Salary & Pay Raise Guides
Practical, plain-English guides to salary increases, paychecks, inflation, job offers and negotiation — each with clear math, a worked example and a link to the matching calculator.
- Raises
How to Calculate a Salary Increase
The salary increase formula, with worked examples for percentage raises, fixed-dollar raises, target salaries, hourly pay and per-paycheck figures.
Read guide - Paychecks
How Much Is a Raise Per Paycheck?
To find how much a raise adds to each paycheck, divide the annual raise by the number of pay periods in a year: 52 if you…
Read guide - Inflation
Salary Raise vs Inflation: What Is a Real Raise?
A “real” raise is your pay increase after adjusting for inflation. If prices rise as fast as your pay, your purchasing power is unchanged even though…
Read guide - Tax
Understanding Marginal Tax Brackets
A marginal tax bracket applies its rate only to the income within that bracket, not to your entire income. This means a raise can never lower…
Read guide - Job offers
How to Compare Two Job Offers
To compare two job offers fairly, add up everything each employer gives you per year (base, guaranteed bonus, retirement match, and benefits) and subtract what each…
Read guide