What payroll taxes does a Louisiana employer pay?

Employers pay a matching 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare on wages (employer FICA), federal unemployment tax (FUTA) on the first $7,000 of wages, and Louisiana state unemployment tax (SUI) on the first $7,700 of wages at their assigned rate. Louisiana has no state disability or PFML payroll tax.

What is the FUTA tax rate?

FUTA is nominally 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but employers in states in good standing receive a 5.4% credit, leaving a net 0.6% — about $42 per employee per year. This tool uses the net 0.6% effective rate.

What is the Louisiana SUI wage base and rate?

Louisiana's state unemployment taxable wage base is $7,700. New employers pay an assigned rate (often around 1.16%), and experienced employers receive a rate between roughly 0.09% and 6.2% based on their layoff history. Only wages up to the wage base are taxed.

Does Louisiana have an SDI or PFML payroll tax?

No. Unlike states such as California or New York, Louisiana does not levy a state disability insurance (SDI) or paid family and medical leave (PFML) payroll tax. Your Louisiana employer payroll taxes are FICA, FUTA, and SUI only.

Is this the full cost of an employee?

It covers statutory payroll taxes. It does not include workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, retirement match, or other voluntary costs. Add those separately to estimate the fully loaded cost of an employee.

Louisiana Employer Payroll Tax Calculator

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Hiring in Louisiana adds payroll taxes on top of wages. As an employer you owe a matching share of Social Security and Medicare, federal unemployment tax (FUTA), and Louisiana state unemployment tax (SUI). This calculator totals all four so you can budget the true cost of each employee.

How it works

Employer FICA matches the employee’s withholding on full wages:

employer Social Security = 6.2% of wages (up to $168,600)
employer Medicare        = 1.45% of all wages

Unemployment taxes apply only up to a wage base. FUTA is a net 0.6 percent on the first $7,000 (the 6.0% rate minus the 5.4% state credit), and Louisiana SUI applies your assigned rate to the first $7,700:

FUTA = 0.6% × min(wages, $7,000)
SUI  = your rate × min(wages, $7,700)

Louisiana levies no state disability or paid-leave payroll tax, so the employer total is the sum of employer FICA, FUTA, and SUI.

Example

For an employee earning $50,000 with a 1.16% new-employer SUI rate: employer Social Security is $3,100, Medicare $725, FUTA $42 (0.6% of $7,000), and SUI about $89 (1.16% of $7,700). The total employer payroll tax is roughly $3,956, about 7.9 percent on top of wages.

Notes

FUTA can be higher if Louisiana becomes a credit-reduction state in a given year. Your SUI rate is assigned annually by the Louisiana Workforce Commission based on your experience rating, so replace the default with your actual rate for accuracy. This estimate excludes workers’ compensation premiums and benefit costs. Confirm current wage bases and rates with the IRS and the Louisiana Workforce Commission.