Español Calculate now

2026 employer taxes + official BLS wage context

Employer Cost Calculator & Salary Market Benchmark

Turn a proposed salary into an auditable annual employer budget, then compare the salary—not the overhead—with official state wage thresholds for the role.

No hidden “typical cost” assumption.

Federal payroll taxes are deterministic; SUTA, workers' compensation and benefits stay visible and editable because they are specific to your organization.

Private, in-browser calculation

Build the employer budget

Start with the role and salary, then replace every example rate with the figures from your own notices and policies.

Role and base salary
BLS state median$140,270May 2025
Your company-specific assumptions

Example values are prefilled for demonstration. They are not state defaults or advice.

Use your employer rate notice.
Use the current state taxable wage base.
Use your class-code and employer rate.
Health, retirement, equipment and other known costs.
2,080 equals 40 paid hours × 52 weeks. This changes only the hourly normalization.

Showing an illustrative California registered nurse budget.

Annual planning view

Cost beyond the salary

Inputs stay in your browser
Total annual employer cost $164,634 $13,720 per calendar month
Cost above salary$24,36417.4% of base salary
Employer payroll taxes$10,962FICA + FUTA + entered SUTA
Cost per paid hour$7985.2% of total is salary

Employer cost layers

Annual
Base salary
$140,270
Employer Social Security
$8,697
Employer Medicare
$2,034
FUTA
$42
SUTA from your inputs
$189
Workers' compensation
$1,403
Benefits and other stated costs
$12,000
Official market context

Base salary vs. BLS state wage thresholds

Your salary matches the official BLS P50 median wage threshold.

P10$101,260 P25$122,440 P50$140,270 P75$173,170 P90$213,320

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, retrieved 2026-09-02.

Budget at three official wage thresholds

Each total reuses the same SUTA, workers' comp, benefits and hours assumptions entered above.

P25 salary$122,440$145,262 total employer cost
P50 salary$140,270$164,634 total employer cost
P75 salary$173,170$200,380 total employer cost

$0 versus the modeled P50 employer budget.

This is a planning estimate, not payroll, tax, insurance or legal advice. BLS wage thresholds describe employee wages—not employer cost—and do not control for experience, specialty, industry or metro area. SUTA and workers' compensation vary by employer and must come from your records. The model assumes the standard FUTA credit and does not model credit-reduction states, local employer taxes, payroll-provider fees, leave mandates, equity or benefit tax treatment.

How the two lenses fit together

Market wage and employer cost are different numbers.

The BLS lens compares only the employee's base salary with published P10, P25, P50, P75 and P90 state wage thresholds. It never treats benefits or payroll taxes as employee wages.

The employer-cost lens adds 2026 employer Social Security, Medicare and standard-credit FUTA to the company-specific SUTA, workers' compensation and benefits you enter. The P25/P50/P75 budget cards rerun exactly those same assumptions at three official salary thresholds.

Frequently asked questions

What employer payroll taxes are included?

The model includes the 2026 employer share of Social Security and Medicare, standard-credit FUTA, and SUTA calculated only from the rate and taxable wage base you enter. Workers’ compensation and benefits also come from your inputs.

Can I use the prefilled SUTA and workers’ compensation rates for my budget?

The prefilled rates and benefits amount are starting examples, not rates verified for your employer or the selected state. Replace them with your state unemployment notice, workers’ compensation quote and benefit budget. These costs vary by employer history, industry and worker classification.

Does the BLS benchmark show what the employee should be paid?

No. It shows published statewide wage thresholds for the selected occupation. Experience, specialty, industry, metro area, schedule, union coverage and employer type can materially change a reasonable offer.

Are benefits included in the BLS salary benchmark?

No. OEWS wage thresholds describe employee wages. Benefits and employer payroll costs are separate and are added only in the PaycheckForge planning calculation.