Question 1

How do I write a salary increment request letter?

Accepted Answer

Three things, in this order, and then stop. State the figure you are asking for — not a range and not "I would like to discuss my compensation", because neither gives your manager anything to take to anybody. Give the evidence in outcomes rather than adjectives: what you delivered, with numbers in it, three items is plenty. Then ask for a short meeting and a timeframe. The letter's job is to start the process, not to win it — the decision happens in a conversation, by somebody who has already decided they can defend the number upwards.

Question 2

How much of a raise actually reaches my bank account?

Accepted Answer

Less than the headline, and the share is not what most people assume. On a ₹12,00,000 CTC a 10 per cent raise increases CTC by ₹1,20,000 and your take-home by ₹1,17,692 a year — about ₹9,808 a month. A 25 per cent raise increases CTC by ₹3,00,000 but take-home by only ₹2,06,847, because much more of it is taxed. The practical point is to work out the monthly figure before the meeting: that is the number you are actually negotiating for, and it tells you whether the ask is worth the conversation.

Question 3

What is a reasonable salary increment to ask for in India?

Accepted Answer

It depends far more on what has changed than on a market average. The strongest case is a documented change in scope — you took on work that used to belong to someone else — because that is a fact rather than a judgement, and a double-digit revision follows from it naturally. A performance-only case in a normal cycle is usually a single-digit conversation. Anything much above 30 per cent generally needs either a promotion or an offer in hand to land, because at that point your manager is not asking for a revision, they are asking for an exception. The generator warns you if your ask crosses that line.

Question 4

When is the best time to ask for a raise?

Accepted Answer

Before the compensation decision is made, which in most Indian companies is weeks before you are told the number. Budgets are allocated during the cycle and the question "can we revise X" is answerable then and almost unanswerable afterwards. So the useful timing is early in the appraisal cycle, not after the letter arrives. Out of cycle is possible and the generator has a version for it, but acknowledge the timing in the letter rather than ignoring it — an out-of-cycle revision usually needs a level above your manager, and pretending otherwise wastes the ask.

Question 5

What should I document before asking?

Accepted Answer

Outcomes with numbers, the scope that changed, and a benchmark you can point at. Outcomes beat responsibilities: "cut month-end close from nine days to four" is evidence, "responsible for month-end close" is a job description. Scope changes are the strongest material you have, so record the date you took something on and whose it was. And a benchmark means a range from job postings or a published survey — not what a colleague told you they earn, which is both unusable in the conversation and a problem if you repeat it.

Question 6

Should I mention that I might leave?

Accepted Answer

Only if you actually have an offer, and then handle it as a fact rather than a threat. A hint that you are looking, with nothing behind it, is the worst move available: it cannot be acted on, and it changes how you are seen for longer than the salary conversation lasts. If you do have an offer, say so plainly, say you have not accepted it, say you would rather stay, name the figure that would settle it, and give a real deadline. There is a version in the generator written for exactly that, and it is deliberately the only one that mentions leaving.

Question 7

What can my manager actually approve?

Accepted Answer

Usually less than you think, and that changes how you should pitch. In most organisations a manager cannot approve a revision alone — they decide whether to argue for it, which is why your case has to be portable: short, numerical, and repeatable by somebody who was not in the room. Out-of-cycle revisions typically need a level above and sometimes HR. A promotion and a raise are often separate approvals, so asking for both at once can slow both down. Expect the answer to arrive after the meeting rather than in it.

Question 8

What do I do if my raise request is rejected?

Accepted Answer

Convert the no into a condition and a date, in writing, which is the single most valuable thing you can do and almost nobody does. Ask what specifically would need to be true for the answer to be yes, when the next realistic opportunity is, and whether anything other than CTC can move — title, scope, a one-off payment. Do not accept "let's revisit later" without a date attached, because a revisit with no date is a decline with better manners. The generator has an after-rejection version that does all three asks.

Question 9

Is a counter-offer a good idea?

Accepted Answer

It works more often than people expect and it costs more than they expect. It works because replacing you is expensive and slow. It costs because you have told your employer that you were looking, and in some organisations that follows you into the next cycle regardless of what is said. The honest framing: use a counter-offer when you would genuinely be happy to stay at the right number, say so explicitly, and treat the outcome as final rather than as the opening of a negotiation you will reopen in six months.

Question 10

Does changing jobs pay more than any raise?

Accepted Answer

Usually yes on the arithmetic, and the arithmetic is not the whole decision. A move typically delivers a larger step than an internal revision, and because every later increment is computed on the higher base the gap compounds rather than repeating — the chart on this page puts the five-year figure on it. What the arithmetic cannot see is a notice period served or bought out, a gratuity clock restarting, unvested variable pay forfeited, and the risk that the new role is worse. The first two are quantifiable and worth quantifying before you decide.

Question 11

Should I ask for a promotion or a raise?

Accepted Answer

They are different conversations and bundling them usually slows both. A raise is a compensation decision; a promotion is a decision that you are already operating at the next level, and the money follows it. If the honest position is that you have outgrown the role, ask for the promotion and let compensation follow — and ask what specific gaps exist between what you do now and what the role requires, because a gap is something you can work on and "the timing is not right" is not. There is a separate version in the generator for the promotion ask.

Question 12

What is the difference between an increment, a promotion and a retention raise?

