<prompt> Human: So I got a raise of 17.2, but my first paycheck at the new rate is only 13.9 higher and Im not sure why. I wont have the actual paystub for awhile, so maybe that will explain things, but I was hoping someone here could give me some insights.Things to know:- I am salaried and paid every two weeks, so theres no variance from paycheck to paycheck- The raise went into effect at the beginning of a pay period, so the paycheck isnt a mix of two different pay rates- I checked and the raise doesnt push me into a different tax bracket for either federal or state taxes- I contribute a flat 5 to my 401K and didnt up it at allSo why hasnt my paycheck increased by the same amount as my raise?Assistant: You are paying more tax? The 5 to your retirement is more so maybe you didnt take that into calculation? Just my 2cHuman: But if Im not in a higher tax bracket and I didnt change the precentage of my 401K contribution, the full percentage of the raise should be there in the check, no?For example, say my paycheck was 100 and I pay 10 taxes 10 and contribute 5 to a 401K 5 So my take-home pay is 85.Then say I got a 100 raise and my new paycheck is thus 200. I still pay 10 tax 20 because Im still in the same tax bracket, and I still contribute 5 10. So my take-home pay is 170.The raise was 100 and the take-home pay showed a 100 increase as well 170 is twice as much as 85.The only possibility I can think of is maybe it affected SS and Medicare withholding, since I dont really know how that works and if it has different brackets like taxes.  <response>: You now have a greater proportion of your income being taxed at your highest marginal rate. Your example doesnt work because it doesnt take into account multiple brackets. For example:Hypothetical world where: 0 - 49 is taxed at 0 50 - 99 is taxed at 10 100 - 500 is taxed at 25If you made 200 originally, your liability would be 30 50 .1 100 .25 and your take home 170.If you received a 100 raise, your liability would be 80 50 .1 300 .25 and your take home would be 320.You received a 100 raise, but your take home wont scale perfectly, even staying in the same tax bracket. 