginal-rate zones (like the UK £100k–£125k trap) you may keep less than half.
Estimate only — not tax advice. Figures are estimates based on publicly available tax rules and may not reflect your full circumstances. See our methodology & sources (last reviewed June 2026). Always confirm with an official tax authority or a licensed adviser before making decisions.