Employee cost calculator
What an employee costs beyond their pay: employer taxes for every state, benefits and insurance, per year, month and hour worked.
Some states also charge employers for paid leave, disability or training funds; add those under other costs. Estimates only, not financial, tax or legal advice.
| Item | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | $60,000 | $5,000 |
| Social Security, employer 6.2% | $3,720 | $310 |
| Medicare, employer 1.45% | $870 | $73 |
| Federal unemployment (FUTA) | $42 | $4 |
| Texas unemployment (SUTA) | $243 | $20 |
| Health insurance | $7,000 | $583 |
| Retirement match | $2,400 | $200 |
| Workers’ compensation | $600 | $50 |
| Other | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $74,875 | $6,240 |
How it’s calculated
Employers pay 6.2% Social Security tax on each employee’s pay up to $184,500 in 2026 and 1.45% Medicare tax on all pay. Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is 6.0% of the first $7,000, less a credit of up to 5.4% for paying state unemployment tax on time, so usually 0.6%, or $42 a year.
State unemployment tax (SUTA) is the employer’s rate times pay up to the state’s wage base. Wage bases and new-employer base rates are 2026 figures from the Labor Department; established employers get their own rate each year, and some states add surcharges. Benefits and insurance are the amounts you enter; cost per hour divides the total by hours worked in 52 weeks.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (January 2026); U.S. Department of Labor, FUTA credit reductions; Social Security Administration, 2026 contribution and benefit base.
Example
A $60,000 employee in Texas costs $3,720 of Social Security, $870 of Medicare, $42 of FUTA and $243 of state unemployment tax (2.7% of $9,000). With $7,000 of health insurance, a 4% retirement match ($2,400) and 1% workers’ compensation ($600), the total is $74,875 a year: 24.8% above pay, or $36 per hour worked.