Scenario A is one person at $52,000. Scenario B is one person at $55,000. With 0.6% FUTA and 2% SUTA, A is $57,060.00 and B is $60,349.50. B minus A is $3,289.50.
Tool · two scenarios
Headcount and Raise Planner
Set scenario A and scenario B. Change the salary, or add a person. The result is the difference in annual employer cost: B minus A. Employer FICA, FUTA, and SUTA are figured per person, then multiplied by headcount, so a second seat does not share one Social Security wage base.
Tax-year assumptions: 2026. This is not a take-home comparison.
When this estimate fits
The planner fits a short board question: what does a $3,000 raise cost the company, or what does one more person at the same salary cost? Both answers use the same 2026 employer FICA model and the same unemployment entries.
The planner does not fit a comparison of take-home pay, a multi-rate staff mix, or a promise that every benefit is inside the extras field. It does not file a raise letter.
Social Security wage-base limits are applied to each person’s salary, not to the combined payroll of the scenario.
Leave salaries at $52,000 and set B’s headcount to 2. B is $114,120.00. B minus A is $57,060.00, the loaded cost of the additional person.
If A and B match, the difference is $0.00 and the sentence says the annual employer cost is the same.
On this tool
Is the difference take-home pay?
No. Both scenarios are employer cost. Employee withholding is not on this site.
Why is FUTA not shared across two people?
The federal unemployment wage base is applied per employee in this model. Two people each have their own first $7,000 if you use that FUTA entry.
More questions?
See the home FAQ.