My salary just jumped from $100K to $200K. How should I (responsibly) enjoy the new money? (2025)

Rebecca Holland

Thu, Apr 17, 2025, 7:45 AM 6 min read

Early in your career, big pay increases can happen quickly — you get a new job in a much larger company, you advance through the ranks at your current company or you move to a new industry where salaries are typically higher than you could command before.

After the excitement of signing a big contract is over, you might ask yourself: “Now what?”

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While you might be tempted to make your first major payday all about fun purchases, it’s still important to stick to tried-and-true financial principles. There are no guarantees in today's world. You could suddenly lose your job, and the money you’ve made has to last.

Let’s say you’re a single young professional who has moved from a $100,000 to a $200,000 salary role. We’ll cover budgeting, saving and investing to help you make the most of your new income.

Calculating your new take-home pay

Just because your before-tax income has doubled, doesn’t mean your take-home pay will double as well. Moving from $100,000 to $200,000 means you cover new tax brackets, and if you have any other income outside of your regular job, you’ll have to take that into consideration as well.

The federal tax brackets for 2025 at your income level as a single filer are as follows:

• 10% for income up to $11,925

• 12% for income from $11,925 to $48,475

• 22% for income from $48,475 to $103,350

• 24% for income from $103,350 to $197,300

• 32% for income from $197,300 to $250,525

It’s important to note, even if you earned $200,000 over the entire year, your total income will not be taxed at 32% — only the amount after earning $197,300 will be taxed at this rate. Federal tax rates begin at 10% and rise correspondingly with income. So, you’ll need to do some calculating to understand what your actual tax rate will be. On top of that, you’ll have to calculate taxes for your state, if any. Depending on where you live, you may face no additional state taxes, a progressive rate like federal taxes or a flat rate regardless of your income.

Your take-home pay will also be impacted by your health insurance, any additional life insurance costs and other benefits programs you register for. If you have questions, be sure to ask your employer for more information.