Louisiana · 2026 employer costs
How much does an employee cost in Louisiana?
Louisiana withholds state income tax from employee pay, but that's not an employer cost. What actually lands on the employer side is federal Social Security and Medicare plus Louisiana's own unemployment insurance rate and wage base. Below is a 2026 estimate for a $60,000 hire, and the full calculator to run your own numbers.
A $60,000 Louisiana employee costs about
$64,632 + SUI
in mandatory employer costs alone — before any optional benefits. Excludes state unemployment tax, which depends on the rate on your state rate notice.
- New-employer SUI: set from your industry's average rate, up to 6.2%, on the first $7,000 of wages — there's no single new-employer rate.
- Standard FUTA rate applies: 0.6% — this state is not projected to face a federal credit reduction for 2026.
- State income tax is withheld from the employee's wages, not paid directly by the employer.
- These rate rules were checked against the LA Workforce Commission (LWC); R.S. 23:1535, current as of 2026-09-23.
Louisiana assigns new employers the weighted average rate of their two-digit NAICS industry for their first 24 months (the maximum rate if their reserve goes negative). There's no single new-employer rate — enter the rate on your LWC rate notice.
What you’d pay this person — before taxes or benefits.
Used only for employer-size rules. The estimate below is for one new hire.
Set by your industry average. Required — check your rate notice (up to 6.2%). SUI isn't included until you enter it.
Health insurance, 401(k) match, bonus, and more. Off by default.
2026 calculation assumptions▾
Source: SSA / IRS
Source: IRS
Source: IRS / U.S. Dept. of Labor
Louisiana assigns new employers the weighted average rate of their two-digit NAICS industry for their first 24 months (the maximum rate if their reserve goes negative). There's no single new-employer rate — enter the rate on your LWC rate notice.
This estimate assumes your business is a new employer (not yet experience-rated) for unemployment insurance purposes. An established business’s actual SUI rate may be higher or lower depending on its claims history. “Current employees” is used only to check headcount-based thresholds (paid sick leave tiers, the ACA’s 50-employee mark) — it doesn’t change the tax rates themselves.
*Not included — enter the SUI rate from your state rate notice
State unemployment tax not included — enter your rate above
Reverse the question
Not “what will it cost?” — what can I afford?
Enter what your business can put toward one new hire each month, all-in. We’ll work backward through LA payroll taxes to the highest salary it supports.
Estimated affordable salary
$77,991
per year
Louisiana hiring guide
What makes hiring in Louisiana different?
Louisiana law doesn't give new businesses a fixed unemployment rate. Under R.S. 23:1535, a new employer pays the weighted average rate of employers in the same two-digit NAICS industry. That lasts until its own account has 24 consecutive months of history as of the state's computation date. If a new employer's reserve goes negative in any year, it pays that year's maximum rate instead. Because the rate follows the industry, two businesses that open the same day in different industries can be assigned different rates.
Louisiana's taxable wage base is low and depends on the health of the state's trust fund. R.S. 23:1474 sets it at $8,500, $7,700, or $7,000 depending on the fund's balance. For 2026 the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) lists $7,000. Because the base is so small, each percentage point of UI tax costs $70 per employee per year.
Completing the Louisiana calculation
Earlier versions of this page used 2.7% for every new Louisiana employer. That figure isn't in the law, and the actual rate depends on your industry's average, so the calculator no longer guesses. Until you enter a rate, it leaves Louisiana UI tax out of the total. The receipt labels the total "True Annual Cost (excl. SUI)", and the estimate at the top of this page reads "+ SUI" for the same reason.
To finish the calculation, enter the contribution rate from your LWC rate notice in the SUI rate field. The total then includes it and the "excl. SUI" label goes away. With the $7,000 base, even a high rate adds a few hundred dollars per employee at most.
Official sources
- Louisiana Legislature — R.S. 23:1535 — Rate for new employers
- Louisiana Legislature — R.S. 23:1474 — Taxable wage base procedures
- Louisiana Workforce Commission — Louisiana unemployment insurance tax rates
- Louisiana Workforce Commission — 2026 Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rate Table (PDF)
Last verified: September 23, 2026