Employee Cost Calculator
Budget the annual cost of a W-2 employee, not just the salary on an offer. Adjust employer payroll taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and overhead. This is an employer budgeting tool, not an employee take-home-pay calculator.
Open the CalculatorPre-configured with your state tax rates. Adjust salary, benefits, and overhead to model your specific hire.
Total Annual Cost
$101,207
Loaded multiplier: 1.27× base salary
Open the interactive calculator to adjust every input and export a PDF report.
Compare three annual salaries while holding the other inputs constant. These are reproducible planning examples, not a claim about the average employer or a quote for a particular state.
Use the ongoing annual cost to plan headcount. Budget recruiting, onboarding and ramp-up separately with the hiring cost calculator so the two measures do not get mixed together.
Only salary changes between these rows. These are illustrative model outputs, not verified tax liabilities, wage recommendations or a claim about typical employers.
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column and example link.
| Annual salary | Modeled total | Cost above salary | Total / salary | Try this example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $78,717 | $18,717 | 1.31× | Open $60,000 example (new tab) |
| $80,000 | $101,207 | $21,207 | 1.27× | Open $80,000 example (new tab) |
| $100,000 | $123,697 | $23,697 | 1.24× | Open $100,000 example (new tab) |
Monthly benefits: $650; retirement match: 4%; annual overhead: $3,000; bonus: 0%; workers compensation: 0.8% of salary. These are editable model assumptions, not insurance quotes.
Existing model SUTA: 2.7% on the first $15,000 of annual wages. This is the generic model assumption, not a state-specific tax rate. Federal tax components use the existing calculator constants. No statutory input has been re-certified by this editorial update.
Figures cover one year and exclude costs not present in the calculator inputs. Do not add employee tax withholdings to salary again. Additional state or local obligations, employer-wide charges, taxable fringe benefits and unusual pay arrangements need a separate review. Results are planning estimates, not tax or legal advice.
Source checks: IRS: understanding employment taxes
A $80,000 salary rarely costs $80,000. Once you layer in employer payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, and overhead, the fully loaded cost of a W-2 hire typically lands between 1.25× and 1.45× base pay. This calculator breaks down every component so you can forecast the real cash impact of your next offer.
Every W-2 hire triggers federal and state payroll taxes. FICA combines Social Security (6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500) and Medicare (1.45% with no cap). FUTA is 6.0% on the first $7,000, but most employers get a 5.4% state credit, yielding 0.6% effective — though employers in credit-reduction states (currently including California) pay a higher effective FUTA rate. SUTA varies by state and experience rating — from under 1% to over 4%.
Health insurance commonly runs $500–$900/month per employee. A 401(k) match of 3–5% adds directly to loaded cost. Overhead — software, hardware, office space, management time — adds $2,000–$5,000/year. Workers’ comp, priced per $100 of payroll, varies by state and industry.
Editorial Standards
Maintained by the TrueHireCost editorial team
TrueHireCost is an independent research and tooling project. Our content is written and maintained by the TrueHireCost editorial team — not by a licensed CPA, attorney, or HR certificant, and no named professional endorses or "verifies" these pages. Rates, wage bases, and benchmarks are collected from official public sources (IRS, U.S. Department of Labor, state workforce agencies, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics) and labeled with their source and last-reviewed date. State SUTA, workers’ comp, and minimum-wage figures are representative new-employer estimates and should be confirmed with the agency for your specific situation.
Found an outdated rate or a calculation that looks wrong? Email Support@hostinger.com and we’ll review and correct it. TrueHireCost is an informational tool, not professional tax, legal, or HR advice — consult a qualified professional before making hiring or payroll decisions.
Dataset baseline: 2026-08-24
Every rate and formula is checked against the issuing agency before publication. Dataset baseline: 2026-08-24.
IRS
FICA, FUTA tax rate & wage base
U.S. DOL
FUTA credit, federal wage & hour
State Workforce Agencies
SUTA rates, wage bases, new-employer rates
BLS
Industry salary benchmarks & turnover
The fully loaded cost of an employee is the total annual cost to employ them: base salary plus employer payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUTA), workers’ compensation, benefits, and overhead. Using TrueHireCost’s current default assumptions, an $80,000 employee has an estimated annual employer cost of approximately $101,207. Actual costs vary by state, benefits, workers’ compensation, retirement contributions, and overhead. Under those defaults the loaded multiplier is about 1.27× base salary ($101,207).
TrueHireCost adds employer FICA (7.65%), federal and state unemployment tax, workers’ comp (varies by state and industry), benefits, and overhead to the base salary. You can adjust each input for any U.S. state and industry.
Employers pay 7.65% FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), FUTA (up to 0.6% on the first $7,000), state unemployment (SUTA), and state disability insurance where applicable.
Yes. The TrueHireCost employee cost calculator is free to use, requires no sign-up, and works for all 50 U.S. states and 20 major industries.
For Estimation Purposes Only
TrueHireCost provides cost estimates for informational purposes only and is not professional tax, legal, or HR advice. Actual employer costs vary by experience rating, industry classification, carrier, and jurisdiction. Consult a qualified CPA, tax advisor, or HR professional before making hiring or payroll decisions.