Employee Cost Calculator

See what an employee costs, not just the salary. The workbook adds payroll taxes, benefits, workers’ comp, paid time off, and overhead, then gives you the fully loaded annual cost, the cost per month, and the real hourly rate.

One Excel workbook that turns pay into the real cost

A working model, not a blank sheet. You enter what you know, the workbook handles the federal payroll taxes and the math, and you read the fully loaded cost. It opens on a filled-in example so the calculation is clear before you change a number.

• Employee Cost Calculator. Enter base pay or an hourly wage and scheduled hours, plus bonus or commission, health and other benefit costs, a retirement match, workers’ comp, and your payroll and overhead. The workbook returns the fully loaded annual cost, the multiple of pay, the cost per month, and the effective hourly cost, with a breakdown of where the money goes. Paid time off and holidays spread the cost over fewer worked hours, which raises the real hourly figure.
• 2026 rates and an optional first-year view. Employer Social Security to the 2026 wage base, Medicare, and FUTA are applied for you; your state SUTA rate and wage base, workers’ comp class rate, and benefit costs are inputs you control. An optional section adds one-time recruiting, onboarding, and equipment so you can also see a first-year total, kept separate from the ongoing annual cost.

Three steps from a salary to the real cost

You set the inputs, the workbook does the math, and the number is ready to use in a budget, an offer, or a bill rate.

• Enter your numbers. Base pay or wage and hours, bonus or commission, your benefit costs and retirement match, workers’ comp, your payroll and overhead, and your state SUTA. The federal payroll taxes fill in on their own.
• Read the fully loaded cost. The annual total, the multiple of pay, the cost per month, and the effective hourly cost, with the breakdown showing how much sits in taxes, benefits, and overhead versus pay.
• Use the number. Budget a hire, set or sanity-check a bill rate, or test an offer. Duplicate the sheet to compare a second role, and add the optional one-time costs when you want a first-year view.

A cost number that holds up with finance

A cost estimate is only as good as the assumptions under it, so the workbook keeps every rate and multiplier on the surface and uses current federal figures.

• Assumptions on the surface. The tax rates, the wage bases, the benefit costs, and the overhead lines are visible, editable cells, not constants buried inside a formula.
• Current federal figures, your state inputs. Employer Social Security to the 2026 wage base, Medicare, and FUTA are built in. SUTA, workers’ comp, and benefit costs vary by state and employer, so they stay yours to set.
• A worked example to start from. The file opens on a realistic role, so you can see the math working end to end before you replace it with your own.

Who it is built for

Built for

• An owner or HR lead pricing a hire, who needs the real cost behind the salary before committing to it.
• A consultant or fractional HR lead building a budget or a bill rate a client can stand behind.
• Anyone setting a contractor or staffing bill rate who has to know the loaded cost underneath it.

If you are looking for

• What it costs when someone leaves, not what they cost to employ. The Cost of Turnover Calculator covers separation, replacement, and lost-productivity cost.
• How many people you need and what it takes to staff them. The FTE Headcount Planner sizes headcount against demand, and the Workforce Planning Pack adds shift coverage, overtime versus hiring, and labor burden.

Before you buy

What format is it and can I edit it?

It is one Excel workbook that also works in Google Sheets. Every input and formula is editable, and the file is yours to keep and reuse for as many roles as you like.

How is this different from the free calculator on your site?

The free web calculator gives a quick one-time estimate in the browser and resets when you leave. The paid workbook is the file you keep: set your own benefit, tax, and workers’ comp assumptions once and save them, reuse the sheet for every role, duplicate it to compare roles side by side, and drop the numbers straight into your own budget. The formulas are open, so you can see and adjust every line rather than trust a black box.

Are the numbers exact?

They are planning estimates. The federal payroll figures use 2026 rates, but state unemployment, workers’ comp, and benefit costs vary by employer, so set the inputs to match yours. The strength of the model is that every assumption is visible and editable.

Why does paid time off change the hourly cost?

Paid time off is paid but not worked, so the same annual cost spread over fewer worked hours raises the cost of each hour the person is on the job. The workbook handles that automatically once you enter the days off.

What is the refund policy?

Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms.

What happens after I buy?

Checkout delivers an instant download link, and a receipt with the same link arrives by email. Open the workbook in Excel or Google Sheets and start entering your numbers. If a file gives you trouble, email support@truestephr.com.

Planning estimates and general business information, not legal or tax advice. Federal figures use 2026 rates; state and benefit costs vary, so set them to your own and confirm specifics with a qualified professional. Last reviewed June 2026.