Load the cost of one role
Enter an annual salary or an hourly figure. Read the employer FICA line and the unemployment tax you typed. Stop when the sentence names the yearly cost to the business.
Desk path
Employer cost desk worksheet
Use this page when you have twenty minutes and a salary in mind. The four steps use the same 2026 employer FICA model. Each link can carry the figures you already typed. Nothing is uploaded.
Tax-year assumptions: 2026.
Put that role on a team budget
Add the other seats you already pay. Empty rows stay out of the total. The average is employer cost, not take-home pay.
If this is a new hire, split year one
Keep recruiting, equipment, training, and relocation on the one-off line. Year two should not still carry a posting fee.
Price a raise or one more seat
Scenario B minus scenario A is the annual change in employer cost. Social Security limits are applied per person.
What this worksheet is not
It is not a payroll run, a filing calendar, or a reason to stay on the page after the four numbers are written down. If you need the official employer rates, open Publication 15. If you need a state unemployment rate, use the notice you already have. When to reopen this estimate lists the moments worth a second visit.