Payroll Calculator
Employee net pay plus your true employer cost — FICA match, FUTA, and SUTA.
🔒 Runs entirely in your browser — nothing here is ever uploaded
About the Payroll Calculator
Calculates an employee's net paycheck alongside your true total cost as the employer — including the employer's FICA match, FUTA, and SUTA — the small-business-owner view, distinct from the site's employee-facing Salary Calculator.
- Enter the employee's gross annual pay.
- Enter an estimated combined federal + state withholding percentage.
- Enter your state's SUTA rate and wage base (these vary by state and your own experience rating).
- Read the employee's net pay and your total cost as the employer.
A $50,000 gross salary, 15% withholding, 3% SUTA rate on a $9,000 wage base: $38,675 net pay for the employee, and a total employer cost of $54,137 — a 1.083× multiplier over the gross salary.
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Employee FICA (Social Security + Medicare) | 7.65% (6.2% + 1.45%) |
| Employer FICA match | 7.65% |
| FUTA (after standard 5.4% credit), first $7,000 wages | 0.6% |
| FUTA statutory rate (before credit) | 6.0% |
FUTA's 0.6% rate and $7,000 wage base are federal constants (the 0.6% already assumes the standard 5.4% state-unemployment-tax credit most employers qualify for). SUTA's rate and wage base are set by your specific state and your own layoff/claims history (experience rating) — the defaults here are illustrative, not your actual state's figures. Doesn't model workers' comp insurance, benefits costs, or the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax that applies above $200,000. Not tax advice.
- • Your 'true cost multiplier' (total employer cost ÷ gross pay) is a quick way to see how much a raise or new hire actually costs beyond the salary number itself.
- • SUTA wage bases vary enormously by state (some match the $7,000 FUTA base, others run into the tens of thousands) — check your state's specific figure rather than using the default.
- • FUTA credit reduction (6.0% down to 0.6%) requires paying state unemployment taxes on time — employers in a small number of 'credit reduction states' with outstanding federal UI loans pay a higher net FUTA rate, not modeled here.
- IRS — Topic no. 759, Form 940 – Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return — accessed 2026-08-30
Illustrative estimate only, not financial or tax advice. Verify figures with a licensed adviser or your local tax authority.