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Primary formula: Cw = Nโ‚‘ ร— E + Nc ร— Cc

Educational only: Business decision support, not accounting, tax or legal advice.

Privacy: No account is required. Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.

Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.

Scope: US small-business planning using your own assumptions.

What this planner helps you decide

Best for

US businesses planning a bounded loaded employee-cost and productive-capacity scenario.

Outputs

Loaded annual and productive-hour cost, workforce capacity and budget, demand gap and hire-or-overtime threshold.

Start here

Confirm the supported policy scope, then enter base compensation, all other applicable on-costs, productive time, headcount mix and demand.

Use a different tool when: Do not use this to compare overtime and hire cost at an entered demand level, including capacity and exact overtime-cost contribution; use Overtime vs Hire Comparison for that decision. Use this tool to plan US loaded employee cost, productive capacity, staffing budget and a hire-or-overtime threshold.

Profit & break-even

US Total Employee Cost: loaded annual and productive-hour cost

Loaded annual and productive-hour cost, workforce capacity and budget, demand gap and hire-or-overtime threshold.

United States employee-cost and capacity inputs

Confirm the supported policy fixture, then enter your own omitted on-costs, productive-time assumptions, workforce mix and demand.

Your numbers stay in this browser

US$

Salary or wages on the supported annual basis.

US$

Enter every applicable cost outside the source-versioned statutory row.

Your confirmed paid ordinary-hours assumption.

Whole employees in this scenario.

Annual delivery demand for the scenario.

Policy scope, contractor comparison and overtime-versus-hire assumptionsOpen the assumptions you are less likely to change on every comparison.
US$

Enter wages subject to employer Social Security and Medicare.

US$

Bonuses and other cash pay outside base salary. Include every amount used in the statutory contribution basis.

Paid weeks on the annual comparison basis.

Paid leave excluded from productive delivery capacity.

Administration, training and other paid non-delivery time.

US$

Quoted commercial rate before consumption tax.

Annual hours bought for the comparison scenario.

US$

Procurement, equipment, insurance and other costs paid by the business.

Whole contractors in this scenario.

Annual productive capacity per contractor.

Multiplier applied to the employee productive-hour cost.

US$

Recruitment, setup and other one-off costs applied to every whole hire required.

FUTA, state unemployment, workers compensation, exemptions and state benefits are user-entered or unsupported.

Confirm the employee fits the supported ordinary employee subject to federal fica in 2026 fixture; this tool does not classify worker status.

FUTA, state unemployment, workers compensation, exemptions and state benefits are user-entered or unsupported.

Commercial planning only; no classification or compliance determination.

The automatic row covers federal employer FICA only. State unemployment, workers compensation and state or local benefits must be entered in other on-costs.

Bounded policy fixture

Ordinary employee subject to federal FICA in 2026

Preparing export actionsโ€ฆ
Total workforce cost
$367,300.00
Total productive hours
4,732 hours
Workforce cost per productive hour
$77.62
Capacity gap
268 hours
Overtime cost for gap
$28,871.13
Whole hires required for gap
1
Whole-hire cash cost for gap
$127,650.00
Employee annual cost
$119,650.00
Employer Social Security and Medicare
$7,650.00
Employee cost per productive hour
$71.82
Contractor annual cost
$128,000.00
Overtime-to-hire crossover
1,185 hours

Lower entered gap option: overtime. FUTA, state unemployment, workers compensation, exemptions and state benefits are user-entered or unsupported.

Demand sensitivity โ€” overtime cost

Demand sensitivity โ€” compare overtime cost for the entered productive-hours requirement and 10% more demand. Capacity gap and hire cost remain visible in the result cards.

ScenarioResultDifference
Entered workforce plan$28,871.13Baseline
Required productive hours +10%$82,735.17$53,864.05

Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.

The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.

Workforce-mix comparison โ€” total workforce cost

Compare total workforce cost for the entered headcount and one additional employee. Productive hours and cost per productive hour remain visible in the result cards.

