EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAX CALCULATOR · RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER · NOTHING UPLOADED
What does a new hire really cost you on top of their pay?
Enter a salary and a state. You get Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment tax with the wage-base caps applied, plus workers' comp, retirement match and health, and the all-in cost per hire.
Federal 2026 figures. State unemployment wage bases and new-employer rates are editable starting points written from memory: replace them with the numbers on your state rate notice. Not tax advice.
Fill in the answers, then click Calculate.
Result
Item
Per hire
What it does, and what it leaves to you
Covers: employer Social Security and Medicare, FUTA with the 5.4% state credit and any credit reduction, state unemployment on the wage base you enter, workers' comp, retirement match and employer health premium, prorated for a part-year hire.
Gives: the all-in cost per hire, the burden as a percent of wages, and where the unemployment caps bite.
Not decided: experience-rated SUI after the first years, state disability or family-leave contributions, local and city taxes, paid leave, recruiting and equipment cost, tax credits, and anything that changed after this page was written. Your payroll provider, CPA or state agency decides these.
Common questions
What does it really cost to hire an employee?
Beyond wages, an employer pays 6.2% Social Security (up to the wage base) and 1.45% Medicare, federal unemployment tax (effectively 0.6% on the first $7,000 when the state credit applies), state unemployment tax, workers' compensation, and any benefits. For a $52,000 hire in Texas with typical benefits that is roughly 25-30% on top of pay.
Why do unemployment taxes hit hardest early in the year?
FUTA and state unemployment tax apply only to the first slice of each employee's pay (the wage base, $7,000 federally). A new or low-paid hire hits the cap fast, so the tax per dollar of pay is highest for part-year and low-wage workers.
What is the FUTA credit reduction?
If a state has an unpaid federal unemployment loan, the 5.4% credit employers get shrinks by 0.3 point per year, raising FUTA. Enter the percentage your Form 940 instructions list for your state, or 0.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent.