# Pay rise calculator 2026-27

Source: https://calculatax.com/salary/pay-rise-calculator/
Title: Pay Rise Calculator Australia: Raise After Tax | Calculatax
Last updated: 2026-11-06

This pay rise calculator shows what a percentage or dollar raise adds to take-home pay per week, month and year, using 2026-27 [ATO resident tax rates](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/tax-rates-australian-residents). A 4.5% raise on $72,000 adds $3,240 before tax and **$2,203.20** after tax.

| $72,000 with a 4.5% raise | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $72,000.00 | $75,240.00 | +$3,240.00 |
| Tax and Medicare | $13,560.00 | $14,596.80 | +$1,036.80 |
| Take-home a year | $58,440.00 | $60,643.20 | +$2,203.20 |
| Take-home a month | $4,870.00 | $5,053.60 | +$183.60 |
| Take-home a week | $1,123.85 | $1,166.22 | +$42.37 |
| Employer super (12%) | $8,640.00 | $9,028.80 | +$388.80 |

*Resident, tax-free threshold claimed, no study loan. Income tax and 2% Medicare levy at 2026-27 rates. Source: ATO.*

The calculator compares both salaries on the same year's rates, so the change reflects the raise alone. The new salary flows straight into the other [salary and pay calculators](https://calculatax.com/salary/) for weekly, fortnightly and monthly detail.

## Why a 5% gross raise is not 5% more take-home

Tax takes a bigger share of the raise than of your existing pay. Your current salary is taxed at an average rate, but the raise is taxed entirely at your marginal rate.

- **18.83%**: Average rate on $72,000
- **32%**: Tax on the $3,240 raise (30% income tax plus the 2% Medicare levy)
- **3.77%**: Rise in take-home, not 4.5% (You keep 68 cents of each extra dollar)

A raise quoted in dollars converts the same way. $3,000 on $72,000 is a 4.17% raise and adds $2,040 to take-home. A 5% raise on $72,000 adds $3,600 gross and $2,448 after tax, which is 4.19% more take-home.

### What the raise does to super and your weekly payslip

Counting super, the raise is worth more than the salary line shows. Employer super rises by $388.80, so the total cost of the raise to your employer is $3,628.80.

On a weekly payslip, gross pay rises from $1,384.62 to $1,446.92. Schedule 1 withholding rises from $261 to $281, so take-home goes from $1,123.62 to $1,165.92, up $42.30.

## Moving into a higher bracket only affects the extra dollars

A raise that crosses a tax threshold never lowers your take-home, because only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate. The Medicare levy surcharge is the exception: it applies to your whole income once you pass its threshold.

Say a 4.5% raise on $132,000 lifts salary to $137,940. The first $3,000 of the raise is taxed at 30%, and the $2,940 above $135,000 at 37%. Medicare adds 2% on the whole raise.

| $132,000 with a 4.5% raise | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $132,000 | $137,940 | +$5,940.00 |
| Income tax | $30,120.00 | $32,107.80 | +$1,987.80 |
| Tax and Medicare | $32,760.00 | $34,866.60 | +$2,106.60 |
| Take-home a year | $99,240.00 | $103,073.40 | +$3,833.40 |

*2026-27 resident rates. Source: ATO.*

You keep 64.5 cents of each raise dollar in that example, against 68 cents for a raise that stays below $135,000. Your [marginal tax rates](https://calculatax.com/tax/marginal-tax-rate-calculator/) set that share, and they include the Medicare levy and any offsets phasing out.

The same rule applies at the top threshold. A 4.5% raise on $185,000 is $8,325, and the $3,325 above $190,000 is taxed at 45%. Take-home still rises by $4,812.25, which is 57.8 cents per raise dollar.

## Your raise against inflation

A raise only adds buying power if it beats price growth over the same 12 months. The formula is: real raise = (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1.

Use the gross raise for a like-for-like comparison with CPI. For your own budget, use the take-home change, which is 3.77% in the $72,000 example, not 4.5%. Take the inflation figure from the latest ABS Consumer Price Index release, which is updated each quarter.

### A wage benchmark for a 4.5% raise

Full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings rose 3.7% in the year to May 2026, to $2,083.70 a week ([ABS Average Weekly Earnings](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/average-weekly-earnings-australia/latest-release)). A 4.5% raise is ahead of that figure. Using the same formula, it beats average full-time wage growth by 0.77% (1.045 ÷ 1.037 − 1).

Award workers received a 4.75% rise in modern award minimum wages from 1 July 2026.

## HECS, LITO and Medicare changes that eat into a raise

HELP repayments, the low income tax offset phase-out and the Medicare levy surcharge each change the share of a raise dollar you keep.