ScenarioResultDifference
Entered workforce plan$367,300.00Baseline
Add one employee$486,950.00$119,650.00

Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.

The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.

Calculation details

View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.

Total workforce cost

Total workforce costemployee headcount ร— loaded employee cost + contractor headcount ร— loaded contractor cost367,300 USD
Result$367,300.00

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Total workforce costAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Total workforce costAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Total workforce costAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Total workforce costAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Total workforce costOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Total workforce costPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Total workforce costLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Total workforce costNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Total workforce costContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Total workforce costContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Total workforce costAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Total workforce costEmployee Headcount
2
Total workforce costContractor Headcount
1
Total workforce costContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Total workforce costRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Total workforce costOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Total workforce costHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Total workforce costWorker Age Class Code
1
Total workforce costEmployment Status Code
1
Total workforce costIndustrial Scope Code
1
Total workforce costComparison Scope Code
1
Total workforce costState Cost Boundary Code
1

Total productive hours

Total productive hoursderived from the exact loaded-labour, capacity and overtime-versus-hire engine4,732 hours
Result4,732 hours

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Total productive hoursAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Total productive hoursAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Total productive hoursAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Total productive hoursAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Total productive hoursOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Total productive hoursPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Total productive hoursLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Total productive hoursNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Total productive hoursContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Total productive hoursContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Total productive hoursAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Total productive hoursEmployee Headcount
2
Total productive hoursContractor Headcount
1
Total productive hoursContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Total productive hoursRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Total productive hoursOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Total productive hoursHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Total productive hoursWorker Age Class Code
1
Total productive hoursEmployment Status Code
1
Total productive hoursIndustrial Scope Code
1
Total productive hoursComparison Scope Code
1
Total productive hoursState Cost Boundary Code
1

Workforce cost per productive hour

Workforce cost per productive hourderived from the exact loaded-labour, capacity and overtime-versus-hire engine77.62 USD
Result$77.62

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Workforce cost per productive hourAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Workforce cost per productive hourAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Workforce cost per productive hourAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Workforce cost per productive hourAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Workforce cost per productive hourOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Workforce cost per productive hourPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Workforce cost per productive hourLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Workforce cost per productive hourNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Workforce cost per productive hourContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Workforce cost per productive hourContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Workforce cost per productive hourAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Workforce cost per productive hourEmployee Headcount
2
Workforce cost per productive hourContractor Headcount
1
Workforce cost per productive hourContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Workforce cost per productive hourRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Workforce cost per productive hourOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Workforce cost per productive hourHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Workforce cost per productive hourWorker Age Class Code
1
Workforce cost per productive hourEmployment Status Code
1
Workforce cost per productive hourIndustrial Scope Code
1
Workforce cost per productive hourComparison Scope Code
1
Workforce cost per productive hourState Cost Boundary Code
1

Capacity gap

Capacity gapmax(0, required productive hours โˆ’ available productive hours)268 hours
Result268 hours

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Capacity gapAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Capacity gapAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Capacity gapAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Capacity gapAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Capacity gapOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Capacity gapPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Capacity gapLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Capacity gapNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Capacity gapContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Capacity gapContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Capacity gapAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Capacity gapEmployee Headcount
2
Capacity gapContractor Headcount
1
Capacity gapContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Capacity gapRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Capacity gapOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Capacity gapHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Capacity gapWorker Age Class Code
1
Capacity gapEmployment Status Code
1
Capacity gapIndustrial Scope Code
1
Capacity gapComparison Scope Code
1
Capacity gapState Cost Boundary Code
1

Overtime cost for gap

Overtime cost for gapderived from the exact loaded-labour, capacity and overtime-versus-hire engine28,871.13 USD
Result$28,871.13

