Employee Cost Calculator
Complete guide to employer payroll taxes including FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers’ compensation, and benefits. Learn how taxes affect employee costs.
Open the CalculatorPre-configured with your state tax rates. Adjust salary, benefits, and overhead to model your specific hire.
Total Annual Cost
$101,207
Loaded multiplier: 1.27× base salary
Open the interactive calculator to adjust every input and export a PDF report.
Payroll taxes are mandatory contributions employers must make for each W-2 employee on top of their base salary. Together with benefits and overhead, they make up the fully loaded cost of a hire. The major components are FICA (federal), FUTA (federal unemployment), SUTA (state unemployment), state income tax withholding, and workers’ compensation.
FICA combines Social Security and Medicare taxes. Employers pay a matching share alongside the employee withholding:
FUTA is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages, but employers that pay state unemployment tax on time receive a 5.4% credit, reducing the effective rate to 0.6% — a maximum of $42 per employee per year.
SUTA rates vary by state, industry, and the employer’s experience rating. New-employer rates range from under 1% to over 4%, applied to a state-specific wage base (typically $7,000–$63,500). Use the TrueHireCost calculator to look up the representative SUTA rate for any state.
State income tax rates vary widely — from 0% (Texas, Florida, Washington, and others) to over 13% (California). Employers must withhold state income tax from employee wages where applicable. State income tax is an employee cost, not an employer cost, but it affects net pay and payroll compliance.
Workers’ compensation insurance is required in nearly all states and is priced per $100 of payroll. Rates vary by state and industry job classification — from under $0.50/$100 for low-risk office roles to over $5/$100 for high-risk construction. It is a direct employer cost added to the fully loaded employee cost.
Beyond taxes, employers budget for health insurance ($500–$900/month), 401(k) match (3–5% of salary), and overhead — software, equipment, office space, and management time ($2,000–$5,000/year). These add 25–45% to base salary, yielding a fully loaded multiplier of roughly 1.25× to 1.45×.
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
Employers pay 7.65% FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), FUTA (0.6% effective on the first $7,000), state unemployment (SUTA), and workers’ compensation. State disability insurance (SDI) applies in a few states as an employee withholding the employer remits, not an employer-paid tax.
The employer FICA rate is 7.65% — 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500) plus 1.45% for Medicare (no wage cap).
SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act) is a state-level payroll tax on employers. Rates vary by state and the employer’s experience rating, applied to a state-specific wage base. New-employer rates typically range from under 1% to over 4%.
Workers’ compensation is insurance, not a tax, but it is a mandatory employer cost priced per $100 of payroll. Rates vary by state and industry classification and are included in the fully loaded employee cost.
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.