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US employer payroll · 2026

Payroll Cost Calculator

Estimate employer payroll taxes, unemployment, workers' compensation, benefits, administration, and total loaded payroll cost.

Federal rules reviewed November 7, 2026 · Educational estimate

2026 employer payroll

Estimate loaded payroll cost

Total employee wages.

Aggregate wages after per-employee wage caps and exclusions.

No federal wage cap generally applies.

Aggregate wages within the per-employee FUTA base.

Often 0.6% after maximum credit; credit-reduction states differ.

Apply your state wage bases.

Your assigned employer rate.

Estimated percentage of gross payroll.

Employer-paid benefits.

Annual processing and administration.

Employer cost

Total annual payroll cost

$629,720

25.9% above gross wages.

Monthly employer cost

$52,477

Gross payroll$500,000
Employer Social Security$29,760
Employer Medicare$7,250
FUTA$210
State unemployment$1,500
Workers’ compensation$6,000
Benefits and administration$85,000
Total employer taxes and workers’ comp$44,720
Taxable wage bases must be calculated employee by employee. This estimator uses the aggregate bases you enter and does not prepare payroll returns or employee withholding.

2026 federal rates

The employer Social Security rate is 6.2% on wages within each employee's $184,500 wage base. Employer Medicare is 1.45% without a general wage cap. FUTA has a 6.0% statutory rate on the first $7,000 per employee, often reduced by up to a 5.4% state credit.

Official source

IRS Publication 15 (2026) provides federal employer payroll-tax rates, wage bases, FUTA rules, reporting, and deposit guidance.

Important limitations

  • Enter aggregate taxable wage bases only after applying employee-level caps and exclusions.
  • State unemployment wage bases and rates, FUTA credits, and workers' compensation vary.
  • Excludes employee withholding, local payroll taxes, paid-leave assessments, payroll corrections, and compliance penalties.