Employer FICA is $3,978.00. The annual employer cost is $57,060.00. The burden is 9.73%.
Tool · one role
Cost of an Employee Calculator
Use this page when you have one salary, or an hourly rate with hours and weeks, and you want the company’s loaded cost for the year. Employer Social Security and Medicare follow IRS Publication 15 for 2026. FUTA, SUTA, benefits, and other extras are included only if you enter them.
Tax-year assumptions: 2026. Employer Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500. Employer Medicare 1.45%. Source: IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), 2026.
When this estimate fits
The estimate fits a single U.S. W-2 role whose cash wages you already know, when you want employer Social Security and Medicare at the 2026 Publication 15 rates, and you are willing to type FUTA, SUTA, and benefits yourself. It fits a first look at headcount cost before you open a full payroll product.
The estimate does not fit employee take-home pay, federal income-tax withholding, or a multi-state assignment. It also does not fit a claim that every FUTA credit, cafeteria plan, or workers’ compensation class has been applied. Additional Medicare Tax is an employee item in this model and is not added as a company match.
If the salary is above $184,500, employer Social Security is limited to that 2026 wage base. Employer Medicare continues on the full wage figure. You can confirm the wage base in Publication 15 and on the SSA contribution and benefit base page.
$25.00 × 40 × 52 is $52,000.00. The employer cost matches the salary example when the unemployment entries match.
On $200,000.00, employer Social Security is $11,439.00 and employer Medicare is $2,900.00, so employer FICA is $14,339.00.
On this tool
Does pay frequency change take-home pay here?
No. Frequency only divides the company’s annual cost into cycles. The calculator does not estimate a stub.
Are bonuses in the FICA base?
Yes, in this model. If you enter a bonus or commission, it is added to the wages used for employer Social Security and Medicare.
Where do the 6.2% and 1.45% rates come from?
IRS Publication 15 (Circular E) for 2026 states those employer rates. The Social Security wage base of $184,500 is in that publication and on the SSA contribution and benefit base page for 2026.