Employer cost calculator — California
The true cost of an employee in California: wages, employer FICA, FUTA, California SUTA, workers' compensation and benefits, for one year.
Result — California — $75,000.00/employee — 1 employee — workers' comp: Clerical / office
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
Gross wagesWhy this line?The gross wages the employer pays — the base on which every employer tax and cost in this result is computed. Why this rate: Not a tax — it is the agreed pay, before the employer's own costs are added. What changes it: Headcount and pay levels: every cost line except health insurance scales from this amount. Source: IRS — Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IR-2025-103, 2025-10-09) — verified 2026-10-22. | $75,000.00 |
Employer Social Security (FICA)Why this line?The employer's Social Security contribution: 6.2% of each employee's wages up to the $184,500 wage base (2026). It mirrors the employee's 6.2% — the employer pays it on top of the salary, it is not taken out of the employee's pay. Why this rate: IRC §3111 sets the employer rate equal to the employee rate: 6.2% each. What changes it: It stops for an employee once that employee's wages pass $184,500 for the year; the SSA re-sets the base annually. Source: SSA 2026 wage base + IRC §3101/3111 rates; cross-checked in J1 correction (IRS/SSA) — verified 2026-10-22. | $4,650.00 |
Employer Medicare (FICA)Why this line?The employer's Medicare contribution: 1.45% of all wages, no cap — the mirror image of the employee's Medicare line. There is NO employer match for the Additional Medicare Tax. Why this rate: IRC §3111: the employer pays the same 1.45% as the employee. What changes it: It scales with total payroll; nothing caps or stops it. Source: IRC §3101/3111 — no wage cap — verified 2026-10-22. | $1,087.50 |
FUTA (federal unemployment)Why this line?FUTA — the federal unemployment tax, paid ONLY by the employer: 0.6% net on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages (a maximum of $42 per employee per year at the standard rate). It funds the federal side of unemployment insurance. Why this rate: The statutory rate is 6.0%, but employers normally earn a 5.4% credit for paying state unemployment tax on time, leaving 0.6% (IRC §§3301-3302). What changes it: It is exhausted very early in the year (after $7,000 of wages). It rises above 0.6% only in states that lose part of their credit ('credit reduction' states — the final list is published each November). Source: IRC §3301/3302 — FUTA 6.0% on first $7,000, standard state credit 5.4% — verified 2026-10-22. | $42.00 |
SUTA (California unemployment, new-employer rate)Why this line?SUTA — the state unemployment tax, paid only by the employer, on the first slice of each employee's wages (the state's 'wage base': as low as $7,000, as high as $78,200 in Washington). This calculator uses the NEW-EMPLOYER rate. In states that publish industry-average rates only (LA, MN, MT, NM, UT, WA, WY), the line shows $0.00 with a warning instead of an invented rate. Why this rate: Each state sets its own wage base and new-employer rate in its unemployment law; the figures here come from the US Department of Labor's 'Significant Provisions of State UI Laws' (July 2026). What changes it: After a year or two the employer's own 'experience rate' replaces the new-employer rate — layoffs raise it, a stable workforce lowers it. The wage base and rate schedule are re-set by each state, some annually. Source: DOL/ETA — Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, Effective July 2026 — verified 2026-10-22. | $238.00 |
Workers compensation (ESTIMATION)Why this line?Workers compensation insurance — the policy that pays medical costs and lost wages after a workplace injury. Shown as an ESTIMATION: the calculator uses the middle of a published range for the broad risk class (office work is near $0.30 per $100 of payroll; construction several dollars). The low-high range is shown with the result. Why this rate: Rates are set per class code by state rating bureaus / NCCI, not by a single statute — which is why this line is an estimate with a range, never a point 'tax'. What changes it: The exact class code of the job (roofing ≠ carpentry), the state, and the employer's experience modification rate (claims history). Only an insurer's quote is exact — class rates are licensed (NCCI) and employer-specific. | $225.00 |
Benefits — health insurance (assumption)Why this line?What the employer pays toward your health insurance premiums. Shown as an ASSUMPTION, not a tax: the pre-filled default is $650 per employee per month, and it is meant to be replaced with the employer's real plan cost. Why this rate: There is no statutory rate. Most mid-size employers cover 70-85% of the employee premium; the default is an order-of-magnitude planning figure (BLS ECEC), never a quote. What changes it: The plan chosen, the employer's contribution policy, and how many employees are covered. It is a user input — change it and this line (and the total cost) change. | $7,800.00 |
