What is a "fully-loaded" headcount cost?

It includes base salary plus every employer cost: payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA/SUTA), benefits (health insurance, dental, vision, 401k match), one-time onboarding items (recruiting, equipment, training), and recurring overhead (office space, software seats). The sum is typically 1.25×–1.4× base salary.

What is a typical benefits rate?

US employers typically spend 20–30% of base salary on benefits. A conservative figure is 20% for lean startups; 30–35% for mature companies with full benefit packages including 401k match and generous health coverage.

What employer payroll taxes should I include?

Federal taxes: Social Security (6.2% up to $168,600), Medicare (1.45%), FUTA (0.6% on first $7k). State unemployment (SUTA) varies 1–5%. A combined rate of 7–10% covers most US scenarios.

Should I amortize the one-time costs?

This calculator shows first-year total cost, which front-loads one-time items. For year-2+ modeling, re-run with onboarding costs set to zero to get the steady-state annual cost.

How do I estimate office overhead per person?

A common rule of thumb is $10,000–$15,000 per seat per year for US metro offices covering rent, utilities, and facilities. Remote-first companies often use $2,000–$5,000 to cover home-office stipends and virtual collaboration tools.

Headcount Cost Calculator

Name: Headcount Cost Calculator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter base salary, benefits rate, and overhead costs to get the fully-loaded annual cost of one hire.

Compensation

Annual Base Salary ($)

Benefits Rate (% of salary) health, dental, 401k, vision

Employer Payroll Tax Rate (%) SS, Medicare, FUTA/SUTA

One-Time Onboarding Costs

Recruiting / Agency Fee ($)

Equipment & Setup ($)

Training & Onboarding ($)

Annual Overhead

Office / Remote Space ($/yr)

Software Licenses ($/yr)

Other Overhead ($/yr)

Total First-Year Cost

0.0× base salary · $0/month

Cost Breakdown

Total First-Year Cost

100%

Proportional Breakdown

Year 2+ steady-state cost: $0/yr

One-time onboarding costs excluded after the first year.

Summary

Enter base salary, benefits rate, and overhead costs to get the fully-loaded annual cost of one hire.

How it works

Enter the employee's annual base salary.
Set the benefits rate (health, dental, vision, 401k) as a percentage of salary — typically 20–30%.
Enter payroll tax rate for employer-side taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA/SUTA) — typically 7–12%.
Add one-time onboarding costs: recruiting fees, equipment, and training.
Add recurring overhead: office space, software licenses, and any role-specific costs.
Review the full cost breakdown and total annual figure instantly.

Use cases

Budget headcount requests before presenting to finance.
Compare fully-loaded cost of a contractor vs. a full-time hire.
Model team expansion costs for a board deck.
Forecast annual payroll spend across multiple new roles.
Evaluate salary bands with true total-comp in mind.
Calculate ROI threshold for a revenue-generating hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-11 · Reviewed by Nham Vu