Pay Rise Calculator
See what a pay rise is actually worth after tax. The headline percentage is gross, and because a rise sits on top of your income it is taxed at your marginal rate, so the share you keep is always lower than the number in the letter.
Your details
Extra take-home a year
$1,904
- New salary
- $82,800
- Extra gross
- $2,800
- Extra tax and levy
- $896
- Extra take-home a year
- $1,904
- Extra per fortnight
- $73.23
- Share of the rise you keep
- 68.0%
- Extra super paid on top
- $336
A rise is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average one, so the share you keep is always lower than the headline percentage suggests.
Worked examples, with the arithmetic.
The same sums the tool runs, on real figures. Every number below is computed by the tested engine from the published rates, so the prose and the tool can never disagree.
What is a 3.5% rise on $80,000 actually worth?
$80,000 x 3.5% = $2,800 extra gross extra tax and levy = $896.00 extra take-home = $1,904
The rise is $2,800 gross but $1,904 after tax, which is $73.23 a fortnight. You keep 68.0% of it, because the extra sits at the top of your income and is taxed at 30c plus the 2% Medicare levy.
Does a rise ever leave me worse off?
income is taxed in slices only the dollars inside the higher bracket pay the higher rate
No. Australia taxes income progressively, so crossing a bracket only changes the rate on the dollars above the threshold. A rise always increases take-home pay. What can reduce the gain is a study loan repayment band or the Medicare levy surcharge, both of which step rather than taper.
Is this accurate, and how does it work?
The method is published rather than described. Nothing here is a black box, and the limits are listed as plainly as the workings.
- 1Apply the rise to the salary. The percentage is applied to the current salary to give the new one, before any tax is considered.
- 2Tax the difference at the margin. The extra income sits at the top of your earnings, so it is taxed at your marginal rate plus the Medicare levy, not at your average rate.
- 3Show the super separately. The Superannuation Guarantee rises with the salary and is paid on top, so it never appears in the take-home figure but is still part of what the rise is worth.
What this does not cover.
- It does not model a study loan repayment, which can absorb a meaningful part of a rise.
- It does not include the Medicare levy surcharge, which a rise can trigger if you have no private hospital cover.
- It assumes the rise applies for a full financial year. A mid-year rise is worth less in the first year.
- It compares base salaries. A rise delivered as a package increase including super is a different calculation.
Where these figures come from.
- ATO, Tax rates for Australian residents, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-08-13. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ATO, Super guarantee rate, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-04-17. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ATO, Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-09-02. Not yet published for 2026-27: this is the prior year’s figure carried forward and labelled as such, never estimated. It is corrected as soon as the ATO publishes.
Every rate this site uses is listed on the Methodology page.
Common questions.
How much of a pay rise do I actually keep?
It depends on your marginal rate. In the 30c bracket you keep about 68c of each extra dollar after income tax and the 2% Medicare levy. In the 37c bracket it is about 61c, and above $190,000 about 53c.
Will a pay rise push me into a higher tax bracket and cost me money?
No. Australia taxes income in slices, so only the part of your income inside the higher bracket is taxed at the higher rate. A rise always leaves you with more after tax, never less. The higher rate applies to the extra dollars only.
Does a pay rise increase my super?
Yes. The Superannuation Guarantee is a percentage of qualifying earnings, so it rises with your salary and is paid on top of it. That amount is shown separately here because it does not reach your bank account.
Does a pay rise increase my HECS repayment?
It can. Compulsory study loan repayments are worked out on repayment income, so a rise can push you into a higher repayment band and reduce the net gain. This page does not model that, but the HECS repayment page does.
Related pages.
- Tax BracketsThe 2026-27 resident income tax brackets and the tax payable at each threshold, sourced from the ATO with the date it last changed.
- HECS Repayment CalculatorWork out your compulsory HECS, HELP or STSL study loan repayment for 2026-27 on the marginal thresholds that replaced the old flat-rate tables.
- Salary Comparison CalculatorCompare two job offers on take-home pay, with a package that includes super grossed down so the comparison is like for like.
- Income Tax CalculatorWork out income tax, the Medicare levy and the low income tax offset on any salary for 2026-27, with the bracket-by-bracket working shown.
Every calculator on this site is listed on the Wage Calculator page.