About this tool
Labor Burden / True Employee Cost Calculator is a free, in-browser tool that reveals what a worker actually costs your business once payroll taxes, benefits, workers' compensation and overhead are stacked on top of the base wage. Enter an annual salary or an hourly rate (converted at 2,080 hours a year) and every figure recomputes locally as you type — nothing is uploaded.
The math is straightforward: total cost = wages + payroll taxes + benefits + workers' comp + other overhead, where any percentage input is applied to the base wage. The burden rate is (total cost − wages) ÷ wages × 100, the extra cost expressed as a percent of pay. The true hourly cost divides the total by productive hours — typically 2,080 minus paid time off and holidays (around 1,880) — because you only recover cost during hours actually worked.
Use it to price billable rates, quote jobs, or compare an employee against a contractor: a worker earning 60,000 often costs 80,000+ fully loaded. Adjust the productive-hours figure to reflect your real PTO and holiday policy for an accurate loaded rate.