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True Cost of an Employee Calculator (US)

See what a salary really costs once FICA, unemployment tax and benefits are added, at 2026 rates.

Your numbers

2.7% is the most common new-employer rate. Yours depends on state and experience rating
Ranges from $7,000 to $78,200 by state
Health and retirement, per BLS ECEC March 2026
Fully loaded annual cost
 
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How much does an employee cost beyond salary in the US?

Employer FICA is 7.65%, FUTA is effectively 0.6% capped at $42, state unemployment varies widely, and health and retirement benefits add roughly 15% of salary. All in, expect roughly 20 to 28% above base for a typical employee.

Where Compono fits

Loading the taxes correctly tells you what a role costs. It does not tell you whether the person is right for it. The most expensive line on any US payroll is the hire who cost the full loaded amount and left in nine months. Compono Hire runs the process every applicant tracking system runs, then adds behavioural and culture-fit data so the money lands on someone who stays and performs.

See how it works

How it's calculated

The model adds four employer costs to base salary. FICA is 7.65%: Social Security at 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, and Medicare at 1.45% with no cap. The Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% above $200,000 is employee-only, so it is deliberately not added to employer cost. FUTA is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of wages, but the standard 5.4% state credit takes the effective rate to 0.6%, a maximum of $42 per employee a year. State unemployment tax varies more than any other line: wage bases run from $7,000 to $78,200 and new-employer rates from about 1% to 4%, with 2.7% the most common, so both are editable here. Benefits default to 15% of salary, which is the health insurance and retirement share from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (March 2026). A warning on that number: BLS reports benefits as 30.1% of total compensation, which is about 43% of salary, but that figure already includes the legally required taxes calculated separately above. Using it on top would double-count, so this tool uses health and retirement only.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of W-2 vs 1099 classification in the HR Glossary.

Common questions

What is the Social Security wage base for 2026?

$184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025. Social Security is 6.2% for the employer up to that base. Medicare is 1.45% with no wage cap.

Does the employer pay the Additional Medicare Tax?

No. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 is withheld from the employee only. There is no employer match, so it is not part of employer cost.

Why is state unemployment tax editable?

Because it varies more than any other line. Taxable wage bases run from $7,000 to $78,200 depending on the state, and rates depend on your experience rating. The 2.7% default is the most common new-employer rate, but check your state.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the US Department of Labor or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.