Free 2026 hiring cost calculator
What will this hire really cost?
Enter a salary and state to see the full employer cost—payroll taxes, benefits, workers' comp, and overhead—beside the same 1099 contract.
Results update instantly. Your values stay in this browser.
- 2026
- Current tax year
- 51
- Jurisdictions
- $0
- No signup
All calculators
Every hiring-cost tool, one place.
Five free calculators built on the same sourced engine — employer cost, worker take-home, payroll tax, first-year cost, and the contractor-rate breakeven.
Guides
- How much does it cost to hire an employee?
- Employer payroll taxes explained
- 1099 vs W-2: which is actually cheaper?
- W-2 vs 1099: the decision guide
- Labor burden rate: how to calculate it
- Workers' compensation cost for employers
- Worker classification rules by state
- Employer payroll tax by state (reference)
- Hiring & payroll-tax glossary
What's in the number
Salary is the smallest part of the bill.
A $75,000 salary in Texas actually costs an employer $99,323 — that's $24,323 on top of base pay. Here is exactly where every dollar goes.
Example: $75,000 base · Texas · default benefits.
Cost by state
Payroll tax is a state-by-state game.
Unemployment insurance rates and wage bases swing the cost of a hire by thousands. Start with the biggest hiring markets, see all 51 jurisdictions, or use the full employer payroll tax reference for 2026.
Decision guide
W-2 vs 1099
The real trade-offs beyond price: control, IP, ramp time, and the breakeven contract rate where a 1099 stops being cheaper.
Read the guideRisk
Classification rules
Call a worker a 1099 who should be a W-2 and the bill is back taxes, interest, penalties, and possible wage claims. The legal test depends on the jurisdiction and claim. See the state planning summaries.
Review the state summariesFree tool
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<p style="font:13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;margin:6px 0 0"><a href="https://hiringmath.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">W-2 vs 1099 Cost Calculator by HiringMath</a></p>FAQ
Questions employers ask.
- What does it really cost to hire a W-2 employee?
- More than the salary. On top of base pay, an employer owes 7.65% FICA (Social Security + Medicare), FUTA, state unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, plus any benefits and overhead. The fully-loaded cost typically runs 1.25–1.4× the base salary.
- Is a 1099 contractor always cheaper than a W-2 employee?
- On paper, usually — you pay only the contract amount, with no employer payroll taxes, benefits, or workers' comp. But the comparison isn't just price: misclassifying a worker who should be a W-2 employee exposes you to back taxes, penalties, and back wages. HiringMath shows the breakeven contract rate so you can compare honestly.
- What is the employer payroll tax rate in 2026?
- Federal employer payroll tax is 7.65% FICA — 6.2% Social Security on the first $184,500 of wages and 1.45% Medicare on all wages — plus 0.6% net FUTA on the first $7,000. On top of that, each state charges its own unemployment insurance (SUI), averaging about 2.06% for new employers.
- How accurate are these numbers?
- Federal constants come from IRS Publication 15; state SUI planning defaults and wage bases come from the U.S. Department of Labor's January 2026 comparison. Your assigned SUI rate can differ, so it is editable in the calculator. Figures are estimates for planning, not tax, legal, or accounting advice.