Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Fully loaded hourly rate
$41.75
Total burden as % of base wage
39.1%
Total burden cost per hour
$11.75
Annualized cost (2,080 hrs)
$86,830
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How to use this
- 1Enter base wage ($/hr).
- 2Enter workers' comp rate (%).
- 3Enter futa/suta rate (%).
- 4Enter general liability allocation (%).
- 5Enter benefits + pto (%).
- 6Read your fully loaded hourly rate on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Labor burden is every cost of employing a worker beyond their base wage: employer FICA, FUTA/SUTA unemployment taxes, workers' compensation insurance (highly trade-specific and often the single largest burden component), general liability insurance allocation, health and retirement benefits, and paid time off. Contractors who estimate labor cost using base wage alone, or a rough flat burden guess, routinely underprice labor-intensive work because burden commonly adds 30-50% on top of base wage depending on trade risk classification and benefits offered. This calculator itemizes each standard burden component as a percentage or dollar add-on to base wage and returns the fully loaded hourly and annual cost, which is the number that should go into every estimate, job costing report, and crew productivity calculation — using base wage anywhere in that chain understates true labor cost.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Base wage: 30 $/hr
- Workers' comp rate: 12 %
- FUTA/SUTA rate: 3 %
- General liability allocation: 2.5 %
- Benefits + PTO: 14 %
Results
- Fully loaded hourly rate: $41.75
- Total burden as % of base wage: 39.1%
- Total burden cost per hour: $11.75
- Annualized cost (2,080 hrs): $86,829.60
What each field means
Inputs
- Base wage ($/hr)
- The base wage used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 30 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Workers' comp rate (%)
- The workers' comp rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 12 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–40 %.
- FUTA/SUTA rate (%)
- The futa/suta rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–10 %.
- General liability allocation (%)
- The general liability allocation used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 2.5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–10 %.
- Benefits + PTO (%)
- The benefits + pto used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 14 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–40 %.
Results
- Fully loaded hourly rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total burden as % of base wage
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total burden cost per hour
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Annualized cost (2,080 hrs)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is workers' comp rate so trade-dependent?
Workers' comp rates are set per trade classification code based on that trade's actual injury and claims history — roofing, structural steel, and demolition carry rates that can run 15-25%+ of payroll, while office administrative or estimating staff carry rates under 1%. Using a single company-average workers' comp rate across all trades on a job with a mixed crew will misprice whichever trade is most dangerous.
Does FICA rate ever change or cap out?
The combined employer FICA rate of 7.65% (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare) applies to wages up to the annual Social Security wage base cap, after which only the 1.45% Medicare portion continues to apply. For most hourly construction workers this cap rarely comes into play within a single year unless they're working extraordinarily high overtime hours, but it matters for higher-paid supervisory staff.
Should overtime hours use the same burden percentage as straight time?
Most percentage-based burden components (FICA, unemployment up to the wage cap, GL allocation) apply the same percentage to overtime pay, but workers' comp premium calculations sometimes use straight-time equivalent wages for overtime hours per state rules — check your state's specific workers' comp premium calculation rules since this varies and can meaningfully affect burden on overtime-heavy schedules.
How often should burden rates be updated in the estimating system?
At minimum annually, since workers' comp experience modification ratings, unemployment insurance rates, and benefit plan costs all typically reset or get reviewed on an annual basis. A burden rate that's two or three years stale, especially after a claims year that spiked your experience mod, can leave real margin on the table across every bid using the outdated number.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Check how much of your job cost is overhead versus installed work.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Labor Burden Rate Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/labor-burden-rate
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/labor-burden-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Labor Burden Rate Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Labor Burden Rate Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/labor-burden-rate) (2026).