Employee Cost Calculator
How statutory values are sourced, how benchmarks are selected, how modeling assumptions are labeled, how corrections are handled, how often data is reviewed, and how official figures are separated from estimates.
Open the CalculatorStatutory figures are fixed by law and are copied from the issuing authority, not from third-party summaries. Federal payroll taxes (FICA 7.65%, FUTA 0.6% effective, the Social Security wage base) are verified against IRS Publication 15 and the SSA. Federal and state minimum wages are verified against the DOL and each state’s labor agency. State SUTA wage bases, income tax brackets, and SDI rates are verified against each state’s workforce and revenue agency, linked on every state page. Statutory figures are re-verified when legislation changes.
A benchmark must come from a recognized authority on a regular publishing cadence: salaries from BLS OES; turnover from BLS JOLTS; employment growth from BLS Employment Projections; benefit costs from BLS ECEC; time-to-fill and cost-per-hire from SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking; job-advertising spend from LinkedIn Talent Solutions. When sources disagree, we prefer the most authoritative and most recent, label the value a representative estimate if it varies by employer, and show the last-verified date. We never average a number into existence without a source.
Values with no single legally mandated or published figure — overhead allocation, the 401(k) match default, the ramp-up productivity curve, the ramp-up period by seniority, and the vacancy and interview cost formulas — are labeled TrueHireCost modeling assumptions. Each is given a defensible mid-market default, documented on the methodology page, and made fully editable in the calculator. We never present an assumption as a published benchmark or official statistic.
Anyone can report an outdated or incorrect figure via editorial@truehirecost.com or the contact page. We verify the report against the issuing agency’s current publication. If the figure is wrong or stale, we update it and refresh the last-verified date; if it is correct but representative, we clarify the labeling rather than change the number. Material corrections are reflected on the affected page with an updated last-verified date. We do not silently overwrite figures — a date changes only when the underlying content actually changes.
Review cadence follows the issuing authority: statutory rates when legislation changes (the Social Security wage base each fall); BLS benchmarks on their cadence (JOLTS monthly, ECEC quarterly, OES and employment projections annually); SHRM and LinkedIn annually; state agency rates annually with mid-year corrections; modeling assumptions each data update and kept editable between updates.
Every figure is tagged as one of four classes, shown in every benchmark table: an official statutory figure (fixed by law, e.g. FICA 7.65%); a published benchmark (from an authority on a regular cadence, e.g. a BLS median salary); a representative estimate (a survey average that varies by employer/carrier, e.g. a workers’ comp class rate); or a TrueHireCost modeling assumption (an internal default with no single authoritative source, e.g. overhead allocation, editable in the calculator). TrueHireCost does not fabricate credentials, experts, reviewers, awards, media mentions, or testimonials.
Every rate and formula is checked against the issuing agency before publication. Last updated 2026-08-24.
IRS
FICA, FUTA tax rate & wage base
U.S. DOL
FUTA credit, federal wage & hour
State Workforce Agencies
SUTA rates, wage bases, new-employer rates
BLS
Industry salary benchmarks & turnover
The fully loaded cost of an employee is the total annual cost to employ them: base salary plus employer payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUTA), workers’ compensation, benefits, and overhead. Using TrueHireCost’s current default assumptions, an $80,000 employee has an estimated annual employer cost of approximately $101,207. Actual costs vary by state, benefits, workers’ compensation, retirement contributions, and overhead. Under those defaults the loaded multiplier is about 1.27× base salary ($101,207).
TrueHireCost adds employer FICA (7.65%), federal and state unemployment tax, workers’ comp (varies by state and industry), benefits, and overhead to the base salary. You can adjust each input for any U.S. state and industry.
Employers pay 7.65% FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), FUTA (up to 0.6% on the first $7,000), state unemployment (SUTA), and state disability insurance where applicable.
Yes. The TrueHireCost employee cost calculator is free to use, requires no sign-up, and works for all 50 U.S. states and 20 major industries.
For Estimation Purposes Only
TrueHireCost provides cost estimates for informational purposes only and is not professional tax, legal, or HR advice. Actual employer costs vary by experience rating, industry classification, carrier, and jurisdiction. Consult a qualified CPA, tax advisor, or HR professional before making hiring or payroll decisions.