What payroll taxes does a Michigan employer pay?

A Michigan employer pays the 7.65% FICA match (6.2% Social Security up to the wage base plus 1.45% Medicare), federal FUTA, and Michigan state unemployment insurance (SUI). Michigan has no state disability or paid-family-leave payroll tax.

What is the Michigan SUI rate and wage base?

Michigan's unemployment taxable wage base is 9,500 dollars per employee per year. New non-construction employers are generally assigned a 2.7% rate; experienced employers receive an experience-rated rate that can be lower or higher based on their layoff history.

FUTA is 6.0% on the first 7,000 dollars of each employee's wages, but employers in states in good standing receive a 5.4% credit, making the effective FUTA rate 0.6% — a maximum of 42 dollars per employee per year.

Is there a Social Security wage cap for the employer match?

Yes. The employer's 6.2% Social Security match applies only to wages up to the annual wage base (168,600 dollars in 2024). The 1.45% Medicare match has no wage cap and applies to all wages.

Does Michigan have a paid family leave or disability payroll tax?

No. Unlike some states, Michigan does not impose a state disability insurance (SDI) or paid-family-and-medical-leave (PFML) employer payroll tax, so those lines are zero in this calculator.

Michigan Employer Payroll Tax Calculator

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Hiring in Michigan adds employer-side payroll taxes on top of an employee’s wages. This calculator totals the three that apply: the employer FICA match, federal FUTA, and Michigan state unemployment insurance (SUI). Michigan levies no state disability or paid-leave payroll tax, so those are zero.

How it works

Each tax has its own base and rate:

FICA match. The employer matches 6.2% Social Security on wages up to the wage base ($168,600 in 2024) and 1.45% Medicare on all wages — 7.65% combined below the cap.
FUTA. 6.0% applies to the first $7,000 of wages, but the 5.4% state credit drops the effective rate to 0.6%, a maximum of $42 per employee.
Michigan SUI. Applies to the first $9,500 of wages at your assigned rate. New non-construction employers default to 2.7%.

So SUI = min(wages, 9500) × rate, and FUTA = min(wages, 7000) × 0.006.

Tips and example

For an employee earning $50,000 at a new-employer SUI rate of 2.7%: the FICA match is $50,000 × 7.65% = $3,825; FUTA is $7,000 × 0.6% = $42; SUI is $9,500 × 2.7% = $256.50. Total employer payroll tax is $4,123.50 — about 8.2% on top of the wage.

Your real SUI rate depends on your experience rating once you have layoff history. Construction employers receive a higher new-employer rate. Replace the default with your assigned rate for an accurate figure. This calculator excludes income-tax withholding, which the employee pays, not the employer.