How a Pay Raise Actually Affects Your Take-Home Pay (2026)
A pay raise increases gross wages, but federal bracket steps, FICA, and state withholding shrink how much reaches your bank account. In Illinois (single filer, biweekly pay, standard deduction, no pre-tax deductions), engine-computed take-home rises from $47,420 at $60,000 to $74,230 at $100,000 — keeping between $754 and $654 per $1,000 of raise depending on salary band. Figures are withholding estimates, not tax advice.
Key Findings
- $60K→$70K in Illinois: $7,190 extra take-home ($719 per $1,000)
- $70K→$100K in Illinois: $19,620 total gain across three $10K steps
- Most raise-friendly state ($60K→$70K): Alaska — $7,685 kept
- 24% federal bracket (single): begins near $121,800 gross per 2026 Pub 15-T tables (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
Paycheck Calculator — All 51 States
Enter your salary and state to see engine-computed take-home before and after a raise.
Illinois Example: Take-Home by Salary Band
Illinois uses a flat 4.95% state withholding rate. All figures assume single filer, biweekly pay, standard deduction, no pre-tax deductions, and 2026 IRS Publication 15-T federal tables. Federal effective rate is federal withholding divided by gross wages — an average rate, not the marginal bracket.
| Gross salary | Federal effective rate | FICA | State tax | Net take-home | Change in take-home per $1K raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | 8.37% | $4,590 | $2,970 | $47,420 | — |
| $65,000 | 8.65% | $4,973 | $3,218 | $51,190 | $754 |
| $70,000 | 9.39% | $5,355 | $3,465 | $54,610 | $684 |
| $80,000 | 10.96% | $6,120 | $3,960 | $61,150 | $654 |
| $90,000 | 12.19% | $6,885 | $4,455 | $67,690 | $654 |
| $100,000 | 13.17% | $7,650 | $4,950 | $74,230 | $654 |
22%→24% Federal Bracket Crossing
2026 single-filer percentage-method tables in IRS Publication 15-T (adjusted by IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32) place the 22% marginal step at taxable wages over $57,900 and the 24% step at taxable wages over $113,200 — after the Step 1g standard deduction of $8,600. That maps to roughly $121,800 gross salary before the 24% marginal rate applies.
Engine-computed keep per $1,000 in Illinois: $654 from $120,000 to $121,000 (22% marginal band) vs $650 from $121,000 to $122,000 (24% marginal band on wages above the threshold). The drop reflects higher federal withholding on marginal dollars — not a change to FICA rates at this income level.
What States Are Raise-Friendly?
Ranked by engine-computed take-home gain on a $60,000→$70,000 raise (single filer, biweekly, standard deduction, no pre-tax deductions). No-income-tax states keep the most because only federal withholding and FICA reduce the raise; high-progressive states keep less.
| Rank | State | Take-home gain ($60K→$70K) | Avg per $1K |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $7,685 | $769 |
| 2 | Florida | $7,685 | $769 |
| 3 | Nevada | $7,685 | $769 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $7,685 | $769 |
| 5 | South Dakota | $7,685 | $769 |
Least raise-friendly states ($60K→$70K)
| Rank | State | Take-home gain ($60K→$70K) | Avg per $1K |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | California | $6,746 | $675 |
| 50 | Oregon | $6,810 | $681 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $6,925 | $693 |
| 48 | Minnesota | $7,009 | $701 |
| 47 | Maine | $7,010 | $701 |
Methodology
All numbers are computed at build time by the ExactTakeHome engine using 2026 data in packages/data/2026/ — federal brackets from IRS Publication 15-T (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), FICA rates from SSA/IRS sources, and state withholding schedules. Assumptions: biweekly pay, standard deduction, no pre-tax 401(k) or HSA, no local wage taxes. This page models paycheck withholding only; Form 1040 reconciliation, credits, and bonuses may differ.
See also: Married vs Single Take-Home Pay → and the paycheck calculator for personalized estimates.
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Frequently Asked Questions
In this engine model (single filer, biweekly pay, standard deduction, no pre-tax deductions), a $10,000 raise from $60,000 to $70,000 adds $7,190 to annual take-home ($719 per $1,000). From $70,000 to $80,000, the gain is $6,540 ($654 per $1,000). Marginal keep rates vary by starting salary and bracket position.
At $80,000 gross in Illinois, engine-computed take-home is $61,150 per year. Each additional $1,000 of salary adds about $654 to take-home in this model — federal effective rate 10.96%, plus FICA and Illinois flat withholding.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota rank highest in this study, each keeping $7,685 of a $10,000 raise ($769 per $1,000 on average). California keeps the least at $6,746 ($675 per $1,000).
Under 2026 IRS Publication 15-T percentage-method tables (adjusted by IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), the 24% marginal bracket begins when Step 1g taxable wages exceed $113,200 — about $121,800 gross for a single filer claiming the $8,600 standard deduction. Below that threshold, the top marginal rate in this band is 22% (starting at $57,900 taxable wages).
Each dollar of gross pay faces higher marginal federal and state withholding as you move through bracket steps. In Illinois, engine-computed keep per $1,000 drops from $654 at $120,000–$121,000 to $650 at $121,000–$122,000 when wages cross the 22%→24% federal step near $121,800 gross. FICA also scales with wages until the Social Security wage base ($184,500 in 2026).
Yes. Single and Married Filing Jointly use different standard deductions and bracket widths in IRS Publication 15-T, so the same gross raise produces different withholding. See our Married vs Single Take-Home Pay study at /research/married-vs-single-take-home-pay/ for engine-computed filing-status comparisons.
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