2026 employer payroll cost tool

Employer Payroll Burden Calculator

Estimate the taxes and mandatory employer costs that sit above employee wages, then see the real payroll burden per employee, per month and per paid hour.

Simple calculator

Estimate employer costs above wages

2026 federal rates

Payroll

Number of similar employees

employees

Annual wages per employee

Paid hours per employee / year

hours

State & industry costs

State unemployment rate

Illustrative default. Replace with your assigned state rate. State unemployment wage base

Illustrative default. State wage bases vary. Workers' comp cost

% of wages

Enter your estimated employer cost as a percentage of payroll.

Other mandatory employer payroll costs

% of wages

State/local payroll taxes, paid-leave contributions or other mandatory percentage costs. Fixed mandatory cost per employee / year

Employer Social Security6.2%Up to $184,500

Employer Medicare1.45%No wage cap

Standard net FUTA0.6%First $7,000

2026 SS wage base$184,500Per employee

Simple modelFederal employer taxes are calculated per employee, then state unemployment, workers' compensation and other mandatory costs are layered on top. The FUTA estimate assumes the full 5.4% credit and no credit-reduction adjustment.

Advanced calculator

Model federal, state and mandatory payroll costs

Per-employee wage bases

Payroll base

Number of similar employees

employees

Annual gross wages / employee

FICA-taxable wages / employee

Use gross wages if all wages are subject to FICA. Paid hours / employee / year

hours

Federal unemployment

Full FUTA rate

Expected FUTA credit

Credit-reduction adjustment

Leave at 0 unless a FUTA credit reduction applies.

State unemployment

SUTA / state UI rate

State UI wage base / employee

State UI surcharge / employee

Workers' compensation & other mandates

Workers' comp rate

$per $100 payroll

Employer paid-leave / disability rate

Paid-leave wage base

Enter 0 for no cap. State/local employer payroll tax

% of wages

Other mandatory fixed cost / employee / year

Other mandatory group-level annual cost

2026 federal layerEmployer Social Security is 6.2% of FICA-taxable wages up to $184,500 per employee. Employer Medicare is 1.45% with no wage cap. There is no employer match for the employee-only 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.

Advanced result

Employer burden snapshot

Total mandatory employer cost above wages$0— of gross payroll

Gross payroll$0Entered employees × gross wages

Loaded payroll cost$0Wages + mandatory employer burden

Federal employer FICA$0

FUTA$0

State unemployment$0

Workers' compensation$0

Paid leave / disability contribution$0

State/local employer payroll tax$0

Other mandatory fixed costs$0

Burden / employee$0

Loaded cost / employee$0

Mandatory cost / paid hour$0

Federal tax detail— effective FUTA

Social Security$0

Medicare$0

SS taxable wages / employee$0

FUTA taxable wages / employee$0

OfficeQ readout

Cost composition

Mandatory employer cost breakdown

Annual group totals

Cost component	Rate / wage base	Annual cost	Cost per employee	Share of burden

Salary sensitivity

Employer burden at different wage levels

Rates and employee count held constant

Annual wage / employee	Federal FICA / employee	FUTA / employee	SUTA / employee	Total mandatory burden / employee	Burden rate	Loaded cost / employee

Workers' comp sensitivity

Impact of job-class insurance cost

Rate per $100 of payroll

Workers' comp rate	Annual workers' comp	Total employer burden	Burden rate	Loaded payroll

Scope

What this calculator does not assume

This calculator focuses on employer payroll taxes and mandatory costs above wages. It does not automatically add voluntary benefits such as health insurance, retirement contributions, bonuses, discretionary paid time off, recruiting expense, equipment, training or general overhead. State unemployment rates and wage bases, workers' compensation rates, paid-family-leave contributions, disability programs and local employer taxes vary significantly, so those inputs should be replaced with the employer's actual rates. FUTA credit-reduction adjustments may also change after the calculator is published.