Payroll Calculator.

Calculate employee take-home pay alongside total employer payroll tax costs (FICA match, FUTA, and SUTA).

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Employer Payroll Taxes Explained

Hiring an employee costs more than just their base salary. As an employer, you are legally responsible for paying several payroll taxes on top of what you pay your worker. These costs are broken down into three main categories:

  • FICA Matching: You must match your employee's Social Security tax (6.2% up to $184,500) and Medicare tax (1.45% on all wages). Note that employers do not match the employee's additional 0.9% high-earner Medicare surtax.
  • Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA): The base FUTA rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of an employee's annual wages. However, most U.S. businesses receive a tax credit that safely lowers this effective rate to 0.6% (a maximum of $42 per employee per year).
  • State Unemployment Tax (SUTA): This is a mandatory state-level tax paid entirely by the employer. Unlike federal taxes, your specific rate varies wildly depending on the state you operate in and your company's claims history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What payroll taxes do employers pay?

Employers must pay three main payroll taxes: a matching 6.2% Social Security tax, a matching 1.45% Medicare tax, and unemployment taxes including FUTA (federal, flat 0.6% up to $7,000) and SUTA (state unemployment tax, which varies based on employer history and state wage bases).

What is FUTA?

FUTA stands for the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. It is an employer-paid tax used to fund state unemployment agencies. The standard rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of an employee's annual wages, but is typically reduced to 0.6% via credit matching.

Why MyPaycheckCalculator is Better

If you are looking for a private, faster Payroll Cost Calculator or search for a secure ADP payroll calculator alternative, we offer a modern, uncluttered alternative. Here is how our utility compares to legacy traditional options:

Recommended

MyPaycheckCalculator Advantage

  • Calculate FICA matching, FUTA, and SUTA burdens instantly on one page.
  • Completely private: no corporate or employee data is uploaded.
  • Instant results for 2026 tax standards, loaded in under 200ms.

Legacy Calculator Drawbacks

  • Monetized by collecting business contact details for corporate sales calls.
  • Heavy platform code and multi-tab steps delay calculations.
  • Complex navigation for simple small-business employer tax modeling.