Percentage Pay Rise Calculator

How it works

A pay rise is calculated as a percentage of your current salary. Multiply your current salary by the rise percentage and divide by 100 to find the increase in pounds. Add that to your current salary to get your new salary.

The formula

Why this works: A pay rise is a percentage of your existing salary, so the formula finds that proportion and adds it to the starting figure. This is identical to a standard percentage increase calculation. A 5% rise on £30,000 is the same calculation as finding 5% of £30,000 and adding it on.

Note on tax

The figures shown are gross, meaning before income tax and National Insurance. Your actual increase in take-home pay will be smaller, and may be further affected by pension contributions or student loan repayments. To express the rise as a percentage of your current pay, the percentage increase calculator shows that figure directly. If you also earn variable income, you can work out commission earnings on top of a base salary. To check what fraction of your new salary any regular expense represents, the percentage of a number calculator gives the answer instantly.

Pay rises, inflation, and negotiation

Understanding the context behind a pay rise offer helps you decide whether to accept it, push back, or negotiate for something better.

Comparing to inflation: A pay rise that matches or exceeds the rate of inflation maintains your real purchasing power. A rise below inflation effectively means a pay cut in real terms. For example, a 3% rise when CPI inflation is at 4.5% leaves you 1.5 percentage points worse off in real terms. The UK's Office for National Statistics publishes monthly CPI and CPIH inflation data, which is the most common benchmark used in UK pay negotiations.

What counts as a good rise: In periods of low inflation (around 2%), a 3% rise is broadly considered good. In a high-inflation environment, the same 3% represents a real-terms loss. Public sector pay reviews, National Living Wage increases, and industry-specific pay scales all provide external benchmarks you can reference.

Negotiation tips: Go into a pay review knowing three figures: your current salary, the rise you want (expressed as both a percentage and an absolute pound amount), and the minimum you would accept. Framing the request in percentage terms is more persuasive because it shows you understand how your employer calculates pay. Citing market data, recent performance, and the cost of replacing you strengthens the case.

Worked examples

When to use this

This calculator is useful in four common UK pay-related situations:

• Before a pay review: Calculate what different percentage rises would mean in real pounds so you walk in with concrete figures. Knowing that a 4% rise on £35,000 is £1,400 per year (or £116.67 per month gross) makes the conversation easier.
• Comparing job offers: If one employer offers £38,000 and another offers your current £34,000 plus a guaranteed 5% after one year, the second offer becomes £35,700 after year one. Comparing on a like-for-like basis helps you judge which is genuinely better.
• National Living Wage increases: Each April, the government increases the National Living Wage by a percentage. Employers need to recalculate hourly and annual pay for affected workers. This calculator handles the maths quickly for any number of staff salaries.
• Understanding real-terms pay changes: Comparing the percentage rise offered to the current rate of inflation tells you whether your purchasing power is increasing, staying flat, or declining.

Understanding the result

The calculator shows the annual increase and the new salary, both before tax. A higher base salary amplifies the pound value of any given percentage. A 5% rise on £25,000 adds £1,250, while the same 5% on £60,000 adds £3,000. This is why percentage pay rises can feel very different to two people receiving the same rate.

Your actual take-home increase will be smaller once income tax, National Insurance, and any pension contributions are deducted. If a rise pushes you into the next tax band (for example, from £50,270 to above £50,270 in England), the marginal tax rate on the portion above the threshold rises to 40%, significantly reducing the net benefit.

Related concepts

➡ To compare two pay offers expressed as different percentage rises, the percentage points calculator shows the arithmetic gap between two rates. ➡ If you want to know what percentage rise you would need to reach a target salary from your current one, the reverse percentage calculator works backwards from a target figure to the rise needed. ➡ To track how your pay has grown across multiple years of consecutive rises, the average percentage calculator finds the mean annual increase across several years.

How to do this in Excel

Put your current salary in A1 and the rise percentage in B1. The formula returns the new salary directly. To find just the increase amount, use =A1*B1/100. To find the monthly equivalent, divide either result by 12.

How to do this without a calculator

Find 1% of your current salary by dividing by 100. Multiply by the percentage rise to get the increase. For a 5% rise, multiply by 5. For a 3.5% rise, find 3% and 0.5% separately and add them. For a £32,000 salary: 1% = £320, so 3% = £960 and 0.5% = £160, making 3.5% = £1,120. New salary = £33,120.

Real world uses

• Checking your new annual and monthly salary after a performance review or promotion.
• Comparing two job offers where one gives a higher percentage rise than the other.
• Working out the salary increase when the National Living Wage rate rises each April.
• Calculating the new pay for an employee after an agreed cost-of-living adjustment.
• Verifying that the pay rise offered matches the percentage stated in a new contract.

Common mistakes

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