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PayRaisecalc

Disclaimer

Not tax advice

PayRaiseCalc provides estimates of take-home pay and raise impact based on publicly available tax tables from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the individual state Departments of Revenue. The outputs on this site are not tax advice, financial advice, legal advice, or advice of any kind. They are general-purpose calculations intended for planning and educational use only.

For an accurate tax picture specific to your situation, consult a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Enrolled Agent (EA), or tax attorney. The IRS maintains a tax professional directory. For complex scenarios involving stock compensation, multi-state income, self-employment, estate, gift, AMT, backdoor Roth contributions, or high-net-worth planning, a paid professional is essential.

Estimates only

Actual take-home pay depends on many factors this calculator does not model, including but not limited to:

  • Pre-tax 401(k), 403(b), or 457 contributions
  • HSA (Health Savings Account) and FSA (Flexible Spending Account) contributions
  • Pre-tax health, dental, vision, or disability insurance premiums
  • State-specific tax credits (earned income credit, child credit, dependent credit)
  • Itemized deductions vs. the standard deduction
  • Local / municipal / city income tax (NYC, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, etc.)
  • Bonus withholding (flat 22% federal supplemental rate, 37% above $1M)
  • RSU vesting, stock options, or other equity compensation
  • Self-employment tax (both halves of FICA) for 1099 earners
  • Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for high earners
  • Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) of 3.8% for certain high earners
  • Tax withholding vs. tax liability (withheld amount often differs from actual tax owed)

For a full paycheck projection, cross-reference with a paycheck-specific tool and confirm against your pay stub. Your employer's payroll system may calculate withholding slightly differently from the IRS bracket math our tool uses.

State tax approximations

For nine states we model correctly as zero (AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY). For seven states we use the full piecewise bracket table (CA, NY, NJ, HI, OR, MN, DC). For the remaining 35 states, we use a flat-rate approximation anchored to the middle-income band. This means our estimate may be off by a few hundred dollars a year at the extremes of a state's bracket schedule. The methodology is documented in the guide. For exact state tax, check your state DOR's withholding tables or use a state-specific paycheck calculator.

IRS publications to reference

For federal withholding and tax rules, the authoritative sources are:

Tax law changes

Tax law changes regularly. The brackets, standard deductions, FICA wage base, and state tax rates used in this calculator reflect the 2026 tax year as of our last review on April 20, 2026. State rules change more frequently than federal. If you're reading this more than six months after that date, some numbers may be outdated. We update monthly; check the CPI "as of" stamp on the calculator output for the latest review date.

Not a substitute for professional advice

Nothing on this site is investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. We're a planning tool. Your decisions, and their consequences, are your own.

No warranty

PayRaiseCalc is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. We make no guarantee of accuracy, completeness, or fitness for a particular purpose. Use at your own risk.

Affiliate links

Some links on this site may be affiliate links (none as of launch). If we add any we'll disclose them clearly. We don't run advisor-match lead-gen widgets because those monetize your data in ways we're not willing to do.

Accuracy

We work to keep formulas, references, and content accurate. If you spot an error, please let us know and we'll fix it promptly. The revision history of the calculator is visible in the JavaScript source, nothing is hidden.