How much of a raise do you keep?

A raise can cross into a higher tax bracket. That new rate touches only the dollars above the line; the rest of your pay keeps its old rates. Try your own numbers below. We compare take-home pay before and after the raise using modeled federal income tax, payroll tax and state income tax. On a $10,000.00 raise in California, you keep $6,150 $6,149.59. The same raise puts $885.41 more in your pocket in Alaska than in California. Your result can change if credits, benefits or local taxes change.

The tax on a raise reflects the marginal rates across the income it spans; its keep rate is not guaranteed to be below the average keep rate on total pay. The figures below run the modeled wage-tax stack at both incomes and take the difference, rather than applying one rate across a boundary. On $10,000.00 in California the retained amount is $6,150 $6,149.59, a keep rate of about 61.5%. Credits, benefits and unselected local taxes are outside this comparison.