CalcHelm

Employer Payroll Tax Calculator (2026)

What an employee really costs: salary plus employer-side Social Security and Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA), your state's unemployment insurance — with 2026 wage bases and new-employer rates for all 50 states and DC — and optional benefit costs. Calculations run in your browser.

Where the employee works — sets the unemployment insurance wage base and rate.

Leave blank to use Texas's new-employer rate of 2.7%. Established employers: use the rate from your annual rate notice.

Optional. Employer-paid portion of health, dental, and vision premiums.

Optional. E.g. 4 for a 4% 401(k) match, assumed fully used.

Optional. Workers' comp premiums, payroll service fees, equipment, licenses...

Total annual cost of this employee

$81,023

$6,752/month — each $1 of salary costs $1.080

Gross annual salary
$75,000.00
Employer Social Security (6.2%)
$4,650.00
Employer Medicare (1.45%)
$1,087.50
Federal unemployment (FUTA, net 0.6%)
$42.00
Texas unemployment insurance (2.7%)
$243.00
Total annual cost of employee
$81,022.50

Payroll taxes

$6,023

Benefits & other

$0

  • New Texas employers pay the greater of 2.7% or their NAICS industry-average rate.

What's included — and what isn't

The calculator computes the payroll taxes every W-2 employer pays: employer FICA (6.2% Social Security to the $184,500 wage base + 1.45% Medicare, per IRS Pub 15), FUTA at the standard net 0.6% of the first $7,000, and state unemployment insurance using your state's official 2026 taxable wage base with its published new-employer rate as the default. States that levy a flat mandatory assessment on every employer alongside UI (like California's Employment Training Tax) get that as its own line.

Deliberately not included, because they vary by employer: workers' compensation premiums (industry-rated), state paid-family-leave employer shares, and local payroll taxes. Where your selected state has one of these, the result flags it rather than silently ignoring it. Sources for every state figure are on our methodology page.

Employer payroll tax FAQs

How much does an employee cost beyond salary?

Mandatory payroll taxes alone add roughly 8–12% on top of salary for most employers: 6.2% Social Security (up to $184,500 in 2026), 1.45% Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA, typically 0.6% of the first $7,000), and state unemployment insurance, whose rate and wage base vary widely by state and by your company's layoff history. Benefits, workers' compensation, and paid-leave program contributions come on top of that.

What is a SUTA new-employer rate?

Each state assigns brand-new businesses a standard unemployment insurance rate (commonly 1–3.5%) until they build a track record, usually after 2–3 years, when the rate becomes experience-rated — employers whose former workers claim more benefits pay more. Your actual assigned rate arrives on an annual rate notice from the state; enter it in the calculator if you have one.

Does the employer pay half of Social Security and Medicare?

Yes — the employee's 7.65% FICA withholding is matched dollar-for-dollar by the employer: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to the annual wage base and 1.45% Medicare on all wages. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on high earners is the one exception: employees pay it, employers don't match it.

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