What you keep from a pay rise.
After-tax pay rise
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Gross rise
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Extra per month (net)
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The gap between the offer letter and the bank account
A pay rise always sounds bigger than it lands. Your manager quotes a gross figure, but the tax system takes its cut at your marginal rate, and the 2 percent Medicare levy comes off too. This calculator runs your old and new salaries through the 2026-27 resident brackets and the Medicare levy, then subtracts one net figure from the other, so you see the after-tax increase you will actually feel. It also breaks it down to a monthly number, which is usually the figure people care about most.
Marginal rate is the number that matters
The whole rise is taxed at your top rate, not your average rate, and that is the source of the disappointment. With the tax-free threshold at $18,200 and the resident bands sitting at 16, 30, 37 and 45 percent, a rise that falls inside the 30 percent band loses 30 percent to income tax plus 2 percent to Medicare, so you keep about 68 cents in the dollar. Push into the 37 percent band and you keep closer to 61 cents. The reassuring part, and one I stress to anyone worried about a rise tipping them over, is that crossing a bracket never leaves you worse off. Only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate.
From $90,000 to $100,000
Take a rise from $90,000 to $100,000, entirely within the 30 percent band. The gross increase is $10,000. After 30 percent income tax and 2 percent Medicare on those extra dollars, the net increase is $6,800, which is $566.67 a month in the hand. You keep 68 cents of every dollar of the rise. The table shows the before-and-after.
| Figure | On $90,000 | On $100,000 |
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Hidden clawbacks a bigger salary can trigger
Income tax is only the visible part. A rise can quietly reduce other things. If you carry a HELP debt, your compulsory repayment is a percentage of income that steps up as you earn more, so part of your rise can vanish into faster loan repayment. A higher income can also push you past the Medicare levy surcharge threshold if you lack private hospital cover, reduce family payments, or expose you to Division 293, the extra 15 percent tax on concessional super contributions for incomes above $250,000. None of these mean the rise is a bad thing, but they explain why the take-home gain can feel smaller than the percentage suggested.
A smarter use for the rise
This tool is for anyone weighing a job offer, a promotion or an annual review, and for negotiating from a position of knowledge. A practical tip: if the after-tax rise looks thin because you are near a bracket, consider directing some of it into salary-sacrificed super, which is taxed at 15 percent inside the fund rather than your marginal rate, up to the $30,000 concessional cap for 2025-26. You convert a heavily taxed pay rise into a lightly taxed contribution. The common mistake is mentally spending the gross figure. Budget off the net monthly number this calculator gives you, not the headline.
Will a pay rise ever leave me with less money?
No, not from income tax. Australia uses marginal brackets, so only the income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate. The rise can shrink income-tested benefits, but the tax system itself never takes more than the extra you earned.
Does this include superannuation on the rise?
The calculator works on salary and the tax on it, not on the extra super your employer pays. From 1 July 2025 the superannuation guarantee is 12 percent, so a higher salary also lifts your employer super contributions, which is an additional benefit sitting outside the take-home figures shown here.