About this calculator
A salary raise looks bigger than it spends. A 5% raise on $80k is $4,000 gross, but maybe $2,700 take-home, and after 3% inflation it's barely $1,300 of real new buying power. This calculator shows all three layers — gross, net, and real — so you can negotiate against numbers that reflect what you'll actually feel.
The inflation adjustment matters
During 2021–2023, US inflation ran 7–9% at peak. A 5% raise in that environment was a real pay cut. Many workers didn't realize their "raise" was effectively a 2–4% reduction in spending power. Pre-2020, with sub-2% inflation, even small raises preserved real income. Always negotiate against the relevant inflation environment.
Tax bracket creep on big raises
A raise that pushes you into a new bracket means the marginal rate on the new dollars is higher than your historical effective rate. A 20% raise from $90k to $108k crosses the 22%→24% bracket threshold — the new dollars are taxed at 24% federal plus FICA plus state, easily 35%+ marginal. Take-home from the raise is smaller than naive math suggests.
What to negotiate besides base salary
Total comp includes bonus target, equity grants/refreshes, 401(k) match, HSA contribution, professional development budget, and PTO. A 5% base raise is worth less than a 3% raise + $5,000 sign-on/retention bonus + an extra week of PTO. These non-base items are often easier to win because they don't ripple through compensation grids the way base does.