### HELP repayments

With a HELP debt, the $72,000 earner repays $370.80 before the raise and $856.80 after it. The 2026-27 system charges 15 cents for each dollar above $69,528, so the raise costs 47 cents in the dollar: 30% tax, 2% Medicare and 15% HELP.

| $72,000 with a 4.5% raise, HELP debt | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory HELP repayment | $370.80 | $856.80 | +$486.00 |
| Take-home a year | $58,069.20 | $59,786.40 | +$1,717.20 |
| Share of the raise kept | n/a | n/a | 53% |

*2026-27 HELP repayment thresholds and resident rates. Source: ATO.*

Higher up the scale the HELP rate is 17 cents per dollar above $129,717. Combined with 37% tax above $135,000 and the 2% Medicare levy, a raise there keeps only 44 cents in the dollar. On $140,000, a 4.5% raise of $6,300 adds $2,772 to take-home and $1,071 to HELP repayments.

The repayment reduces your debt, so the money isn't lost. It does mean take-home rises 2.96% instead of 3.77%.

### Low income tax offset

Below $66,667 the LITO shrinks as income rises. A 4.5% raise on $40,000 is $1,800, but the offset falls from $575 to $485. Tax and Medicare rise by $396, so you keep $1,404, or 78 cents per dollar.

Between $37,500 and $45,000 the effective rate is 22%: 15% tax, 5% LITO phase-out and 2% Medicare.

### Medicare levy surcharge

Singles without private hospital cover pay the surcharge once income passes $105,000. A 4.5% raise on $102,000 lifts income to $106,590, which triggers a 1% surcharge on the whole amount: $1,065.90.

The raise adds $3,121.20 to take-home before the surcharge and $2,055.30 after it. A small raise near the threshold can leave you behind: going from $104,500 to $105,500 adds $680 after tax but triggers a $1,055 surcharge.

## What the raise estimate does not show

The comparison assumes your raise applies for the full year and nothing else changes.

- A raise part-way through the year only lifts income for the months after it starts. The same 4.5% from 1 January 2027 adds $1,620 to 2026-27 income and $1,101.60 to take-home.
- Salary sacrifice, deductions and other income change both the old and new figures.
- Super inside a package means part of the raise goes to super, not salary.
- The Medicare levy surcharge is included only when you say you hold no private hospital cover.
- Low-income Medicare levy reductions use the latest announced (2025-26) threshold of $28,011.

Other changes to pay have their own tools.

- [Pro rata salary calculator](https://calculatax.com/salary/pro-rata-salary-calculator/): Part-time or part-year pay from a full-time salary.
- [Bonus tax calculator](https://calculatax.com/salary/bonus-tax-calculator/): The tax on a one-off payment.
- [Hourly to salary calculator](https://calculatax.com/salary/hourly-to-salary-calculator/): An hourly rate as a yearly figure.
- [Overtime calculator](https://calculatax.com/salary/overtime-calculator/): What extra hours pay before and after tax.

## Pay rise questions: percentages, backdated raises, super and $100 a week more

### How do I calculate a pay increase as a percentage?

Subtract the old salary from the new one, divide by the old salary, then multiply by 100. Going from $72,000 to $75,240 is $3,240 ÷ $72,000 × 100 = 4.5%. Do the same with take-home pay to see the after-tax increase, which is 3.77% in that example.

### How do I calculate a salary increase from a percentage?

Multiply your salary by 1 plus the raise as a decimal. A 4.5% raise on $72,000 is $72,000 × 1.045 = $75,240. The raise is $3,240 before tax. At a 32% marginal rate you keep $2,203.20, or $42.37 a week.

### How is a backdated pay rise taxed?

It's taxed at your marginal rate in the year you receive it. A 4.5% raise backdated three months on $72,000 is a lump sum of $810, and actual tax on it is about $259.20. Employers work out the withholding with the ATO's Schedule 5 back payment methods.

### Does a pay rise increase my super?

Yes, if super is paid on top of salary. The 12% super guarantee applies to the new salary, so a $3,240 raise on $72,000 adds $388.80 a year to super. If your $72,000 is a package that includes super, the same 4.5% raise splits into $2,892.86 of salary and $347.14 of super.

### How much more do I need to earn for $100 a week extra take-home?

On a 32% marginal rate, divide by 0.68. $100 a week after tax needs $147.06 a week before tax, or $7,647 a year. With a HELP debt in the 15% band, you keep 53 cents per dollar, so the gross raise needed is larger.

*Estimates only, based on published rates for 2026-27. General information, not tax or financial advice.*

## Sources

- [ATO: Tax rates: Australian residents](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/tax-rates-australian-residents)
- [ATO: Study and training support loans: repayment thresholds](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/study-and-training-loan-minimum-repayment-income-and-rates)
- [ATO: Low income tax offset](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/income-deductions-offsets-and-records/tax-offsets/low-income-tax-offset)
- [ATO: Medicare levy surcharge income thresholds and rates](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/medicare-and-private-health-insurance/medicare-levy-surcharge/medicare-levy-surcharge-income-thresholds-and-rates)
- [ABS: Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/average-weekly-earnings-australia/latest-release)