Payroll Burden Calculator
An employee's true cost runs roughly 1.25-1.45× their base salary in the US, more if you include workspace and equipment. The exact figure matters for pricing services, modeling unit economics, and budgeting hires.
What "fully loaded" actually includes
Base salary is the smallest part of the cost of an employee. The full picture includes employer payroll taxes (in the US: 6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare + 1-3% state unemployment + minor federal unemployment), benefits (health insurance, retirement match, life and disability, parental leave), workspace and equipment, software seats, training and development, and a portion of HR, finance, and IT overhead.
Common multipliers
| Context | Loaded multiplier |
|---|---|
| US, salaried, basic benefits | 1.25-1.40× |
| US, salaried, generous benefits + RSU | 1.40-1.60× |
| US contractors / consultants billed externally | 2.0-3.0× |
| EU, comprehensive social charges | 1.40-1.80× |
| India / SE Asia, basic benefits | 1.15-1.30× |
Consultants and agencies typically bill at 2-3× their loaded cost to cover utilization gaps (billable hours are usually 60-75% of available hours), partner profit, and growth investment.
Worked example
A $130,000 base-salary engineer with a 10% target bonus, 22% benefits load, 9% payroll taxes, $6,000 in workspace and equipment, and $2,000 in training: salary $130K + bonus $13K + benefits $28.6K + payroll tax $11.7K + workspace $6K + training $2K = $191,300, or 1.47× the base salary. At 2,080 working hours per year, that's $91.97/hour — useful for evaluating whether to hire vs. contract.
What this doesn't account for
- Stock-based compensation. RSUs, options, and ESPP discounts are real cost; the accounting treatment varies but the cash impact is in dilution rather than in the burden multiplier.
- Recruiting and onboarding. One-time costs of hiring (sourcing fees, time to interview, ramp time at reduced productivity) often add 25-100% of base salary in the first year.
- Severance and risk. Reserves for severance, legal exposure, and turnover replacement costs aren't usually in the loaded multiplier but exist on the cap line.
- Allocation of shared overhead. A fully fair allocation includes a fraction of HR, finance, IT, and facilities — easy to forget in a fast-growing org.