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Compare your written raise notice with the gross wages on your paystub—not just the net deposit. Confirm the new rate and effective date, account for any partial pay period, then trace changes in taxes and deductions to explain the difference in take-home pay. If gross wages do not match the promise, ask payroll to review the rate and calculation.
Start with the raise amount and effective date
Find the written compensation notice, offer, or other employer communication that states your new salary or hourly rate. Note the effective date. If that date falls partway through a pay period, the first affected check may include wages at both the old and new rates; it may not reflect a full period at the new rate.
Use the pay-period dates printed on the stubs to identify which wages should reflect the raise. Do not compare a transition-period check with a full old-rate or new-rate period as though they cover identical work.
Compare the paystubs in a consistent way
Put the last representative paycheck before the raise beside the first paycheck expected to reflect it. Match pay frequency and period length, and account for any differences that affect earnings. Compare gross wages before net pay, then review each tax and deduction line.
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- Pay basis and time: Confirm whether you are paid hourly or by salary. For hourly work, compare paid hours and overtime; note unpaid time and other wage items.
- Gross wages: Check whether the rate and applicable hours produce the amount expected for that period. If salary is quoted annually, use the employer’s pay schedule and account for any partial period.
- Withholding and deductions: Compare federal, state, and local income-tax withholding; Social Security and Medicare; health premiums; retirement contributions; and other deductions.
- Year-to-date totals: Use them as a cross-check for wages and withholding, while remembering that totals can include earlier pay periods and may not isolate the raise.
Net pay is what remains after withholding and deductions. It cannot by itself show whether payroll applied the promised rate: a correct increase in gross wages can produce a smaller-than-expected increase in the deposit if taxes or deductions also changed.
Understand why the take-home increase can be smaller
Federal income-tax withholding is not your final tax bill
Federal income-tax withholding is money taken from pay toward federal income taxes. The amount depends partly on earnings and the information on your Form W-4. A change in withholding affects the current check, but withholding is a prepayment—not a direct measure of your final tax liability.
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If federal withholding rose, compare the W-4 information and withholding line on both stubs. A different withholding amount can reduce the net increase without indicating that the raise was omitted.
Social Security and Medicare are separate payroll taxes
For 2026, the IRS lists the employee Social Security tax rate as 6.2%, applying only up to the annual wage base of $184,500, and the employee Medicare tax rate as 1.45%, with no wage-base limit. An employer must begin withholding 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax once it pays an employee more than $200,000 in the calendar year. That employer withholding trigger is distinct from the individual tax-liability threshold, which depends on filing status. See the IRS Social Security and Medicare tax rates and limits for current details.
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These federal rates do not explain every paycheck: state and local income taxes, paid-leave deductions, benefits, retirement contributions, and employer payroll conventions can also affect net pay.
Benefit and retirement deductions may have changed too
Check whether health premiums, retirement contributions, or another elected deduction changed at the same time as the raise. A higher contribution or premium can absorb part of the gross increase. Compare the actual line items rather than assuming that taxes account for the entire difference.
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Use the IRS estimator for a federal withholding question
The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator uses recent paystubs and tax information to help assess federal income-tax withholding and prepare a W-4. The IRS announced on March 12, 2026, that it updated the estimator for listed provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; check the current IRS page because tax rules and estimator assumptions can change. The IRS describes the estimator as a tool for estimating federal income tax to withhold from paychecks for taxes owed next year.
The estimator does not verify whether your employer used the promised pay rate. It also does not address ordinary Social Security or Medicare withholding, which the IRS says use fixed percentages; it does account for Additional Medicare Tax. Changing withholding may increase current take-home pay while increasing the amount due later, so consider both the expected annual tax balance and the paycheck effect before changing a W-4.
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Ask payroll to review a mismatch
If the gross wages do not reconcile with the written rate, effective date, and pay-period calculation, ask payroll to explain the figures and review whether a correction is needed. Share the relevant stubs and compensation notice, and ask specifically:
- What rate is currently on file, and what effective date was entered?
- How was gross pay calculated for this pay period, including any partial-period treatment?
- Were hours, overtime, unpaid time, or other wage items included as expected?
- If the rate or calculation is wrong, what is the correction process?
Keep copies of the compensation notice and paystubs. Rights and deadlines for wage disputes depend on the facts and jurisdiction; the federal IRS withholding tools do not determine them. For state or local withholding or wage questions, check the relevant jurisdiction’s rules or contact the appropriate agency.
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