Employer Payroll Cost Calculator
What one employee really costs you: gross pay plus the employer FICA match, FUTA, and SUTA.
An employee costs more than their paycheck. On top of gross wages, an employer pays half of Social Security and Medicare (the 7.65% FICA match), federal unemployment tax (FUTA), and state unemployment tax (SUTA). This calculator adds those employer-side taxes to one employee's gross so you can see the fully-loaded cost per pay period and per year at 2026 rates.
Enter the employee's gross pay, how often you run payroll, the work state, and your SUTA rate. FUTA and SUTA are shown prorated: they apply only to the first slice of annual wages (the first $7,000 for FUTA, and the state wage base for SUTA), so we spread the annual tax across your pay periods rather than charging the full rate on every check.
Frequently asked questions
What does an employee actually cost beyond their salary?
Gross wages plus the employer's share of payroll taxes: 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare (the 7.65% FICA match), FUTA, and SUTA. Benefits, workers' compensation, and overhead add more, but these payroll taxes are the mandatory employer cost this calculator covers.
Why are FUTA and SUTA shown 'prorated' instead of a flat percentage?
FUTA and SUTA are charged only on the first part of each employee's annual wages (the first $7,000 for FUTA, and your state's wage base for SUTA), not on every paycheck. We compute the annual tax on that capped wage base and divide it across your pay periods, so the per-period figure is accurate and the annual total is correct.
Does the employer match the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax?
No. The employer matches the 1.45% base Medicare tax but not the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on high earners. That surtax is withheld from the employee only, with no employer share (IRS Publication 15).
What SUTA rate should I enter?
Use the experience rate your state assigned you. It varies by employer and changes as your unemployment-claim history changes. If you leave it blank, we use your state's new-employer default where one is published; a few states set rates by industry and have no single default, so there you'll need to enter your assigned rate.