Pay Rise Real-Terms Calculator
A pay rise sounds good until inflation takes its cut. Enter your current and new salary (or just the rise %) against the current CPI rate to see whether your rise is a genuine gain, or a real-terms pay cut in disguise.
Estimate only. This calculator gives estimates for information only, not financial advice. CPI inflation varies and the default rate is illustrative, check the current ONS figure.
Enter your salaries to see the real-terms picture
Nominal vs real rise, the net monthly gain in your pocket and a 5-year projection appear here.
Why "real terms" matters more than the headline %
A 3% pay rise feels like progress, but if prices have risen by more than 3% over the same period, you can actually buy less than you could before, a real-terms cut, even though the number on your payslip has gone up. This calculator uses the standard "real rise = nominal rise − CPI inflation" method used across UK pay reporting, then checks what the rise is actually worth in your pocket after Income Tax and National Insurance using the same verified tax engine as the rest of this site. It also flags if your rise pushes you across a tax threshold, where the extra pay is taxed more heavily than the rest.
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