Free hiring cost tool

True Employee Cost Calculator

See the real employer cost behind a salary, including payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, recruiting and overhead.

Simple calculator

Estimate one employee

Updates live

Annual base salary

Annual bonus or commission

Employer-paid benefits

$/ month

Health insurance, retirement, stipends and similar benefits. Other payroll burden

% of cash pay

State unemployment, workers' compensation and local taxes.

Workspace and overhead

$/ month

Paid days off and holidays

days / year

Equipment and setup

First-year computer, phone, furniture and access setup. Recruiting and onboarding

2026 federal defaults included Employer Social Security, Medicare and standard net FUTA are calculated automatically. Use Advanced mode to edit every tax assumption.

Employer budget

True cost snapshot

Estimated first-year employer cost $100,000 Salary plus all entered employer costs

Ongoing annual cost$94,500

Monthly employer cost$7,875

Cost above base salary45.4%

Cost per productive hour$51.00

First-year cost mix1.54× salary

Cash compensation$68,000

Payroll taxes$7,242

Benefits$10,800

Overhead$8,400

Hiring and setup$5,500

Advanced calculator

Build the full employer cost

Updates live

Role and compensation

Role name Employees in this role

people

Annual base salary per employee

Bonus and commission

$/ year

Expected overtime or extra cash pay

$/ year

Other taxable cash compensation

$/ year

Employer payroll taxes and insurance

Social Security rate

Social Security wage base

Medicare rate

Net FUTA rate

FUTA wage base

State unemployment rate

State unemployment wage base

Workers' compensation

% of cash pay

Other payroll taxes

% of cash pay

Benefits

Health insurance

$/ month

Dental and vision

$/ month

Retirement contribution or match

% of base salary

HSA, FSA or wellness funding

$/ year

Life and disability coverage

$/ month

Other annual benefits

$/ year

Paid time and productive hours

Paid hours per week

hours

Paid weeks per year

weeks

Vacation and PTO

days

Paid holidays

days

Expected sick or personal days

days

Training and internal meeting days

days

Expected productive utilization

% of remaining hours

Use less than 100% to account for administration, normal downtime and non-billable work.

Hiring, equipment and annual operating support

Recruiting and agency cost

Background checks and screening

Sign-on bonus

Computer, phone and equipment

Initial onboarding and training

Software and licenses

$/ year

Continuing education and travel

$/ year

Other annual employee support

$/ year

Workspace, management and turnover risk

Workspace and facilities

$/ month

IT and administration allocation

$/ month

Management and HR allocation

$/ month

Other monthly overhead

$/ month

Annual turnover probability

Replacement cost if turnover occurs

% of base salary

Advanced employer budget

Full cost analysis

First-year cost per employee $110,000 Includes recurring and one-time costs

Ongoing annual cost$102,000

Risk-adjusted annual cost$105,000

Monthly ongoing budget$8,500

Productive hourly cost$72.00

1-person team, first year$110,000

Three-year team cost$314,000

Ongoing cost per $1 of salary$1.57

Ongoing annual cost mix per employee1,460 productive hours

Cash compensation$68,000

Payroll taxes and insurance$8,000

Benefits$15,000

Support and overhead$14,000

Detailed breakdown

Annual employer costs per employee

Base salary$65,000

Bonus, overtime and other cash pay$3,000

Employer Social Security$4,216

Employer Medicare$986

Federal and state unemployment$292

Workers' comp and other payroll taxes$1,156

Benefits$15,400

Software, training and annual support$2,800

Workspace, management and overhead$14,400

Ongoing annual cost$107,250

One-time hiring and setup$7,250

Expected annual turnover risk$2,925

Budget sensitivity

Cost under common changes

Scenario	First year	Ongoing	Monthly

Included in the estimate

A salary is only the starting point

The calculator separates cash compensation, employer payroll taxes, benefits, recurring operating support, overhead and one-time hiring costs. Advanced mode also estimates the cost of productive hours and an optional turnover-risk allowance.

Core calculation

True employee cost = cash compensation + employer taxes + benefits + operating support + overhead + hiring and setup.

Paid time off is not added to salary a second time. It is used to estimate productive hours and the effective hourly cost.

Planning estimate, not payroll or tax advice. Rates, taxable wages, benefit treatment and employer obligations vary by location and employee circumstances. Verify assumptions with your payroll provider, accountant or tax adviser before making a hiring decision.