How a pay raise is calculated
A percentage raise multiplies your current salary by one plus the rate. A 5% raise on $60,000 is $60,000 x 1.05 = $63,000, an extra $3,000 a year or $250 a month before tax. You can also work backward: if you know the new salary, the raise percentage is the increase divided by your old salary.
new salary = current x (1 + raise%)
raise% = (new - current) / currentWatch out for inflation
A raise only increases your buying power if it beats inflation. If prices rose 4% and your raise is 3%, your real pay has slipped. When negotiating, it helps to frame the number against the current inflation rate, not just last year's salary.
Raise vs take-home
Remember that a raise is taxed at your marginal rate, so the take-home increase is smaller than the gross figure here. A state paycheck calculator shows how much of the raise you actually keep.