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Overtime cost for gapAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Overtime cost for gapAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Overtime cost for gapAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Overtime cost for gapAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Overtime cost for gapOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Overtime cost for gapPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Overtime cost for gapLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Overtime cost for gapNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Overtime cost for gapContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Overtime cost for gapContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Overtime cost for gapAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Overtime cost for gapEmployee Headcount
2
Overtime cost for gapContractor Headcount
1
Overtime cost for gapContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Overtime cost for gapRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Overtime cost for gapOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Overtime cost for gapHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Overtime cost for gapWorker Age Class Code
1
Overtime cost for gapEmployment Status Code
1
Overtime cost for gapIndustrial Scope Code
1
Overtime cost for gapComparison Scope Code
1
Overtime cost for gapState Cost Boundary Code
1

Whole hires required for gap

Whole hires required for gapceil(capacity gap รท one employee productive hours)1 people
Result1

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Whole hires required for gapAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Whole hires required for gapAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Whole hires required for gapAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Whole hires required for gapAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Whole hires required for gapOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Whole hires required for gapPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Whole hires required for gapLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Whole hires required for gapNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Whole hires required for gapContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Whole hires required for gapContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Whole hires required for gapAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Whole hires required for gapEmployee Headcount
2
Whole hires required for gapContractor Headcount
1
Whole hires required for gapContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Whole hires required for gapRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Whole hires required for gapOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Whole hires required for gapHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Whole hires required for gapWorker Age Class Code
1
Whole hires required for gapEmployment Status Code
1
Whole hires required for gapIndustrial Scope Code
1
Whole hires required for gapComparison Scope Code
1
Whole hires required for gapState Cost Boundary Code
1

Whole-hire cash cost for gap

Whole-hire cash cost for gapwhole hires required ร— (fixed cost per hire + loaded annual employee cost)127,650 USD
Result$127,650.00

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Whole-hire cash cost for gapAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Whole-hire cash cost for gapAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Whole-hire cash cost for gapAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Whole-hire cash cost for gapAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Whole-hire cash cost for gapOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Whole-hire cash cost for gapPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Whole-hire cash cost for gapLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Whole-hire cash cost for gapNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Whole-hire cash cost for gapContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Whole-hire cash cost for gapContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Whole-hire cash cost for gapAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Whole-hire cash cost for gapEmployee Headcount
2
Whole-hire cash cost for gapContractor Headcount
1
Whole-hire cash cost for gapContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Whole-hire cash cost for gapRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Whole-hire cash cost for gapOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Whole-hire cash cost for gapHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Whole-hire cash cost for gapWorker Age Class Code
1
Whole-hire cash cost for gapEmployment Status Code
1
Whole-hire cash cost for gapIndustrial Scope Code
1
Whole-hire cash cost for gapComparison Scope Code
1
Whole-hire cash cost for gapState Cost Boundary Code
1

Employee annual cost

Employee annual costderived from the exact loaded-labour, capacity and overtime-versus-hire engine119,650 USD
Result$119,650.00

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Employee annual costAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Employee annual costAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Employee annual costAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Employee annual costAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Employee annual costOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Employee annual costPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Employee annual costLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Employee annual costNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Employee annual costContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Employee annual costContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Employee annual costAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Employee annual costEmployee Headcount
2
Employee annual costContractor Headcount
1
Employee annual costContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Employee annual costRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Employee annual costOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Employee annual costHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Employee annual costWorker Age Class Code
1
Employee annual costEmployment Status Code
1
Employee annual costIndustrial Scope Code
1
Employee annual costComparison Scope Code
1
Employee annual costState Cost Boundary Code
1

Employer Social Security and Medicare

Employer Social Security and Medicaresum(max(0, min(Q, component ceiling) โˆ’ component floor) ร— component rate)7,650 USD
Result$7,650.00

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Employer Social Security and MedicareAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Employer Social Security and MedicareAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Employer Social Security and MedicareAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Employer Social Security and MedicareAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Employer Social Security and MedicareOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Employer Social Security and MedicarePaid Weeks Per Year
52
Employer Social Security and MedicareLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Employer Social Security and MedicareNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Employer Social Security and MedicareContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Employer Social Security and MedicareContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Employer Social Security and MedicareAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Employer Social Security and MedicareEmployee Headcount
2
Employer Social Security and MedicareContractor Headcount
1
Employer Social Security and MedicareContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Employer Social Security and MedicareRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Employer Social Security and MedicareOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Employer Social Security and MedicareHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Employer Social Security and MedicareWorker Age Class Code
1
Employer Social Security and MedicareEmployment Status Code
1
Employer Social Security and MedicareIndustrial Scope Code
1
Employer Social Security and MedicareComparison Scope Code
1
Employer Social Security and MedicareState Cost Boundary Code
1

