Texas · 2026 employer costs
How much does an employee cost in Texas?
Texas has no state income tax, and its new-employer unemployment rate is close to the national median — which makes the mandatory employer cost here mostly a function of federal payroll tax and the state's $9,000 SUI wage base.
A $60,000 Texas employee costs about
$64,875
in mandatory employer costs alone — before any optional benefits.
- New-employer SUI: 2.7% (or your NAICS industry average, if higher) on the first $9,000 of wages.
- Standard FUTA rate applies: 0.6% — Texas is not subject to a federal credit reduction for 2026.
- No state income tax, for either employer or employee.
Texas assigns some new employers a rate above 2.7% based on their industry's historical claims — construction and staffing firms in particular should confirm their assigned rate with the Texas Workforce Commission.
What you’d pay this person — before taxes or benefits.
Used only for employer-size rules. The estimate below is for one new hire.
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
New employers pay 2.7% (or their NAICS industry average, if higher) for roughly the first 2-3 years.
Source: Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)
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.
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 TX payroll taxes to the highest salary it supports.
Estimated affordable salary
$77,765
per year