Guides
Employer payroll cost, in complete sentences
These notes sit next to the calculators. They explain the 2026 employer FICA split, what a burden rate is for, how FUTA and SUTA are entered here, and why the lab is not a payroll service.
Employer vs employee FICA
The company’s 6.2% and 1.45% are not the same as the amount withheld from a paycheck.
What a burden rate is for
How to read the add-on above wages without treating the rate as a hidden tax table.
FUTA and SUTA in plain English
Why this site asks you to type the rate on your notice instead of guessing a state table.
Why this is not a payroll service
What Publication 15 covers, what the lab computes, and what still belongs with a CPA.
First-year cost of a hire
How to keep recurring employer cost apart from recruiting and setup checks.
When to reopen this estimate
The moments a loaded cost should be typed again: a notice, a raise, a hire, a new year.