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Payroll Calculator

Free payroll calculator from the employer seat: per-period gross wages, employee deductions, employer FICA match, FUTA, SUTA, and your true cost per period.

Last reviewed: January 2026 · Tax data verified against IRS Publication 15-T & state revenue departments

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How This Calculator Works

Every paycheck costs the employer more than the wage number printed on it. This calculator runs a single payroll period from the employer's seat: choose how you pay (salary or hourly) and how often, and it produces a pay-stub-style breakdown of what the employee nets and what the run truly costs you.

The employee side mirrors a real stub. Gross wages for the period come first, then Social Security at 6.2% of wages up to the $184,500 cap for 2026, Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, and an estimated federal income-tax withholding computed with the 2026 single-filer brackets and the $16,100 standard deduction. What is left is the estimated net deposit.

The employer side is where payroll gets expensive. You match the employee's Social Security and Medicare dollar for dollar - 7.65% combined, and your Social Security match also stops at $184,500. You pay FUTA at an effective 0.6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages (a maximum of $42 per employee per year), plus SUTA, the state unemployment tax, which you set here because real rates run from about 1% to 5% on a wage base - typically near $9,500, though bases vary by state.

Workers' compensation insurance and benefits ride on top. Workers' comp is quoted as a percentage of payroll - roughly 0.5% to 2% for office work and far higher for construction and other risky trades. Benefits is whatever you pay per month for health coverage, a retirement match, or stipends. Both are converted into per-period costs so the stub shows the complete picture.

The result is your true cost per pay period and the markup over gross wages - 9.2% on the default $60,000 salary before benefits, and closer to 25-30% once a typical benefits package is added. State income taxes are not part of this estimate: they are withheld from the employee, not paid by you. For state-accurate net pay use the paycheck calculator, and for annual headcount budgeting see the employee cost calculator.

How It's Calculated

Formula

Employer cost per period = Gross + FICA match (6.2% + 1.45%) + FUTA + SUTA + Workers comp + Benefits

Step-by-Step

  1. 1Annualize wages: salary as entered, or hourly rate x hours per week x paid weeks
  2. 2Period gross = annual gross / pay periods per year (52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, 12 monthly)
  3. 3Employee FICA per period = (Social Security 6.2% capped at $184,500 + Medicare 1.45%) / periods
  4. 4Federal withholding estimate = 2026 single-filer tax on (annual gross minus the $16,100 standard deduction), divided by periods
  5. 5Employer match = the same Social Security + Medicare figures (never the 0.9% additional Medicare tax - that is employee-only)
  6. 6FUTA = 0.6% x the first $7,000 of wages; SUTA = your rate x your state wage base; each divided by periods
  7. 7Add workers comp (% of wages) and benefits (per month x 12 / periods) to get total employer cost per period

Example

A $60,000 salary paid monthly (12 periods): period gross = $5,000.00. Employee FICA = $382.50 ($4,590.00 per year - $3,720.00 Social Security plus $870.00 Medicare). Estimated federal withholding = $418.33 ($5,020.00 per year), so estimated net = $4,199.17. The employer adds a $382.50 FICA match, $3.50 FUTA ($42.00 per year), $23.75 SUTA (3.0% on the first $9,500), and $50.00 workers comp (1.0%) for a true cost of $5,459.75 per period - 9.2% over gross, $65,517.00 per year.

For detailed data sources and full methodology, see our Methodology & Data Sources page.

Key Rates & Data for 2026

Employee FICA

6.2% + 1.45% = 7.65%

Social Security Wage Cap (2026)

$184,500

Additional Medicare Tax

0.9% over $200K (employee only)

FUTA (effective)

0.6% on the first $7,000

Typical SUTA

1-5% on the first ~$9,500

Standard Deduction (single, 2026)

$16,100

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an employer pay on top of each paycheck?

Four statutory items plus whatever you offer in benefits: the employer FICA match (6.2% Social Security up to the 2026 cap of $184,500, plus 1.45% Medicare with no cap), FUTA at an effective 0.6% on the first $7,000 of wages, SUTA - state unemployment, typically 1-5% on a wage base near $9,500 - and workers' compensation insurance. On a $60,000 salary, those statutory add-ons alone come to about $5,517 a year (roughly 9.2%): $4,590 FICA match, $42 FUTA, $285 SUTA at 3%, and $600 workers comp at 1% - before a dollar of health insurance or retirement match.

How is the employee net pay on this stub estimated?

Gross for the period minus employee FICA minus an estimated federal income-tax withholding. The withholding estimate applies the 2026 single-filer brackets to annual wages after the $16,100 standard deduction, then divides by the number of pay periods. It is a simplified annualized estimate - real withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T tables that account for filing status, the W-4 steps, and paycheck timing. State income tax is not included because rates vary from zero to 13%; for a state-accurate figure use the paycheck calculator.

Does the employer match the 0.9% additional Medicare tax?

No. The additional Medicare tax of 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 and is withheld from the employee only - the employer never matches it, which is why this calculator adds only 6.2% plus 1.45% to the employer side. The regular Medicare match of 1.45% does continue on every dollar of wages with no cap. Note that the Social Security match also stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500, so very high earners become relatively cheaper to employ on a percentage basis.

Why is FUTA only $42 per year?

FUTA has a headline rate of 6.0%, but employers who pay their state unemployment tax on time receive a 5.4% federal credit, leaving an effective rate of 0.6%. That 0.6% applies only to the first $7,000 of each employee's wages each year, so the maximum is 0.6% x $7,000 = $42 per employee. Once an employee's year-to-date wages pass $7,000, FUTA stops for that employee entirely. This calculator spreads the annual $42 evenly across pay periods as an allocation, which is how payroll providers display it on run reports.

How does pay frequency affect the employer cost?

It does not change the annual total - weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly runs all cost the same over a year. Frequency only changes the slice: annual costs are divided by 52, 26, 24, or 12 to allocate each period's share, which is exactly what this calculator does with FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers comp, and benefits. Two practical notes: FICA and unemployment caps are tracked on year-to-date wages, so actual per-check amounts can differ slightly from the even allocation, and biweekly calendars produce 27-check years roughly once a decade.

What SUTA rate should I enter?

Use the rate on your state's unemployment insurance notice. New employers are typically assigned a standard rate around 2.7% to 4%, and after two to three years of paying in without layoffs your experience rating can drop the rate to 1% or lower - or climb past 5% with frequent claims. Wage bases vary widely too: most states tax roughly the first $9,000 to $15,000 of wages, while a few like Washington and New Jersey go much higher. The default here - 3.0% on the first $9,500 - is a reasonable new-employer placeholder, not legal advice.

How is this different from the employee cost calculator?

The employee cost calculator is the annual, strategic view: it answers "what does this headcount really cost per year" and is built for budgeting and hiring decisions, often across a whole team. This payroll calculator is the per-period, operational view: it answers "what does this specific paycheck run cost" in a stub-style layout - gross, deductions, employer contributions, and the true cost of the period. Set the same wage, tax, and benefit assumptions in both and the annual figures agree: the markup over gross is identical, roughly 9.2% on statutory costs alone.

Related Calculators

Employee CostPaycheckTime CardIRS WithholdingBonus Tax

Link to This Calculator

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<a href="https://thetaxcalc.com/payroll-calculator" title="Payroll Calculator 2026 - Employer Cost Per Pay Period">Payroll Calculator 2026 - Employer Cost Per Pay Period</a>

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