Staffing Rate Calculator
Burden, bill rate, markup, and 1099 vs W2. Every staffing calculation in one free tool.
Last reviewed 2026-09-02Reviewed by the Skillora team2025 US federal defaults
Social Security + Medicare (7.65%)
Federal unemployment (effective 0.6%)
Health, retirement, etc.
$37.34/hr
Fully burdened rate
24.4%
Burden added
$77,657
Annual cost
Burden breakdown
A $37.34/hr fully burdened rate is real money per placement. Skillora's AI screens every candidate so you only pay for the right ones.
Estimates only, using editable 2025 US defaults. Tax and insurance rates vary by employer, classification, and locality. Verify with a licensed accountant before relying on these figures.
The math is the easy part. Screening the candidates is not.
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A staffing rate calculator has to answer four questions in order. What does this worker cost after taxes and insurance? Should the placement be W2 or 1099? What do we bill the client? And what does the markup we quoted mean in margin? The tabs above run each calculation with editable 2025 US defaults. This page explains what each tab does, when an agency reaches for it, and how the numbers chain from a $36 pay rate to $12.80 an hour in gross profit.
Each tab also has a dedicated page with deeper coverage and its own benchmarks. Use this one when you want to move between the four without re-entering the pay rate.
The four calculations and when to use each
Fully burdened rate
Adds employer FICA, FUTA, state unemployment, workers comp, benefits, and overhead to a pay rate and returns the true hourly and annual cost. Use it when you set a pay rate, when you place in a new state, and every January when unemployment wage bases reset.
Labor burden calculator, with a page per state1099 vs W2
Compares employer cost and worker take-home under each option and finds the 1099 rate that matches a W2 offer. Use it when a candidate asks to be paid as a contractor or a client wants a W2 temp converted to corp-to-corp. It informs the conversation; the IRS and state classification tests make the decision.
1099 vs W2 calculatorBill rate
Takes pay, burden, and markup and returns the bill rate, true cost, gross profit, and margin. Use it on every quote before it goes out, and again when the client counters.
Bill rate calculator, with benchmarks by roleMarkup to margin
Converts a markup to the margin it implies and back, with the bill rate and gross profit on the current pay rate. Use it when someone says the desk is at 50% and you need to know whether that means 50% markup, 33% margin, or 20% after burden.
Staffing markup calculator, with the conversion tableWorked example: pay rate to margin, end to end
A help desk technician placed W2 at $36.00 an hour on a 12-month contract, 2,080 hours, using the calculator's default burden lines.
Step 1: burden
| Line | Rate on pay | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Employer FICA | 7.65% | $2.75 |
| FUTA | 0.6% | $0.22 |
| State unemployment (SUI) | 2.7% | $0.97 |
| Workers comp | 1.5% | $0.54 |
| Benefits | 8% | $2.88 |
| Overhead and PTO | 4% | $1.44 |
| Total burden | 24.45% | $8.80 |
| Fully burdened rate | $93,184 a year | $44.80 |
The 8% benefits line is the one to question. Many temp placements carry no agency-paid health plan, which drops burden to 16.45% and the rate to $41.92. A placement with a full health plan and paid time off can push burden past 30%.
Step 2: W2 or 1099
The candidate asks for 1099 at $40.00. On the 1099 vs W2 tab, the agency's cost drops from $44.80 to $40.00, a saving of $4.80 an hour or $9,984 a year. The worker now pays both halves of FICA plus their own benefits, so the tab also shows what each option nets them and the 1099 rate that would match the W2 take-home.
A help desk technician on a 12-month contract with set hours and agency equipment looks like an employee to most state tests. Misclassification penalties dwarf $9,984. Stay W2.
Step 3: bill rate
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Pay rate | given | $36.00 |
| Burden (24.45%) | $36.00 × 0.2445 | $8.80 |
| True cost | $36.00 + $8.80 | $44.80 |
| Bill rate (60% markup) | $36.00 × 1.60 | $57.60 |
| Gross profit | $57.60 − $44.80 | $12.80 |
| Gross margin | $12.80 ÷ $57.60 | 22.2% |
The 60% markup implied a 37.5% margin (60 ÷ 160). Burden cut it to 22.2%. Over the contract the placement produces $26,624 in gross profit ($12.80 × 2,080), which is the money that pays the recruiter, the ATS, and the office.
Step 4: the counter
The client counters at 50%. Bill rate $54.00, gross profit $9.20, margin 17.0%. Ten points of markup cost $3.60 an hour, 5.2 points of margin, and $7,488 over the year. The markup tab shows this in one keystroke. Decide before the call what the floor is, in margin, and translate it to markup on the spot.
The defaults and what to change
Every field is editable. These are the ones that move the answer.
Employer FICA 7.65%
Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base for 2025, plus Medicare 1.45% on all wages. Leave it.
FUTA 0.6%
The effective federal rate after the state credit, on the first $7,000 of wages only. A flat 0.6% overstates it for a full-year worker; the real annual cost is $42.
SUI 2.7%
A typical new-employer rate. States range from under 1% to over 4%, experience-rated employers can pay more, and it applies only up to the state wage base. Use the rate on your notice.
Workers comp 1.5%
Priced per $100 of payroll by class code. Clerical codes run well under 1%. Warehouse and trades codes run several times that.
Benefits 8%, overhead 4%
Set benefits to zero for placements with no agency-paid plan. Keep office overhead out of burden so your margin compares to industry benchmarks, which are gross margin.
Hours 2,080
A full year at 40 hours a week. A six-month contract is 1,040. A 32-hour week is 1,664.
More Free Staffing Calculators
1099 vs W2 Calculator
Compare employer cost and worker take-home.
Labor Burden Calculator
Find the fully burdened cost of an employee.
Employee Cost Calculator
Annual, monthly, and hourly cost of a hire by state.
Bill Rate Calculator
Turn a pay rate into a client bill rate.
Staffing Markup Calculator
Convert between markup and margin.
Time-to-Hire Calculator
Benchmark your hiring speed and cost of delay.
Labor burden by industry: Construction · Staffing Agency · Healthcare · Field Service · Manufacturing · Hospitality
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does the staffing rate calculator do?
- Four staffing calculations in one tool: fully burdened labor rate, 1099 vs W2 comparison, bill rate from pay plus burden plus markup, and markup to margin conversion. The tabs share the pay rate so you can move between them without retyping.
- Where do the default tax rates come from?
- 2025 US federal figures: employer FICA 7.65% (Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base plus Medicare 1.45%), FUTA 0.6% effective, self-employment tax 15.3%. SUI, workers comp, benefits, and overhead are typical estimates you should replace with your own. The per-state labor burden and 1099 vs W2 pages pre-fill state SUI and income-tax estimates.
- What is the difference between markup and margin?
- Markup is gross profit as a percentage of the pay rate. Margin is gross profit as a percentage of the bill rate. A 60% markup is a 37.5% margin before burden and about 22% after a 24% burden. The markup tab converts in both directions.
- Should burden include office overhead?
- Not for pricing. Burden should hold costs that scale with each hour of pay: payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, workers comp, benefits, and mandated leave. Office rent, software, and recruiter salaries sit below gross profit. Mixing them in makes your margin look worse than the industry benchmarks it gets compared against.
- Can I rely on these numbers for payroll or taxes?
- No. They are planning estimates. Payroll tax rates, SUI, and workers comp vary by employer, classification, state, and wage base. Confirm with a licensed accountant or your PEO before you rely on them.