Work out what payroll taxes cost your business. Enter each employee's annual wages and your state unemployment rate to get the employer share of Social Security and Medicare, federal (FUTA) and state (SUTA) unemployment tax, with totals per employee, per pay period and per quarter.
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A number alone works too. Paste a column from a spreadsheet.
Unemployment taxes
%
New employers often get 2%–3.4%.
$
Ranges from $7,000 to over $70,000 by state.
%
6.0% − 5.4% credit.
%
% of wages
e.g. state training or local taxes.
Enter your values to see the result.
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How to use the Payroll Tax Calculator (Employer)
List your employees, one per line, with annual gross wages (e.g. 'Alex 52000').
Pick the tax year and pay frequency.
Enter your SUTA rate and wage base from your state unemployment agency notice.
Leave FUTA at 0.6% unless your state has a credit reduction.
Press Calculate payroll taxes and download the employee or quarterly table.
Employer payroll tax rates
Tax
Employer rate
Wage base
Max per employee
Reported on
Social Security
6.2%
$184,500 (2026), $176,100 (2025)
$11,439 (2026)
Form 941
Medicare
1.45%
No limit
No limit
Form 941
FUTA
0.6% (6.0% − 5.4% credit)
$7,000
$42
Form 940
SUTA
Set by your state
Set by your state
Rate × wage base
State return
The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000 is withheld from the employee only; employers do not match it. Sources: IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), SSA wage base announcement.
How the calculation works
Social Security = 6.2% × min(wages, wage base)
Medicare = 1.45% × wages
FUTA = 0.6% (plus any credit reduction) × min(wages, $7,000)
SUTA = state rate × min(wages, state wage base)
Per pay period = annual employer tax ÷ number of pay periods (the real amount is higher early in the year while FUTA and SUTA apply)
Example: one employee paid $50,000 biweekly, SUTA 2.7% on $7,000. Social Security $3,100 + Medicare $725 + FUTA $42 + SUTA $189 = $4,056 a year, about $156 per paycheck on average.
Deposit and filing reminders
FICA and withheld income tax are deposited monthly or semiweekly depending on your lookback-period total, and reported quarterly on Form 941 (or yearly on Form 944 for very small employers).
FUTA is reported yearly on Form 940, but you must deposit it for any quarter when the undeposited amount is more than $500.
SUTA is filed with your state, usually every quarter, together with a wage report.
Frequently asked questions
What payroll taxes does an employer pay?
In the US, employers pay a 6.2% Social Security match up to the yearly wage base ($184,500 in 2026), a 1.45% Medicare match on all wages, federal unemployment tax (FUTA) and state unemployment tax (SUTA). Some states and cities add their own employer taxes. Income tax withholding comes out of the employee's pay, not the employer's pocket.
How much is FUTA tax?
FUTA is 6.0% of the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but employers that pay state unemployment tax on time get a credit of up to 5.4%, so the usual rate is 0.6%, or at most $42 per employee per year. Employers in a credit reduction state pay more.
What is a FUTA credit reduction state?
A state that has borrowed from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits and not repaid the loan on time. Employers there lose part of the 5.4% credit, typically 0.3% more for each year the loan is outstanding. The Department of Labor publishes the list each November.
How is SUTA calculated?
Your state's unemployment tax rate times each employee's wages up to the state wage base. Rates depend on your industry and layoff history (your experience rating), and new employers get a standard starting rate. Wage bases range from $7,000 in some states to more than $70,000 in others.
How much do payroll taxes add to an employee's cost?
For a typical employee earning under the Social Security wage base, employer payroll taxes are about 7.65% for FICA plus a few hundred dollars of FUTA and SUTA. On a $50,000 salary with a 2.7% SUTA rate on $7,000, that comes to $4,056 a year, roughly 8.1% of wages.
Why are payroll taxes higher early in the year?
FUTA and most SUTA taxes stop once an employee's wages for the year pass the wage base, which for $7,000 is reached within the first few months. High earners also stop owing Social Security after the wage base. Those taxes reset every January 1.
Do I pay payroll taxes for independent contractors?
No. Contractors paid on Form 1099-NEC pay their own self-employment tax. Misclassifying an employee as a contractor can lead to back taxes and penalties, so check the IRS common-law rules.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
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