Employment & leave Australia
Pay Rise Calculator Australia
A pay rise looks bigger on the contract than in your bank account, because the extra income is taxed at your marginal rate. This calculator shows the new salary, the extra take-home for each pay period, and what the rise is worth once inflation is taken out.
Free, no signup Runs in your browser
Optional. Used only for the real value of the rise.
Extra take-home pay each year
—New salary
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Extra gross a year
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Extra take-home per fortnight
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Extra take-home per week
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Share of the rise you keep
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Real rise after inflation
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How the rise is taxed
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-26. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
Reduced from 16% on 1 July 2026
An estimate, not a payslip. An estimate of tax on salary only, using resident rates. It excludes deductions, offsets other than the low income tax offset and salary packaging.
How do I calculate a pay rise?
Multiply your salary by 1 plus the rise: a 5% rise on $85,000 gives $89,250. After tax and the Medicare levy you take home about $2,890 more a year, which is $111.15 a fortnight, because the extra $4,250 is taxed at 32% (30% plus the 2% levy).
What a rise really adds
The headline rise is a gross figure. After income tax and the Medicare levy you keep roughly 60% to 70% of it for most employees, less if the rise lifts you into a higher bracket or triggers HELP repayments at a higher rate.
Employer super of 12% is paid on top of the new salary, so your retirement balance rises as well, though that money is not available until you retire.
Negotiating with numbers
Knowing the after-tax value helps when comparing offers. A $5,000 rise is about $3,400 in your pocket at this income, which is useful when weighing it against a change in hours, commute or leave.
To compare an hourly rate with a salary, use the hourly rate to annual salary calculator.
How this is calculated
The rule, step by step, so you can check any figure by hand.
new salary = current salary × (1 + rise%) (or the amount you enter)extra gross = new salary − current salaryextra take-home = take-home on the new salary − take-home on the current salaryreal rise = (1 + rise%) ÷ (1 + inflation%) − 1
Tax is charged on the extra income at the marginal rate that applies where the two salaries sit, so a rise that crosses a bracket is taxed partly at each. At $85,000 the next dollar is taxed at 30% plus the 2% Medicare levy, so about 68 cents of each extra dollar reaches you.
The real rise matters as much as the nominal one. A 5% rise in a year when prices rose 3% is a real gain of about 1.9%, not 5%.
A worked example
A 5% rise on an $85,000 salary, no HELP debt, with 3% inflation.
- New salary$89,250
- Extra gross$4,250
- Take-home before$67,280
- Take-home after$70,170
- Extra take-home a year$2,890
- Share of the rise kept68.0%
- Real rise after 3% inflation1.94%
$2,890 more take-home a year, about $111.15 a fortnight.
A HELP debt would reduce the kept share further.
Why inflation changes the picture
Prices rise every year, so a pay rise below inflation is a pay cut in purchasing power. Enter the inflation rate that applies to your cost of living, and the real rise shows whether your pay has kept up.
The Reserve Bank and the Australian Bureau of Statistics publish inflation; the figure that matters to you depends on what you spend your money on.
Pay rises under awards
Most employees on an award receive an increase each 1 July after the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review. The national minimum wage and most award rates rose by 4.75% in 2026, with the lowest classifications adjusted slightly more, so check whether your own rate already moved.
What this calculator does not do
- Resident individuals on a single salary
- No deductions, other offsets or salary packaging
- Real rise uses one inflation figure for the whole period
Common questions
How do I work out a percentage pay rise?
Multiply your salary by 1 plus the percentage as a decimal. A 5% rise on $85,000 is $85,000 × 1.05 = $89,250.
How much of a pay rise do I actually keep?
Roughly 60% to 70% at middle incomes, because the extra pay is taxed at your marginal rate plus the 2% Medicare levy.
Does a pay rise increase my super?
Yes. Employer super is 12% of qualifying earnings, so a higher salary raises it too.
Why is my real rise less than the headline?
Because inflation reduces what each dollar buys. The real rise is the rise after removing inflation.
Can a pay rise leave me worse off?
Rarely, but a rise that crosses a threshold such as the Medicare levy surcharge or a HELP repayment band can leave less than expected.
Where these numbers come from
- ATO — tax rates, Australian residents 2026-27 resident brackets, 15% lowest rate and the $18,200 tax-free threshold
- Fair Work Commission — Annual Wage Review How the national minimum wage and award rates are adjusted each year
Rates last verified 2026-10-26 Every figure Australian Taxation Office sets is re-checked against the source at least once a year, and again whenever a change is announced. Out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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