Shear deformation of CFRP affects how the force transfers from a steel plate to a CFRP plate in a CFRP bonded steel plate under an axial force. A widely accepted shear lag theory to model a CFRP bonded steel plate does not usually consider the effect of shear deformation in the CFRP plate. This study proposes a way to account for the effect of shear deformation in the CFRP plate on the force transfer between steel and CFRP by increasing the thickness of adhesive layer in the conventional shear lag theory.