What payroll taxes does a South Carolina employer pay?

Employers in South Carolina pay the employer half of FICA (6.2% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare), federal FUTA (effectively 0.6% on the first $7,000 after the state credit), and South Carolina state unemployment insurance (SUI) on the first $14,000 of wages. South Carolina has no state-level SDI or PFML employer tax.

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

South Carolina's unemployment taxable wage base is $14,000 per employee per year. New employers are assigned a standard new-employer rate, and experienced employers are rated based on their claims history, with the rate applied only to wages up to the wage base.

How is FUTA calculated for South Carolina employers?

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

Does the employer FICA match have a cap?

The 6.2% Social Security match applies only to wages up to the annual wage base ($168,600 for 2024). The 1.45% Medicare match has no cap. Note the 0.9% additional Medicare tax on high earners is withheld from the employee, not matched by the employer.

South Carolina Employer Payroll Tax Calculator

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This calculator totals the payroll taxes a South Carolina employer pays on top of wages: the employer FICA match, federal FUTA at the effective rate, and South Carolina state unemployment insurance. It applies each tax only up to its own wage base for an accurate per-employee cost.

How it works

Employers pay three main payroll taxes on each worker:

Employer FICA = 6.2% SS (to $168,600) + 1.45% Medicare (no cap)
FUTA          = 0.6% effective on first $7,000  (6.0% − 5.4% state credit)
SC SUI        = your assigned rate on first $14,000 of wages
total         = FICA match + FUTA + SUI

The employer Social Security match stops at the annual wage base while Medicare continues on all wages. FUTA applies to only the first $7,000 and, for employers who pay state tax on time, is reduced to an effective 0.6%. South Carolina’s SUI applies to the first $14,000 of each employee’s wages at your experience-rated rate. South Carolina has no employer SDI or PFML tax.

Example

For an employee earning $50,000, the employer pays 6.2% of $50,000 ($3,100) plus 1.45% ($725) in FICA, $42 in FUTA (0.6% of $7,000), and — at a 1.0% SUI rate — $140 (1.0% of $14,000). That totals roughly $4,007 of employer payroll tax on top of the salary.

Notes

This is a simplified estimate. Your real SUI rate depends on your account’s experience rating and any contingency or administrative assessments South Carolina adds. Wage bases and rates change yearly. The 0.9% additional Medicare tax is employee-withheld, not an employer cost. Confirm your assigned rate with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce at dew.sc.gov.