Payroll Tax Calculator
Calculate employer and employee payroll taxes — FICA, FUTA and state unemployment — per paycheck.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What payroll taxes does an employer pay?
Employers pay the employer share of FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare = 7.65%), FUTA (0.6% on first $7,000 after state credit), and SUTA (varies by state, typically 1-5% on the first $7,000-$50,000 of wages). The true cost of an employee is about 7-10% above their gross wages.
What is the difference between FICA and income tax withholding?
FICA (Social Security + Medicare) is split equally between employer and employee — each pays 7.65%. Income tax withholding is the employee's estimated federal and state income tax held by the employer and remitted to the IRS. Employers do not pay income tax on behalf of employees — they only withhold and forward it.
When must payroll taxes be deposited?
Deposit schedule depends on your lookback period tax liability. Monthly depositors must deposit by the 15th of the following month. Semi-weekly depositors deposit within 2-3 business days after payday. Very small employers (under $2,500/quarter) can pay with their quarterly Form 941. Penalties for late deposits are 2-15%.
Payroll taxes on a $60,000 salary, both sides
Payroll tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax (FICA) that the employee pays through withholding and the employer matches, plus federal and state unemployment tax that only the employer pays. The table shows the 2026 figures on a $60,000 salary.
| Tax | Rate | Employee pays | Employer pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% each, on wages up to $184,500 | $3,720 | $3,720 |
| Medicare | 1.45% each, no cap | $870 | $870 |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% on wages over $200,000 (single) | $0 | $0 |
| Federal unemployment (FUTA) | 0.6% on the first $7,000 after state credit | $42 | |
| State unemployment (SUTA) | 0.5% to 10% on the first $7,000 to $60,000+, by state and employer history | About $270 (3% on $9,000) | |
| Total | $4,590 (7.65%) | About $4,902 (8.2%) |
Federal and state income tax withholding is separate and is covered by the paycheck calculator on this site.
Worked example: the real cost of an employee
A $60,000 salary costs the employer about $64,900 in wages and payroll taxes before benefits. Add health insurance ($7,000 to $12,000 a year for the employer share), a 401(k) match (3% is $1,800), workers' compensation (0.5% to 5% of payroll by industry) and paid leave, and the fully loaded cost is typically 1.25 to 1.4 times salary, $75,000 to $84,000 here. The employee cost calculator on this site builds this up line by line.
High earners
Social Security stops at $184,500 of wages in 2026: a $250,000 earner pays $11,439, the same as someone at $184,500. Medicare continues at 1.45% and adds 0.9% on wages above $200,000 ($250,000 married filing jointly), which the employer withholds without a match: on $250,000 that is $3,625 of regular Medicare plus $450 additional. Total employee FICA at $250,000 is $15,514, or 6.2% of pay, lower than the 7.65% a median earner pays.
Self-employed
A self-employed person pays both halves, 15.3%, as self-employment tax on 92.35% of net earnings, and deducts half of it for income tax. On $60,000 of net profit that is $8,478, against the $4,590 an employee pays on the same wage. The self-employment tax calculator on this site shows the full computation, including the Social Security cap.
Deposit and filing rules
Employers deposit withheld income tax and both halves of FICA monthly or semi-weekly depending on the size of the liability, file Form 941 quarterly, Form 940 for FUTA annually, and state unemployment returns quarterly. Late deposits carry penalties of 2% to 15%, and the trust fund recovery penalty makes owners and officers personally liable for withheld taxes that are not paid over. Payroll services handle this for $40 to $150 a month plus a per-employee fee, which for most small employers costs less than one penalty.