Employee cost per productive hour

Employee cost per productive hourderived from the exact loaded-labour, capacity and overtime-versus-hire engine71.82 USD
Result$71.82

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Employee cost per productive hourAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Employee cost per productive hourAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Employee cost per productive hourAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Employee cost per productive hourAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Employee cost per productive hourOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Employee cost per productive hourPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Employee cost per productive hourLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Employee cost per productive hourNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Employee cost per productive hourContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Employee cost per productive hourContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Employee cost per productive hourAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Employee cost per productive hourEmployee Headcount
2
Employee cost per productive hourContractor Headcount
1
Employee cost per productive hourContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Employee cost per productive hourRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Employee cost per productive hourOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Employee cost per productive hourHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Employee cost per productive hourWorker Age Class Code
1
Employee cost per productive hourEmployment Status Code
1
Employee cost per productive hourIndustrial Scope Code
1
Employee cost per productive hourComparison Scope Code
1
Employee cost per productive hourState Cost Boundary Code
1

Contractor annual cost

Contractor annual costderived from the exact loaded-labour, capacity and overtime-versus-hire engine128,000 USD
Result$128,000.00

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Contractor annual costAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Contractor annual costAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Contractor annual costAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Contractor annual costAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Contractor annual costOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Contractor annual costPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Contractor annual costLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Contractor annual costNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Contractor annual costContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Contractor annual costContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Contractor annual costAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Contractor annual costEmployee Headcount
2
Contractor annual costContractor Headcount
1
Contractor annual costContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Contractor annual costRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Contractor annual costOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Contractor annual costHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Contractor annual costWorker Age Class Code
1
Contractor annual costEmployment Status Code
1
Contractor annual costIndustrial Scope Code
1
Contractor annual costComparison Scope Code
1
Contractor annual costState Cost Boundary Code
1

Overtime-to-hire crossover

Overtime-to-hire crossoverceil((fixed cost per hire + loaded annual employee cost) รท overtime hourly cost), only when reachable within one employee productive capacity1,185 hours
Result1,185 hours

Employer Social Security and Medicare uses irs-employer-fica-2026-us@2026-07-16; every omitted on-cost remains user-entered. The engine retains raw precision; display rounding never feeds another calculation.

US Total Employee Cost Planner formulas โ†’
Inputs used by these formula steps
Overtime-to-hire crossoverAnnual Base Salary
100,000
Overtime-to-hire crossoverAnnual Contribution Earnings
100,000
Overtime-to-hire crossoverAnnual Other Cash Remuneration
0
Overtime-to-hire crossoverAnnual Employee On Costs
12,000
Overtime-to-hire crossoverOrdinary Weekly Hours
40
Overtime-to-hire crossoverPaid Weeks Per Year
52
Overtime-to-hire crossoverLeave Weeks Per Year
3
Overtime-to-hire crossoverNon Productive Hours Per Working Week
6
Overtime-to-hire crossoverContractor Hourly Rate Ex Tax
90
Overtime-to-hire crossoverContractor Hours Per Year
1,400
Overtime-to-hire crossoverAnnual Contractor Additional Costs
2,000
Overtime-to-hire crossoverEmployee Headcount
2
Overtime-to-hire crossoverContractor Headcount
1
Overtime-to-hire crossoverContractor Productive Hours Per Person
1,400
Overtime-to-hire crossoverRequired Productive Hours
5,000
Overtime-to-hire crossoverOvertime Multiplier
1.5
Overtime-to-hire crossoverHire Fixed Cost
8,000
Overtime-to-hire crossoverWorker Age Class Code
1
Overtime-to-hire crossoverEmployment Status Code
1
Overtime-to-hire crossoverIndustrial Scope Code
1
Overtime-to-hire crossoverComparison Scope Code
1
Overtime-to-hire crossoverState Cost Boundary Code
1

