Employee Cost Calculator
Calculate the total fully-loaded cost of an employee, including payroll tax, benefits, and overhead on top of base salary.
$
%
Employer-side payroll tax, e.g. FICA
%
Health insurance, retirement match, PTO, etc.
%
Workspace, software licenses, equipment
Results
Total Fully-Loaded Cost
$96,355.00
1.38x base salaryPayroll Tax Cost
$5,355.00
Benefits Cost
$14,000.00
Overhead Cost
$7,000.00
How the Employee Cost Calculator Works
An employee's salary is only part of what they actually cost a business. Enter the base salary along with adjustable percentages for employer-side payroll tax, benefits, and equipment/overhead, and this calculator adds them together to show the total fully-loaded cost of employing that person.
Example
A $70,000 base salary with 7.65% payroll tax, 20% benefits, and 10% overhead adds $5,355 + $14,000 + $7,000 = $26,355 on top of salary, for a total fully-loaded cost of $96,355 — about 1.38x the base salary.
Common Use Cases
- Budgeting the true cost of a new hire before extending an offer.
- Comparing the cost of hiring an employee versus a contractor.
- Building an accurate headcount budget for a department or startup.
- Pricing services or projects that factor in fully-loaded labor cost.
FAQs
Why is an employee's real cost higher than their salary?
Employers pay mandatory payroll taxes on top of salary, often contribute to benefits like health insurance and retirement plans, and provide equipment, software, and workspace — all real costs that don't appear on the employee's paycheck but do appear on the company's books.
What's a typical total load multiplier?
Many businesses estimate total employment cost at roughly 1.25x to 1.4x base salary, though this varies significantly by country, industry, benefits generosity, and company size — adjust the percentage fields above to match your specific situation.
Does this include one-time costs like recruiting or onboarding?
No — this calculates ongoing annual costs (payroll tax, benefits, overhead) as a percentage of salary. One-time costs like recruiting fees, signing bonuses, or onboarding time aren't included and would need to be added separately.