What Raise Percentage Should You Ask For?
Anyone facing a job change wrestles with two questions: "what number can I ask for without overreaching or losing out?" and "is this offer actually good?" This guide is here to help you answer both with a framework instead of a gut feeling.
1. Look at your "position" before the raise number
Most people fixate on "what percent did I get compared to before." But a 10% raise off a below-average base salary can still leave you below average. What matters isn't the raise percentage itself, but where the offer sits relative to the average for people in the same role and experience level.
2. A realistic benchmark for "what percentage should I ask for"
There's no fixed formula, but here's the practical range people commonly use.
- Internal promotion / raise negotiation: a single-digit raise is typical. Double digits usually needs strong proof of impact.
- Changing jobs: a job change is the event that can move the needle the most. Still, it's more persuasive to anchor to "the market rate for the target company and role" than to simply ask for "much more than I make now."
- If your target number sits in the very top slice for your role and experience, it's more realistic to break it into two stages (an intermediate target, then another push later) or tie it to a role/level change, rather than expecting one negotiation to get you there.
3. The "salary composition" trap that distorts take-home pay
Two offers can both say "$60,000" and still differ hugely in what you actually take home and how much negotiating value they carry, depending on the mix.
| Component | Nature | Carries over when you switch jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Fixed, taxable | Carries over best |
| Bonus | Variable, taxable | Partially carries over (variable risk) |
| Cash benefits (meal allowance, benefit points) | Cash-like | Partially carries over |
| Other (stock, non-cash) | Non-cash, conditional | Rarely carries over (counted in total comp only) |
Watch out especially for offers that only emphasize a big total compensation (TC) number. If a large chunk is one-time or conditional — stock, signing bonus — it's hard to get your next employer to recognize it as your "base salary" baseline. That's why pushing to maximize base salary pays off in the long run.
4. Taxes and social insurance shrink how a raise actually feels
When your pre-tax salary rises, take-home rises too, but not by the same proportion. As salary climbs, you move into a higher tax bracket and your social-insurance deductions grow along with it. A $5,000 pre-tax raise, for instance, shows up as less than that in take-home pay. When you set a negotiation target, it's worth looking at both the pre-tax number and the take-home number.
5. A pre-negotiation checklist
- Check the role/experience-level position of your offer (or target number).
- Break the composition down into base / bonus / cash benefits / other.
- Separate "the portion that actually carries over when you switch jobs" from "total comp" to judge real negotiating value.
- Check the felt benefit using the take-home increase, not the pre-tax raise.
- Prepare 2–3 pieces of evidence (market rate, performance) in writing.
※ This article is for general information only and is not tax or financial advice for your individual situation.