What an employee really costs in 2026: wages, FICA, FUTA, SUTA and benefits, per hour
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 6 Oct 2026.In 2026 an employer pays 6.2% social security on wages up to $184,500, 1.45% Medicare on all wages, and 0.6% FUTA on the first $7,000, plus state unemployment tax. A $60,000 salary with a $500 monthly health premium and 3% match costs about $72,621, or $34.91 an hour.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 6 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Enter the annual salary, or switch to Hourly and enter the rate and hours per week.
Choose the pay frequency and how many employees are on the same pay.
Enter your state unemployment (SUTA) rate and wage base from your state’s rate notice, and any FUTA credit reduction.
Add the employer share of health insurance, the retirement match, workers’ compensation and other benefits.
Read the total cost per year, per pay period and per hour, and the breakdown by line.
The Employer Payroll Cost Calculator adds up what one employee costs a US employer in 2026: the wages, the employer's own payroll taxes, and the benefits paid on top. It shows the total per year, per pay period and per paid hour, and how much of the cost lands in the first paychecks of the year. It runs in your browser.
Federal taxes the employer pays. IRS Publication 15 (2026) sets social security at 6.2% of each employee's wages up to $184,500, and Medicare at 1.45% of all wages. These match what is withheld from the employee, who pays the same amounts again. The extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 is the employee's alone; there is no employer share. Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is 6.0% of the first $7,000, reduced by a credit of up to 5.4% for paying state unemployment tax, so most employers pay 0.6%, or $42 a year per employee.
Credit-reduction states. A state that has borrowed from the federal unemployment fund for two years running loses part of the credit. For 2025 California's employers paid an extra 1.2% and the Virgin Islands 4.5%. The 2026 list is final only on 10 November, so the reduction is an input, with the Department of Labor's potential 2026 figures alongside.
State unemployment tax (SUTA). Each state assigns employers their own rate and sets its own wage base, from $7,000 in some states to several times that in others. Enter both from your state's rate notice; the example 2.7% on $7,000 is only an illustration.
Benefits. Add the employer share of health premiums, a retirement match as a percentage of pay, workers' compensation as a percentage of payroll (a rate of $1.50 per $100 is 1.5%), and anything else per year.
What it does not do. No state disability or training taxes, local payroll taxes, paid leave accruals, or the employee's own withholding.
Employer payroll taxes alone add about 7.65% plus unemployment taxes: on a $60,000 salary that is $4,590 of FICA, $42 of FUTA and whatever your state charges. Health insurance and a retirement match usually add more. With a $500 monthly premium and a 3% match the total is about $72,621, 21% over the salary.
Social security is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 per employee and Medicare 1.45% of all wages, under IRS Publication 15 for 2026. FUTA is 6.0% on the first $7,000, less a credit of up to 5.4%, so usually 0.6%. State unemployment tax rates and wage bases vary by state and by employer.
The gross FUTA rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but employers get a credit of up to 5.4% for state unemployment tax paid in full and on time. That leaves 0.6%, or $42 per employee a year. In a credit-reduction state the credit is smaller and the rate higher.
For 2025 the Department of Labor applied a reduction to California at 1.2% and the US Virgin Islands at 4.5%. For 2026 the potential reductions are California 1.5%, or about 5.3% with an add-on, and the Virgin Islands 4.8%. The final 2026 list is set on 10 November 2026.
No. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 is imposed only on the employee. The employer withholds it from the paycheck but pays no matching share, so an employer's Medicare cost stays at 1.45% of all wages however high the salary goes.
Social security, FUTA and state unemployment tax stop once an employee's wages for the year reach their wage bases. FUTA and many state taxes stop after the first $7,000 or so, which on a $60,000 biweekly salary is the fourth paycheck. A salary above $184,500 also stops social security late in the year.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Employer Payroll Cost Calculator and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
Also works as: Employee Cost Calculator.
Same job, other tools: Additional Child Tax Credit Calculator – How much of the child tax credit comes back as a refund: 15% of earnings over $2,500 · NSO Tax Calculator – Federal tax on exercising non-qualified stock options and selling the shares · Bonus Depreciation Calculator – 100% bonus depreciation after 19 January 2025, or 40% / 20% for earlier purchases · Capital Loss Carryover Calculator – How much capital loss you deduct this year and how much carries forward, short or long.
On the related tools: Wash Sale Rule Checker – Enter your trade dates to see whether a loss sale falls inside the 61-day wash sale window.
More for US: all 41 US calculators.