What payroll taxes does an Arkansas employer pay?

Arkansas employers pay the employer half of FICA (6.2% Social Security up to $168,600 and 1.45% Medicare on all wages), federal FUTA on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, and Arkansas state unemployment insurance (SUI) on the first $7,000 of wages.

What is the Arkansas SUI wage base and new-employer rate?

Arkansas applies SUI to the first $7,000 of each employee's annual wages. New employers typically pay a rate around 3.1% (including stabilization and training taxes) until they build an experience rating, after which the rate can range roughly from 0.1% to 14%.

How does FUTA interact with state unemployment tax?

FUTA is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of wages, but employers who pay state unemployment tax on time receive a 5.4% credit, leaving an effective FUTA rate of 0.6% — or $42 per employee per year. This calculator uses the 0.6% effective rate.

Does Arkansas have state disability or paid family leave tax?

No. Arkansas does not impose a state disability insurance (SDI) or paid family and medical leave (PFML) payroll tax, so employers there have no such state-specific contribution to add.

Is employer payroll tax separate from what's withheld from employees?

Yes. Employer payroll taxes (employer FICA, FUTA, SUI) are paid by the business on top of wages, separate from the income tax and employee FICA withheld from each paycheck. This tool shows only the employer-side cost.

Arkansas Employer Payroll Tax Calculator

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Hiring in Arkansas adds employer-side payroll taxes on top of wages. This calculator sums the employer share of FICA, the effective FUTA tax, and Arkansas state unemployment insurance to show your true cost per employee and across your team.

How it works

Employers owe several payroll taxes, each on its own wage base:

Employer FICA  = 6.2% Social Security (to $168,600) + 1.45% Medicare (all wages)
FUTA           = 0.6% effective on first $7,000 per employee ($42 max each)
Arkansas SUI   = SUI rate × first $7,000 per employee

Arkansas has no state disability or paid-family-leave payroll tax, so those columns are zero. The totals are multiplied by your employee count.

Example

For one employee earning $50,000 at a 3.1 percent SUI rate: employer FICA is $50,000 × 7.65% = $3,825, FUTA is $42, and SUI is $7,000 × 3.1% = $217. The total employer payroll-tax cost is about $4,084 for that worker.

Notes

Your actual Arkansas SUI rate depends on your experience rating and can differ from the new-employer default; check your annual rate notice from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services. The Social Security wage base and FUTA credit are set federally and change periodically. This tool estimates employer-side taxes only and excludes workers’ compensation and benefits.