Accepted Answer

An increment is a periodic revision, usually at the appraisal cycle, and is the normal mechanism. A promotion is a change in level that carries a revision with it. A retention raise is an out-of-cycle revision made because the employer believes you are about to leave — which makes it the largest of the three and the one with a cost attached, because it is granted in response to leverage rather than to a case. Knowing which one you are asking for determines who has to approve it and how long it takes.

Question 13

How long should I wait before asking again after a raise?

Accepted Answer

Until something has changed, rather than until a period has elapsed. Asking again at the next cycle with the same case invites the same answer. Asking again with a documented change in scope, a delivered outcome, or the condition your manager set last time having been met is a different request even if it is only months later. If you were given a date, use it; if you were not, that is itself the thing to go back and get.

Question 14

Can my employer reduce my salary instead?

Accepted Answer

A unilateral reduction in agreed pay is a change to a fundamental term of your employment, and it is not something an employer can simply impose by announcement — it needs your agreement, and an agreement obtained under pressure is worth examining. If it is proposed, ask for it in writing with the reason and the duration before you respond to anything, and take advice. This is a different situation from a variable component paying out below target, which is what the plan always allowed for.

Raise	New CTC	Increase in CTC	Net gain a year	Net gain a month	Share kept
+5%	₹12,60,000	₹60,000	₹58,846	₹4,904	98%
+10%	₹13,20,000	₹1,20,000	₹1,17,692	₹9,808	98%
+15%	₹13,80,000	₹1,80,000	₹1,32,378	₹11,032	74%
+20%	₹14,40,000	₹2,40,000	₹1,57,181	₹13,098	65%
+30%	₹15,60,000	₹3,60,000	₹2,56,513	₹21,376	71%
+40%	₹16,80,000	₹4,80,000	₹3,55,845	₹29,654	74%

Your situation	Use	What carries it
The appraisal cycle is underway	At the annual appraisal	Timing. Sent before the number is decided, not after it lands.
It is mid-year and waiting is not reasonable	Out of cycle	Acknowledging the timing rather than ignoring it, and asking for the realistic path if not the revision.
You took on work that used to be someone else's	Added scope	A fact rather than a judgement. The strongest case there is.
You have outgrown the role, not just the salary	Promotion request	Evidence that you are already operating at the next level, and asking for the specific gaps if not.
You are simply paid below market	Below market	A benchmark you can point at. Without one, argue the delivery instead.
You have another offer in hand	Counter-offer	A fact stated plainly, with a real deadline. The only version that mentions leaving.
You are being confirmed after probation	On confirmation	That confirmation and compensation are usually decided together.
You already asked and were turned down	After a rejection	Converting the no into a condition and a date. The most useful letter in the set.
You have the meeting and need to prepare	Talking points — not a letter	A one-page brief for your own use, including what not to say.

Basis	Typical range	Who approves it	What it needs
Standard annual increment	Single digits	Decided in the cycle, within an allocated budget.	Nothing beyond meeting expectations.
Top performance band	Low double digits	Still inside the cycle, but a larger share of the pool.	A rating, and usually a manager who argued for it.
Documented change in scope	Double digits	Often a level above the manager.	The scope change recorded with dates, and the outcomes it produced.
Promotion	A step to the next level's band	A separate approval from the increment.	Evidence of already operating at the next level.
Market correction	Varies widely	HR, usually against a benchmarking exercise.	A benchmark you can point at, not hearsay.
Retention raise after an offer	The largest of these	Escalated, and fast.	A real offer. It is granted against leverage rather than a case, which is why it costs something.

When	What is happening internally	What to do
Early in the cycle, before ratings	Budgets are being allocated and managers are building cases.	The best moment. Put your case in writing so it is available when the decision is made.
After ratings, before the letter	Numbers are largely set but not communicated.	Still worth asking, but expect the answer to be about next cycle.
After the increment letter arrives	The budget is spent.	Asking now mostly produces a no. Use the after-rejection version to set a condition and a date instead.
Mid-year, out of cycle	No pool exists, so anything granted is an exception.	Use the out-of-cycle version, acknowledge the timing, and expect a level above your manager to be involved.
Immediately after taking on new scope	The change is fresh and undisputed.	The single best moment outside the cycle. Ask while whose work it was is still obvious.
With an offer in hand	The calculus changes entirely.	Use the counter-offer version, set a real deadline, and treat the answer as final.

Year	Stayed	Changed jobs	Difference
1	₹11,96,677	₹13,59,036	₹1,62,359
2	₹12,34,129	₹14,62,342	₹2,28,212
3	₹13,19,017	₹15,70,085	₹2,51,068
4	₹14,19,121	₹16,83,157	₹2,64,036
5	₹15,26,283	₹18,05,274	₹2,78,991
Cumulative			₹11,84,666

Salary increment request letter

Salary increment request builder

Your draft

Key takeaways

Price the ask before you make it

Which version you need

What gets granted, and on what basis

Timing against the appraisal cycle

When changing jobs pays more than any raise

How to build the case with numbers

Say this

Never this

Two asks, priced

What to do after a rejection

Frequently asked questions

What to do next

Related tools

Sources for the figures on this page

What changed

	A 10% ask	A 25% ask
New CTC	₹13,20,000	₹15,00,000
Increase in CTC	₹1,20,000	₹3,00,000
Extra in hand, per year	₹1,17,692	₹2,06,847
Extra in hand, per month	₹9,808	₹17,237
Share of the increase you keep	98%	69%