Cost to hire employee calculator
- True annual cost of this employee
- $75,775
- Social Security, employer share (6.2%)
- $3,720
- Medicare, employer share (1.45%)
- $870
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. The only constants HeadcountDesk supplies are the published federal payroll tax rates and the overtime multiplier, each cited where it is used. The defaults are a worked example to replace with your own.
A cost to hire employee calculator adds up what the business pays for a hire beyond the wage: the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare, federal and state unemployment, workers' compensation, the health contribution, the retirement match, the paid leave, the equipment and the onboarding time, and gives the annual total and the cost per hour worked. The true cost of employee calculator on this site produces that figure from your inputs, free and without an account; HeadcountDesk Pro keeps it against the employee so the budget and the record agree.
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The required lines
The IRS gives the employer's share of Social Security as 6.2% of wages up to the $184,500 base for 2026 and Medicare as 1.45% with no limit, and FUTA as 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, reduced to 0.6% with the full 5.4% credit. Add state unemployment and workers' compensation at your rates; the calculator carries each as its own line so the total can be checked.
The voluntary lines
Health, retirement, paid leave and any other benefit, each as a cost per year in your figures. The free true cost of employee calculator on this site adds them to the required part.
The one-off lines
The equipment, the accounts and the onboarding time, which is a working day of somebody's time before role training starts. Counted once, in the first year.
The total and the benchmark
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 employer cost release puts total compensation for private industry workers at $46.60 per hour worked, of which wages and salaries are $32.60 and benefits $14.01. Your total per hour worked sits beside that average, and Pro keeps it against the employee. From the vendors' own pricing pages: Homebase lists Essentials at $24 per location per month billed annually or $30 monthly, with a free Basic plan for one location of up to ten employees; BambooHR lists Core at $10 and Pro at $17 per employee per month; Deputy lists Core at $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 a month per location.
Cost to hire employee calculator: common questions
Is the cost to hire calculator free?
Yes. The free true cost of employee calculator on this site produces the annual total and the per-hour figure with no account.
What does a new employee cost beyond salary?
The employer's taxes, workers' compensation, benefits, equipment and onboarding time; the calculator adds each from your figures.
What is the national average?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 employer cost release puts total compensation for private industry workers at $46.60 per hour worked, of which wages and salaries are $32.60 and benefits $14.01.
Will it do what you need for Cost to hire employee calculator?
Tell us what your business needs and we will tell you straight whether HeadcountDesk Pro does it today, whether it is coming, or whether you are better off with something else. A person reads these and replies.