Fully Loaded Employee Cost Calculator
See the true cost of an employee beyond salary — payroll taxes, bonus, benefits and overhead — as an annual total, a load factor and a real hourly cost.
How it works
Cash comp = salary + bonus · Fully loaded cost = cash comp + payroll taxes + benefits + overhead · Load factor = total ÷ base salary · Hourly = total ÷ productive hours
An employee’s salary is only part of what they cost. On top of base pay you add bonuses, employer payroll taxes (FICA, unemployment and similar), benefits like health insurance and retirement matching, and overhead such as equipment, software and office space. The result is typically 1.25× to 1.4× the base salary — sometimes higher. Dividing by productive hours (not the full 2,080, since holidays, leave and non-billable time reduce it) reveals the real cost of each working hour.
Worked example
A $60,000 salary with a 5% bonus ($3,000), 10% employer payroll taxes on the $63,000 cash comp ($6,300), $12,000 of benefits and $8,000 of overhead totals $89,300 a year — about 1.49× the base salary, or roughly $49.61 per productive hour across 1,800 hours.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fully loaded employee cost?
It is the total annual cost of employing someone, not just their salary: base pay plus bonuses, employer payroll taxes, benefits, and allocated overhead like equipment, software and office space. It is what the employee truly costs the business.
What is a typical load factor?
Most employees cost about 1.25× to 1.4× their base salary once taxes, benefits and overhead are included. Roles needing expensive equipment, software or facilities can push the multiple higher.
Why divide by productive hours instead of 2,080?
A full year is 2,080 paid hours, but holidays, vacation, sick leave, training and administrative time mean far fewer are actually productive. Using productive hours (often 1,700–1,900) gives a truer cost per hour of real work.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.