Inputs used

Annual base salary
100,000
Annual earnings on the statutory contribution basis
100,000
Other annual cash remuneration
0
Other annual employee on-costs
12,000
Ordinary hours per week
40
Paid weeks per year
52
Leave weeks per year
3
Non-productive hours per working week
6
Contractor hourly rate excluding tax
90
Contractor hours per year
1,400
Other annual contractor costs
2,000
Employee headcount
2
Contractor headcount
1
Productive hours per contractor
1,400
Required productive hours
5,000
Overtime cost multiplier
1.5
Fixed cost per additional hire
8,000
Worker age/status fixture
1
Employment status fixture
1
Jurisdiction and industry scope
1
Decision boundary
1
State and local employer-cost boundary
1
Open this calculator with preset values

This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.

Scenario links contain only allowlisted numeric and closed-choice inputs shown in the URL; Margin101 excludes free text and identifying fields. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.

Example: https://margin101.com/en-us/tools/us-total-employee-cost/?sv=2&annualBaseSalary=100000&annualContractorAdditionalCosts=2000&annualContributionEarnings=100000&annualEmployeeOnCosts=12000&annualOtherCashRemuneration=0&comparisonScopeCode=1&contractorHeadcount=1&contractorHourlyRateExTax=90&contractorHoursPerYear=1400&contractorProductiveHoursPerPerson=1400&employeeHeadcount=2&employmentStatusCode=1&hireFixedCost=8000&industrialScopeCode=1&leaveWeeksPerYear=3&nonProductiveHoursPerWorkingWeek=6&ordinaryWeeklyHours=40&overtimeMultiplier=1.5&paidWeeksPerYear=52&requiredProductiveHours=5000&stateCostBoundaryCode=1&workerAgeClassCode=1

ParameterMeaningUnitAllowed valuesPresenceDefault
annualBaseSalarySalary or wages on the supported annual basis.USD/employee/year0 to 20000000Required100000
annualContractorAdditionalCostsProcurement, equipment, insurance and other costs paid by the business.USD/contractor/year0 to 20000000Required2000
annualContributionEarningsEnter wages subject to employer Social Security and Medicare.USD/employee/year0 to 20000000Required100000
annualEmployeeOnCostsEnter every applicable cost outside the source-versioned statutory row.USD/employee/year0 to 20000000Required12000
annualOtherCashRemunerationBonuses and other cash pay outside base salary. Include every amount used in the statutory contribution basis.USD/employee/year0 to 20000000Required0
comparisonScopeCodeCommercial planning only; no classification or compliance determination.โ€”1 (Commercial cost and capacity planning only), 0 (I need a legal or worker-status determination โ€” unsupported)RequiredCommercial cost and capacity planning only
contractorHeadcountWhole contractors in this scenario.whole contractors/selected workforce scenario0 to 10000Required1
contractorHourlyRateExTaxQuoted commercial rate before consumption tax.USD/contractor hour, ex consumption tax0 to 100000Required90
contractorHoursPerYearAnnual hours bought for the comparison scenario.purchased hours/contractor/year1 to 10000Required1400
contractorProductiveHoursPerPersonAnnual productive capacity per contractor.productive hours/contractor/year0 to 10000Required1400
employeeHeadcountWhole employees in this scenario.whole employees/selected workforce scenario0 to 10000Required2
employmentStatusCodeConfirm the employee fits the supported ordinary employee subject to federal fica in 2026 fixture; this tool does not classify worker status.โ€”1 (Confirmed supported employee status), 0 (Another or uncertain status โ€” unsupported)RequiredConfirmed supported employee status
hireFixedCostRecruitment, setup and other one-off costs applied to every whole hire required.USD/additional hire0 to 20000000Required8000
industrialScopeCodeFUTA, state unemployment, workers compensation, exemptions and state benefits are user-entered or unsupported.โ€”1 (Confirmed supported policy scope), 0 (Another or uncertain scope โ€” unsupported)RequiredConfirmed supported policy scope
leaveWeeksPerYearPaid leave excluded from productive delivery capacity.paid leave weeks/employee/year0 to 52Required3
nonProductiveHoursPerWorkingWeekAdministration, training and other paid non-delivery time.non-productive paid hours/employee/working week0 to 79Required6
ordinaryWeeklyHoursYour confirmed paid ordinary-hours assumption.paid ordinary hours/employee/week1 to 80Required40
overtimeMultiplierMultiplier applied to the employee productive-hour cost.decimal cost multiplier on employee cost/productive hour1 to 10Required1.5
paidWeeksPerYearPaid weeks on the annual comparison basis.paid weeks/employee/year1 to 53Required52
requiredProductiveHoursAnnual delivery demand for the scenario.required productive hours/year0 to 100000000Required5000
stateCostBoundaryCodeThe automatic row covers federal employer FICA only. State unemployment, workers compensation and state or local benefits must be entered in other on-costs.โ€”1 (Federal FICA only; applicable state/local costs entered separately), 0 (State/local costs not confirmed โ€” unsupported)RequiredFederal FICA only; applicable state/local costs entered separately
workerAgeClassCodeFUTA, state unemployment, workers compensation, exemptions and state benefits are user-entered or unsupported.โ€”1 (Ordinary employee subject to federal FICA in 2026), 0 (Another or uncertain age/status โ€” unsupported)RequiredOrdinary employee subject to federal FICA in 2026