Benefits — retirement match (assumption)Why this line?The employer's retirement-plan contribution (e.g. a 401(k) match), shown as an adjustable ASSUMPTION — pre-filled at 3% of wages, a common match formula. Why this rate: No statutory rate for a typical 401(k): the employer chooses the match. 3% of pay is a common design (e.g. 50% of the first 6% deferred). What changes it: The plan's match formula and employee participation. It is a user input, not a legal requirement (except for some plan types such as SIMPLE/SEP with their own rules, not modeled). | $2,250.00 |
Benefits — other (assumption)Why this line?Any other employer-paid benefits the user wants to count (life/disability insurance, HSA contributions, stipends), entered as a percentage of wages. Default is 0%. Why this rate: No statutory rate exists; this line exists so the total employer cost reflects the employer's actual benefits package. What changes it: Entirely a user assumption — entering a real policy cost changes the line directly. | $0.00 |
Total employer costWhy this line?The employer's true total cost of employing: gross wages + employer payroll taxes + workers compensation (estimate) + benefits (assumptions). The gap between this number and the salary is the 'burden'. Why this rate: Not a tax — the sum of the cost lines, shown so a hiring decision compares total cost, not just salary. What changes it: Every component above it — most of all wages themselves, then benefits assumptions, then the state (SUTA base/rates) and risk class (workers comp). Source: IRS — Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IR-2025-103, 2025-10-09) — verified 2026-10-22. | $91,292.50 |
Compare scenarios
With the default benefits package
$91,292.50
Health $650/employee/month + 3% retirement match — labelled assumptions, not tax parameters.
Wages + employer taxes + workers' comp only
$81,242.50
Sum of the engine's wage, tax and workers' comp lines, benefits removed.
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Methodology, limits and sources
Rates verified on 2026-10-24 (primary sources listed per line).
Workers' compensation is an ESTIMATE range (NCCI-type class rates per $100 of payroll), never a quote. SUTA uses each state's new-employer rate or published class schedule; where a state assigns rates strictly by industry with no published schedule, the engine says so instead of inventing a rate.
Employer taxes in California — the 2026 parameters
| SUTA wage base (per employee) | $7,000.00 |
|---|---|
| SUTA new-employer rate | new employers pay 3.4% on the first $7,000.00 of each employee's wages |
| SUTA experience-rate range (for context) | 1.5% – 6.2% — established employers are rated inside this range; the engine uses the new-employer rate only |
| FUTA (federal unemployment) | 0.6% net (6.0% gross minus the 5.4% standard credit) on the first $7,000 per employee |
| Workers' compensation | Estimated by risk class (ranges per $100 of payroll on the result lines) — an estimate, never a quote |
| Benefits in the default view | Health $650/employee/month and a 3% retirement match — labelled assumptions from the parameter file, not taxes |
Worked example — one employee at $75,000, clerical class
The engine puts the total employer cost at $91,292.50 for the year, of which the California SUTA line is $238.00. Switch the workers' compensation class to construction or the headcount to 10 in the form and the total is recomputed by the same engine.
Data status and sources
SUTA parameters: DOL/ETA — Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, Effective July 2026 (DOL/ETA Significant Provisions, July 2026), checked 2026-10-22. FUTA status for California: potential_credit_reduction — the final 2026 credit-reduction list is published in November 2026 and the data pack is patched then. Method: how the employer-cost engine computes.
Employer cost for the other wave-1 states
- Texas employer cost calculator
- New York employer cost calculator
- Florida employer cost calculator
- Washington employer cost calculator
- Illinois employer cost calculator
- Pennsylvania employer cost calculator
- Ohio employer cost calculator
- Georgia employer cost calculator
- North Carolina employer cost calculator
Frequently asked questions
What is the SUTA rate and wage base in California for 2026?
New employers pay 3.4% on the first $7,000.00 of each employee's wages. Experienced employers are rated between 1.5% and 6.2%.
How much does a $75,000 employee really cost in California?
With the default benefits package and the clerical workers' compensation class, the engine computes a total employer cost of $91,292.50 for the year. The calculator above breaks it into wages, employer FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers' compensation and benefits.
What FUTA rate applies in California?
The standard net FUTA rate of 0.6% (6.0% minus the 5.4% credit for state unemployment taxes) on the first $7,000 of wages per employee. The final 2026 credit-reduction list is published in November 2026.