Payroll Tax Calculator — Methodology

Step-by-step calculation

Estimate the total employer-side payroll-tax burden for any payroll and headcount in the US.

1. 1

   Enter gross annual payroll

   Total wages paid to all employees in a year.

2. 2

   Enter employee count

   Used to apply the SS wage-base cap and FUTA per-employee limit.

3. 3

   Pick state tier

   Approximation of state UI + workers comp combined rate.

4. 4

   Read the total burden

   Federal + state combined, plus per-employee average.

Assumptions and overrides

Federal portion is exact (FICA, FUTA). State portion approximated in 3 tiers — real state rates vary by state, industry, and the employer's experience-rating history with the state unemployment agency. Workers compensation varies enormously by industry (office: 0.2-0.5%; construction: 5-15%) — the bands assume mixed white-collar work.

Every region default on the calculator is editable. If your effective rate, fee, or threshold differs from the headline figure shown, type your own number into the field — the calculator recomputes instantly without leaving this page.

Primary sources

Region-tagged primary sources for the default rates, thresholds, and benchmarks used in this calculator.

• USAIRS — Employment Taxes (FICA, FUTA — US ~11% total)
• UKGOV.UK — Employer National Insurance (13.8%)
• SASARS — UIF + SDL (SA ~2% total)

Review cadence and corrections

This methodology and the underlying rate defaults are reviewed at least annually, and immediately following any change to the headline rate from IRS, HMRC, or SARS. Every substantive update is recorded on the public changelog. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy for how to report it.

See the full editorial policy for the standards every page on BusCalcTools is held to.