Payroll Cost Calculator 2026

Add your employees, get total monthly & annual payroll cost.
Wages + employer FICA + FUTA + SUTA — the full budget number.

Multi-employee · 2026 employer tax rates · Quarterly FUTA/SUTA tracker
Team Settings
%

Health insurance, 401k, etc. as % of total wages

Employee List
Name / Role Pay Period Wage Annual Wages

Payroll Budget Planning for Small Businesses

When building your annual payroll budget, most business owners undercount by 15–25% because they only plan for gross wages. The real number is wages + employer taxes + benefits.

Why Q1 Always Costs More

FUTA and SUTA both have wage base limits that reset January 1. FUTA is 0.6% on the first $7,000 — that $42 per employee is entirely consumed by mid-February for anyone earning $50K+. But SUTA wage bases vary by state: California's is $7,000, New York's is $12,800, Washington's is $68,500. Higher wage base states see elevated SUTA costs through Q2 or even Q3 for higher earners.

The practical result: payroll costs in Q1 are noticeably higher than Q3/Q4 for the same headcount. Plan for it.

The 2026 SS Wage Base

The Social Security wage base for 2026 is $176,100 per employee. Once an employee's YTD wages exceed this threshold, the 6.2% SS tax stops for both employee and employer. For a $200,000 salary, you save $1,481 in employer SS after mid-October (approximately).

Related: Employee Cost Calculator · Employer Payroll Tax Calculator · Quarterly Tax Calculator

FAQ

Payroll cost questions answered

How do I calculate total payroll cost?
Total payroll cost = gross wages + employer FICA (7.65% up to SS wage base) + FUTA (0.6% on first $7,000/employee) + SUTA (varies by state) + benefits. Add all of it up — that's your true payroll budget number.
What percentage of revenue should payroll be?
It varies by industry. Service businesses: 30–35%. Retail/food: 25–35%. Manufacturing: 15–30%. Tech startups: 20–50%. The key metric is whether labor costs fit within your gross margin structure, not a universal percentage.
When are FUTA taxes due?
FUTA deposits are due the last day of the month after each quarter end — April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 — if your cumulative FUTA liability exceeds $500. If the year-end total is $500 or less, pay it with Form 940 by January 31.
How often must I run payroll?
Federal law sets no frequency floor, but state laws do — most require at least semimonthly. Weekly or biweekly is most common for hourly workers; semimonthly or monthly for salaried employees. Check your state DOL for the minimum requirement.

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