What payroll taxes does a New York employer pay?

Employers pay federal FUTA on the first $7,000 of wages, their half of Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%), New York state unemployment insurance (SUI) on the state wage base, and a small Re-employment Service Fund charge. These are on top of the wages themselves and the employee's own withholdings.

What is the New York SUI wage base and rate?

For 2024 the New York unemployment insurance wage base is $12,500, meaning SUI is charged only on the first $12,500 of each employee's wages. New employers pay roughly a 4.1% rate; established employers get an experience rate that can be higher or lower based on their layoff history.

Is FUTA really only 0.6%?

The headline FUTA rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of wages, but employers in states that meet federal rules get a 5.4% credit, leaving an effective 0.6%. New York normally qualifies for the full credit, so the tool uses 0.6% — about $42 per employee per year.

Does the employer pay New York Paid Family Leave?

No. New York Paid Family Leave is funded entirely through employee payroll deductions, not employer contributions. It therefore adds nothing to the employer's payroll tax cost, which is why it is excluded from the employer total here.

Does this include workers' compensation?

No. Workers' compensation and disability insurance premiums are separate insurance costs, not payroll taxes, and depend on your classification code and carrier. Use a workers' comp calculator for those. This tool covers statutory payroll taxes only.

New York Employer Payroll Tax Calculator

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The New York Employer Payroll Tax Calculator shows what it really costs an employer to put a New York worker on payroll beyond their salary. On top of gross wages, employers owe federal FUTA, their share of Social Security and Medicare, New York state unemployment insurance (SUI), and the small Re-employment Service Fund charge. This tool sums those into a single employer burden so you can budget the fully loaded cost of each hire.

How it works

Each tax applies to a different wage base. FUTA is 0.6% effective (6.0% gross minus the 5.4% state credit) on the first $7,000 of wages. Employer Social Security is 6.2% up to the annual wage base, and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages. New York SUI is charged only on the first $12,500 of wages (the 2024 NY UI wage base) at your rate — the tool defaults to the ~4.1% new-employer rate but lets you enter your own experience rate. The Re-employment Service Fund adds 0.075% on the same SUI base. Summing all of these and dividing by wages gives your employer tax burden percentage.

Example and notes

For an employee earning $60,000, FUTA is about $42, employer Social Security $3,720, Medicare $870, NY SUI roughly $512 at the new-employer rate, plus a few dollars of Re-employment Service Fund — a few thousand dollars of employer tax on top of salary. Note that New York Paid Family Leave is employee-funded, so it adds nothing to the employer total, and workers’ comp and benefit premiums are separate. Your real SUI rate comes from your annual New York rate notice. All math runs locally in your browser.