What will your
first employee
really cost?

Our calculator uses published tax rates to estimate the true monthly cost, beyond wages.

State

Trade

Hourly wage ($)

Hours / week

Your SUI rate % (optional)

Estimated true monthly cost

$0/mo

≈ fully-loaded hourly cost

Estimate. Updated Nov 2, 2026. Excludes benefits, PTO, state income-tax withholding (paid by the employee), and local taxes.

What's included

Pick your situation

Hiring my first employee Seasonal crew Tipped staff Growing sales team

We're testing it ourselves.

We plan to run real payroll for a real small business and publish what it actually cost, with screenshots.

Testing is coming. No made-up numbers until then.

Until then, every number on this site comes from published sources: IRS, state agencies, and vendors' own pricing pages. Each one is linked.

Don't buy this if...

Payroll and CRM tools aren't all worth it when you're small.

Heads up: some links are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we make money.

Gusto (payroll)

Buy Gusto if you want...

Payroll in one state, with taxes filed for you ($49/mo + $6/person on Simple)
Month-to-month billing, no contract
New-hire reporting and W-2s handled
Unlimited payroll runs

Skip Gusto if you...

Pay only yourself or 1–2 contractors (cheaper options exist)
Have staff in several states but only want the cheapest plan (multi-state starts at Plus, $80/mo + $12/person)
Need enterprise HR for 50+ people
Want "free forever" payroll (it isn't free)

Prices from gusto.com/product/pricing, checked Nov 2026. See Gusto plans

HubSpot (CRM)

Buy HubSpot if you want...

A free CRM to track leads and quotes (free for up to 2 users)
Email, forms and a sales pipeline in one place
Room to grow into marketing automation

Skip HubSpot if you...

Mainly need job scheduling and invoicing (a field-service tool like Jobber fits trades better)
Have a tiny budget and would need Pro features (costs rise fast with seats and tiers)
Just need a simple list of 20 customers (a spreadsheet works)

Free-tier detail from WorkHoist CRM guide. See HubSpot CRM

Utah payroll deadline calendar

Key dates for Nov 2026 to Nov 2027, to stay compliant and avoid fines.

Save this.

Full calendar page

Due	What
Nov 30, 2026	Utah: pay October withholding (monthly payers)
Dec 31, 2026	Utah: pay November withholding (monthly payers)
Feb 1, 2027	IRS Form 941 (Q4 2026); Form 940 (FUTA 2026); W-2s to employees and SSA; Utah TC-941E Q4 + annual reconciliation (Jan 31 falls on Sunday)
Mar 1, 2027	Utah: pay January withholding (Feb 28 falls on Sunday)
Mar 31, 2027	Utah: pay February withholding
Apr 30, 2027	IRS Form 941 (Q1); Utah TC-941E Q1; Utah unemployment Q1 report; FUTA deposit if over $500
Jun 1, 2027	Utah: pay April withholding (May 31 is Memorial Day)
Jun 30, 2027	Utah: pay May withholding
Aug 2, 2027	IRS Form 941 (Q2); Utah TC-941E Q2; Utah unemployment Q2 report (Jul 31 falls on Saturday)
Aug 31, 2027	Utah: pay July withholding
Sep 30, 2027	Utah: pay August withholding
Nov 1, 2027	IRS Form 941 (Q3); Utah TC-941E Q3; Utah unemployment Q3 report (Oct 31 falls on Sunday)

Sources: Utah Pub 14, IRS Form 941 instructions, IRS employment tax due dates, Utah DWS. Weekend/holiday dates moved to the next business day. Federal tax deposits (monthly or semiweekly) are separate; see IRS Pub 15. Updated Nov 2, 2026.

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What will yourfirst employeereally cost?