US Total Employee Cost: loaded annual and productive-hour cost

Use the US result as a bounded commercial workforce plan, not a worker-classification, payroll or employment-law determination.

Formula summary

Primary formula
Cw = Nโ‚‘ ร— E + Nc ร— Cc

Read the full methodology

Data used here

  • US 2026 employer FICA components: Internal Revenue Service; verified; checked 2026-07-28.

Decision checks

Act on the result

Reconcile the statutory fixture and every user-entered on-cost with payroll or an adviser before approving headcount or overtime.

Stress-test the decision

Retest demand, productive hours, headcount mix and overtime cost separately, including an adverse capacity case.

Assumptions and sources

US 2026 employer FICA components
IRS Publication 15 (2026) Checked 2026-07-28.
Primary source โ†’

When this estimate can be misleading

  • FUTA, state unemployment, workers compensation, exemptions and state benefits are user-entered or unsupported.
  • The supported official contribution row is not a complete payroll calculation. Enter every omitted employer cost separately.
  • Productive hours, contractor costs, demand, overtime and hiring costs are user-owned planning assumptions.
  • The tool does not classify a worker, determine employment obligations or replace payroll, tax, employment or legal advice.
  • Unsupported age, status, jurisdiction, industry or earnings scope stops instead of applying a guessed rate.
  • Use the US result as a bounded commercial workforce plan, not a worker-classification, payroll or employment-law determination.

Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations โ†’

Guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.

Frequently asked questions

How do I plan US loaded employee cost, productive capacity, staffing budget and a hire-or-overtime threshold?

Reconcile the statutory fixture and every user-entered on-cost with payroll or an adviser before approving headcount or overtime.

Is this a complete payroll calculation?

No. Only the displayed source-versioned employer contribution components are automatic. Add every other applicable on-cost using your own records.

Does the result decide employee or contractor status?

No. It compares entered commercial cost and capacity only and refuses classification requests.

What happens outside the supported policy fixture?

The calculation fails closed. Select a supported fixture or use the relevant authority and a qualified adviser.

Does Margin101 store employee or payroll data?

Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.

Which planning assumptions should I stress-test?

Compare a plausible alternative scenario and verify the decision-critical assumption that changes the plan most.

How should I treat tax in this calculation?

Use the tax basis and rate shown by the tool, confirm that they fit the transaction and jurisdiction, and keep every input on one consistent basis.