Question 1

What's the difference between nominal and real-terms pay?

Accepted Answer

Nominal is the number on your payslip. Real-terms is that number adjusted for inflation — what your money can actually buy. If your salary went up 4% but prices went up 6%, your nominal rise was 4% but your real rise was −1.9%. The real-terms figure is the one that matters for your standard of living.

Question 2

How do I find my Australian CPI rate?

Accepted Answer

The ABS publishes CPI quarterly at abs.gov.au. For a year-over-year rise, use the 12-month change figure covering the quarter closest to your pay change. As of mid-2025 the headline rate sits around 2.8–3.6%. For wage-specific context, the ABS Wage Price Index tracks what employers are paying broadly.

Question 3

Is a 4% rise a real rise?

Accepted Answer

Only if Australian CPI is under 4%. During the 2022–23 period when CPI was 6–7%, a 4% nominal rise meant your real pay dropped by 2–3%. In lower-inflation periods that same 4% is a proper 1–2% real increase. Context matters — this tool does the maths for you.

Question 4

Why doesn't this do after-tax calculations?

Accepted Answer

Take-home pay depends on dozens of factors that change every tax year — brackets, thresholds, pension contributions, student loans, tax codes, marriage allowance, local variations. We've kept this tool focused on the nominal-vs-real story because that's where the interesting decision lives and because take-home calculators are a product in their own right. A proper take-home calculator may come later.

Question 5

How is the multi-year cumulative calculated?

Accepted Answer

Nominal cumulative is simply last salary ÷ first salary − 1, expressed as a percentage. Real cumulative compounds each year's CPI: we multiply (1 + CPI₁) × (1 + CPI₂) × … for every year-over-year transition, then compare your salary growth against that compound rate. If your salary grew 15% over three years but prices grew 18%, your real raise is −2.5% (your money buys less than it did).

Question 6

Is this tool free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes — completely free, no sign-up, no account. TimeIsMoney.tools is supported by minimal, non-intrusive advertising. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

What's your raise actually worth?

Frequently asked questions

More honest tools.

What's your real hourly rate?

What does this meeting really cost?

What to charge to break even.

When does the day line up?

A clean invoice in 60 seconds.