Employer calculator · 2026
Employer payroll tax calculator
Enter salary and state to calculate the employer’s FICA, FUTA, state unemployment tax, and modeled paid-leave or disability costs.
- 2026 rules
- All 50 states + DC
- Free · no signup
Employer costs only. This is not a paycheck, take-home pay, or employee-withholding calculator.
| Social Security (6.2%) | $4,650 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $1,088 |
| FUTA (0.6%) | $42 |
| TX SUI (2.7%) | $243 |
| Total employer payroll tax | $6,023 |
Add benefits, workers' comp, overhead, and compare a 1099 contract.
What the employer pays
Employer payroll tax starts with the FICA match: 6.2% Social Security up to the annual wage base and 1.45% Medicare on all wages. It then adds 0.6% FUTA on the first $7,000 and the state’s unemployment tax.
Some states also require employer-funded paid leave, disability, or workforce assessments. The calculator separates every applicable line so the total remains auditable.
From payroll tax to total hiring cost
Payroll tax is only one part of the employer bill. Add benefits, workers' compensation, equipment, and overhead with the full hiring cost calculator.
Compare every jurisdiction in the 2026 employer payroll-tax reference or read the sourced explanation of how employer payroll taxes work.
Common questions
Payroll tax FAQ
What payroll taxes does an employer pay?
Every US employer owes FICA — 6.2% Social Security on the first $184,500 of each employee's wages and 1.45% Medicare on all wages — plus 0.6% net FUTA on the first $7,000 of wages. On top of that, each state charges its own unemployment insurance (SUI/SUTA), and some states add paid-leave or disability taxes.
How much is employer payroll tax as a percentage of salary?
For most hires the employer's statutory payroll tax lands a little above the combined FICA rate of 7.65% (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), because state SUI and any paid-leave programs are added on top. The average new-employer SUI rate across all 50 states and DC is 2.06%. FUTA and SUI only apply up to their wage bases, so the effective rate falls as salary rises.
Is FUTA the same in every state?
The net FUTA rate is 0.6% on the first $7,000 of wages in states that receive the standard 5.4% credit for paying state unemployment tax on time — that covers nearly every employer. A handful of "credit reduction" states temporarily pay a higher effective FUTA rate when their state UI fund has outstanding federal loans.
Does this calculator include employee withholding?
No. This tool shows only the employer's own payroll-tax cost — the FICA match, FUTA, and state unemployment tax you pay out of pocket on top of wages. It does not calculate the income tax or the employee's half of FICA that you withhold from a worker's paycheck.
Keep calculating