United States / Tools / Payroll tax calculator — employer and employee
Payroll tax calculator — employer and employee
What a wage actually costs once Social Security, Medicare and FUTA sit on top of it. The employer side and the employee side are different numbers, and this shows both.
| You enter | one employee's annual wages, and optionally your state unemployment rate. |
|---|---|
| It applies | Social Security to the wage base, uncapped Medicare, the employee-only additional Medicare above $200,000, and FUTA net of the standard state credit. |
| You get | the true cost of the wage to you, what the employee has withheld, and the total remitted — three different numbers people often conflate. |
A worked example
A $100,000 salary costs the employer about $107,692 — the wage plus 6.2% Social Security, 1.45% Medicare and $42 of FUTA. The employee sees $7,650 withheld. The two sides are not the same number, and the gap is the part people forget when they price a hire.
Total employer cost (wages + employer taxes)
- Social Security — employee (6.2%)
- $5,580.00
- Social Security — employer (6.2%)
- $5,580.00
- Medicare — employee (1.45%)
- $1,305.00
- Medicare — employer (1.45%)
- $1,305.00
- Additional Medicare (0.9%, employee only, over $200,000)
- $0.00
- FUTA — gross (6.0% on first $7,000)
- $420.00
- FUTA — standard state credit (5.4%)
- −$378.00
- FUTA — net
- $42.00
- Employee withholding (SS + Medicare + Additional Medicare)
- $6,885.00
- Employer taxes
- $6,927.00
- Total remitted (employee + employer)
- $13,812.00
SS wage base $184,500.00 for 2026, indexes annually. Additional Medicare is withheld once THIS employer's wages to the employee pass $200,000 — it is not employer-matched. FUTA net rate assumes the standard 5.4% state credit (most employers qualify).
An estimate, not a quote. The IRS produces the figure that actually applies to you — check there before you rely on a number. Mechanics only: federal and state income tax withholding are not modelled here.
What this deliberately leaves out
No federal or state income tax withholding — that depends on the employee's Form W-4 and filing details, not wages alone. No deposit schedule or due dates. SUTA is state-specific (rate and wage base both vary); if you enter one, we apply it to the $7,000 FUTA wage base as a stand-in, not your state's actual base. Figures verified 2026-08-17.
What to do with this number: This is the payroll-tax layer only. Income tax withholding depends on the employee’s Form W-4 and is not derivable from a salary, so it is not here — your payroll provider computes it, and the deposit schedule tool tells you when the money is due.
The figures behind this tool, with their sources and verification dates: the companion guide. When the statute or schedule changes, the guide and the tool move together.