A loaded employer-cost figure is useful on the day you type it. It ages when the salary changes, when the state unemployment rate on your notice changes, or when the IRS publishes a new Social Security wage base. This page is a short list of those moments. It is not a reminder service and it does not send mail.
After the state unemployment notice arrives
SUTA or SUI is the rate you enter. When the workforce agency sends a new experience rate, open the one-role calculator and replace the SUTA field. The employer FICA lines stay on the 2026 Publication 15 rates unless that year has also changed. FUTA stays whatever effective percent or dollar amount you still believe. The lab will not notice the letter for you.
Before you write a raise or add a seat
A three-thousand-dollar raise is not a three-thousand-dollar company cost. Employer Social Security and Medicare move with the wage, and unemployment tax may move if you entered a percent of wages. Use the headcount and raise planner so scenario B minus scenario A is one annual dollar figure. That is the conversation to take into a meeting, not a take-home comparison.
Before you post a job
Year one is the recurring employer cost plus the checks you write once. Open the first-year sheet and type recruiting, equipment, training, and relocation only if you know them. Empty setup fields are zero. If you already have a salary from step one, the desk worksheet can carry it across.
When Publication 15 names a new year
The wage base and the signed year on every numbered page are for 2026. When the next Circular E is out, the model on this site should be updated to that publication, not guessed. Until then, a January visit is still useful: confirm that your FUTA and SUTA fields match the notices on your desk, then reprint the sheet for the year you are budgeting.
If you only need the FICA split explained again, start with Employer versus employee FICA. If you need the product boundary, read Why this is not a payroll service.