Base salary
What you put on the offer letter — before taxes and benefits you fund.
Tool 09
Fully Loaded Employee Cost Calculator
Salary is not what you pay. Add employer burden, gear, and time off — get the fully loaded annual cost and the hourly rate your meeting clock should use.
Burden
Employer payroll taxes, benefits, insurance — often ~25–40% of salary, depending on country and package.
Extras
Laptop, software seats, desk, onboarding — fixed annual cost per head.
Productive $/hr
Loaded cost ÷ (hours after PTO × focus efficiency). Use this in the meeting cost clock.
Example
$80,000 salary, 30% burden, $3,000 extras, 40 hrs/week, 4 weeks PTO, 70% focus efficiency → loaded ≈ $107,000/year (~1.34×), productive ≈ $80/hr.
How do I calculate fully loaded employee cost?
Loaded cost ≈ salary × (1 + burden %) + extras. Productive hourly = loaded annual ÷ (work weeks × hours × focus efficiency). Example: $80k salary, 30% burden, $3k extras, 40 hrs/week, 4 weeks PTO, 70% focus → about $107k/year and ~$80/hr productive.
Is 30% employer burden accurate?
It’s a planning default, not a tax filing. Some places are lower; full benefits packages run higher. Ask payroll or your accountant, then plug the real %.
What is focus or billable efficiency for employee cost?
After PTO, people still spend time in meetings and coordination. Counting 100% of remaining hours as productive understates true $/hr. 60–70% is a common planning band for knowledge work.
Employee cost vs contractor rate — how do I compare?
Contractors quote higher hourly rates because they carry their own tax and benefits. Compare this loaded employee $/hr to a contractor quote — and to your freelance rate floor if you’re the contractor.