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Wahyu Agustiar — Independent Salary Data Researcher
Wahyu Agustiar
Independent Salary Data ResearcherPublished Oct 10, 2026Updated Oct 13, 2026

Maintained by the author using IRS Publication 15-T, SSA wage-base announcements, and BLS OEWS data. All calculator formulas are deterministic JavaScript — no AI inference in the numbers. Content is reviewed for accuracy when tax figures are updated annually. See Methodology · Author Profile

For Staffing Agencies · IRS FICA + FUTA + 2026 SUTA

Staffing Bill Rate Calculator

Calculate the bill rate to charge clients as a staffing agency. Enter worker pay, benefits, and target margin to get loaded cost + bill rate. Built on US IRS FICA, FUTA, and 2026 SUTA estimates.

7.65%
FICA employer match
6.0%
FUTA on $7,000
2-5%
Workers' comp (avg)

Staffing Bill Rate Calculator

Enter the worker's hourly pay, benefits, and your target markup. The calculator shows the fully-loaded cost to the agency, then the bill rate to charge the client.

Try it:

The math: Fully-loaded cost = (Hourly pay × 1.0765 for FICA + FUTA estimate) + Health benefits per hour + 401(k) match + Workers' comp + PTO accrual + Admin overhead. Bill rate = Loaded cost × (1 + Markup %).

$

The wage you'll pay the worker. If salaried, divide annual salary by 2,080.

%

Light industrial 30-50%, IT 50-100%, travel nursing 100-200%.

$

Divide annual premium ($7K-$15K typical) by 2,080 hours.

%

Average industry match: 3-4% of pay. Some sectors (401(k) match) 0%.

%

Varies by state and industry: office 0.5%, manufacturing 4%, construction 8-12%.

%

2 weeks PTO = 3.85% of pay. 3 weeks = 5.77%. 4 weeks = 7.69%.

%

Covers recruiter commission, sales overhead, accounting, office.

Your bill rate
$58.04
per billable hour, charged to client
$35.00 × 1.241 + $4.00 + $1.05 + $1.05 + $1.40 + $2.10 = $52.04 loaded × 1.40 = $58.04 × 40% markup

Loaded cost breakdown

Base hourly pay
$35.00
+ FICA employer match (7.65%)
$2.68
+ FUTA estimate (0.6% × $7K ÷ 2,080)
$0.02
+ Health benefits (per hour)
$4.00
+ 401(k) match (3% of pay)
$1.05
+ Workers' comp (3% of pay)
$1.05
+ PTO accrual (4% of pay)
$1.40
+ Admin overhead (6% of pay)
$2.10
Loaded cost per hour
$47.30
Bill rate (40% markup)
$66.22
Annual revenue per FTE (2,080 billable hours)
$137,738
Annual gross margin (per FTE)
$39,354

How the calculation works

Loaded cost is what it actually costs your staffing agency to put the worker on payroll for one billable hour. It includes the worker's base wage plus all the employer-side costs that buyers often forget to factor in:

FICA employer match (7.65%): Social Security 6.2% (capped at $168,600 in 2026) + Medicare 1.45% (no cap). For most staffing placements under the wage base, the full 7.65% applies.

FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax): 6.0% on the first $7,000 of annual wages, but most states get a 5.4% credit, leaving effective rate of 0.6%. Spread across 2,080 hours = ~$0.02/hour.

Health benefits: Divide your annual premium (employer portion only) by 2,080 to get hourly. Typical range: $3-8/hour for employer-sponsored plans.

401(k) match: Average industry match is 3-4% of pay. Some sectors don't match at all (set to 0%).

Workers' comp: Varies dramatically by state and industry. Office work: 0.5%. Light industrial: 3-4%. Manufacturing: 5-6%. Construction: 8-12%. Check your state rate card for actual.

PTO accrual: Workers are paid for vacation/PTO even when not on assignment. 2 weeks PTO = 3.85% of pay. 3 weeks = 5.77%. 4 weeks = 7.69%.

Admin overhead: Recruiter commissions (typically 8-15% of annual salary), sales overhead, accounting, office space, insurance. 5-10% of pay is typical.

Related tools and resources

For staffing agencies & HR:

B2B services & custom work:

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Questions answered

What's a good bill rate markup for a staffing agency?
Industry-standard markups for non-IT staffing run 30-50% over fully-loaded cost. For IT/technical staffing (software developers, DevOps, data engineers), markups run 50-100% because the worker is harder to replace. Healthcare staffing (especially travel nursing) can command 100-200% markups because the bill rate is largely driven by facility demand, not the worker's base pay. Light industrial/manufacturing tends to be 25-40%.
Should I include benefits in the loaded cost or bill them separately?
Include them in the loaded cost. Most staffing clients expect a single bill rate that covers the worker fully — they don't want to manage separate invoicing for the worker's health insurance, 401(k) match, or PTO accrual. The few clients who do want pass-through billing are usually large enterprises with sophisticated procurement teams, and they'll ask for it specifically.
What's the difference between loaded cost and bill rate?
Loaded cost is what it costs the staffing agency to put the worker on payroll: their hourly wage plus employer-side payroll taxes (FICA match, FUTA, SUTA), workers' comp, health insurance, 401(k) match, paid time off, and administrative overhead. Bill rate is what the staffing agency charges the client per billable hour. The gap between loaded cost and bill rate is the agency's gross margin.
How do I handle the differential between bill rate and pay rate for salaried contractors?
For salaried contractors, divide annual salary by 2,080 hours (52 weeks × 40 hours) to get the base hourly equivalent. Add a 25-30% buffer for the unpaid portion of the workday that goes to non-billable tasks (admin, learning, etc.) to get the true billable cost. Then apply your markup. This avoids the common mistake of under-billing because the worker is technically 'full-time' but only billable 70-75% of the time.
How do I handle overtime for contract placements?
Bill overtime at 1.5× the regular bill rate (or higher, depending on contract terms). The cost side: overtime is 1.5× the worker's loaded rate, but you don't have additional employer tax costs above the wage base, so your margin on overtime is actually higher than on straight time. Just be clear with the client upfront about overtime terms in the MSA — disputes about OT billing are among the most common sources of client friction.