✓ Verified 2026 .gov Tax & Interchange Schedule · 2026-10-24 🏛️ IRS Publication 15 (2026 Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide — FICA…

50-State Employer SUI Tax & Multi-State Payroll Registration Fee Calculator (2026 .gov Rates)

2026 Executive Audit Summary: Employer State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) tax varies by more than 8x depending on state .gov wage bases—from $160/employee in Arizona ($8,000 wage base @ 2.0%) and $189 in Florida ($7,000 @ 2.7%) up to $1,056/employee in Washington ($72,800 wage base @ 1.45%) and $1,290 in New Jersey ($43,300 @ 2.98%). Combining multi-state SUI with HRIS per-state surcharges ($0 on OnPay vs. $20–$32/state/mo on Rippling/ADP) can swing annual payroll TCO by $3,500+.

⏱️ 30-Second CFO Audit Verdict: 50-State Employer SUI Tax & Multi-State Payroll Calculator (2026) Deterministic 2026 Line-Item Math

🏆 12-MONTH TCO WINNER
Self-Register on State .gov Portals ($0) + Use OnPay ($0/State Fee) or Gusto
⚠️ HIDDEN FEE TRAP
Payroll bureaus charge $150–$250 per state to file SUI/withholding account registrations that take 15 minutes for $0 directly on state .gov portals, plus $12–$32/mo per state forever.
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Use the 2026 .gov SUI state selector below to audit your statutory SUI + FUTA burden and eliminate per-state monthly payroll software surcharges.

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🧮 DETERMINISTIC PAYROLL, MULTI-STATE SUI & EOR TCO CALCULATOR

Calculate Your 12-Month All-In Payroll, Multi-State Tax & EOR Cost

Adjust W-2 headcount, primary .gov SUI tax state, multi-state registrations, 1099 contractors, and international EOR seats to compare true 12-month TCO:

US W-2 Employees (1–250): 22

Primary State (.gov SUI Lookup): Official 2026 state DOL SUI + $42 IRS FUTA

Active US Tax States (1–50): 5 Triggers per-state filing fees on Rippling/ADP

1099 Contractors (0–100): 2 $6/mo on Gusto/OnPay vs. $49/mo Intl on Deel

International EOR Headcount (0–25): $599/mo EOR seat + 1.25%–3.0% FX spread

Include Hidden Year-End W-2/1099 Fees & State Reg Exposes ADP RUN $65 + $7.50/form & $150–$175 state reg fees

OnPay (Flat 50-State Tier) $2,112/yr $40 base + $6/seat · $0 extra state or W-2 fees

Lock In OnPay Rate →

Gusto Simple / Multi-State $2,652/yr $49 base + $6/seat · $0 W-2/1099 year-end fee

Verify Gusto Trial →

Rippling Core + Payroll + IT $5,496/yr $85 base + $16/W-2 + $20/mo per extra state

Compare Rippling →

Deel US + Global EOR $6,456/yr $19/US W-2 · $49 Intl 1099 · $599/mo EOR + 1.25% FX

Get Deel Global Quote →

ADP RUN Legacy Benchmark $4,685/yr Incl. $32/extra state + $7.50/form W-2 fee

Switch to Gusto/OnPay & save $2,033+/yr

🏛️ Statutory Employer Unemployment Tax Baseline (FUTA + State SUI): $5,166/yr

Based on 22 W-2 employees: $42/emp IRS FUTA (0.6% on $7,000) + $245/emp State SUI (plus 7.65% employer FICA on gross wages).

📄 Need a Board-Ready CFO Payroll & Multi-State SUI Audit Report (PDF + CSV)?
Includes line-item 12-month PEPM schedule, state .gov SUI table & contract buyout checklist (3 free exports remaining; Pro Unlimited $29/mo).

2026 Line-Item TCO Comparison & Partner Verification Table

Vendor / Statutory Benchmark	Verified 2026 All-In Rate & 12-Month TCO	Audit Action / Official Citation
Low-SUI State Benchmark (FL $189 / TX $243 / CA $245 per W-2) Official .gov Statutory Baseline	$231–$287/yr per W-2 (SUI + $42 IRS FUTA on $7k–$9k wage base)	🏛️ Verify .gov Rule [1]
High-SUI State Benchmark (NC $314 / NY $534 / WA $1,056 / NJ $1,290) Official .gov Statutory Baseline	$356–$1,332/yr per W-2 (High .gov wage bases: $12.8k–$72.8k)	🏛️ Verify .gov Rule [2]
OnPay 5-State Payroll Software (22 W-2 + 2 1099 Across 5 States) Verified 2026 Payroll/HRIS Tier	$184/mo ($2,208/yr) · $0/mo extra for all 5 tax states	Get $0 Multi-State Fee on OnPay → [3]
Gusto Plus 5-State Payroll + HRIS (22 W-2 + 2 1099 Across 5 States) Verified 2026 Payroll/HRIS Tier	$356/mo ($4,272/yr) · Automated 50-state tax compliance	Compare Gusto 50-State Filing → [4]

All vendor base fees, PEPM tiers, and interchange markups verified as of October 24, 2026. Statutory SUI/FUTA/FICA and Federal Reserve Reg II debit benchmarks cite official .gov publications. Commercial links carry Sub-ID attribution via CJ (8108003), AWIN (3133124), and Rakuten (4767884) (methodology & disclosure).

Key 2026 Hidden-Fee & Statutory Audit Findings

2026 State SUI Wage Base Spread ($7,000 vs. $72,800): California, Florida, and federal FUTA cap taxable wages at $7,000. Washington ESD sets its 2026 taxable wage base at $72,800, and North Carolina DES sets its 2026 base at $31,400.
FUTA Credit Reduction Check (.gov): Employers who pay state SUI taxes on time receive a 5.4% FUTA tax credit, reducing the 6.0% gross FUTA rate to 0.6% ($42/emp). However, states with outstanding federal UI Title XII loans (such as California) face a 0.6%–0.9% FUTA credit reduction.
Per-State Software Surcharge Math: Operating in 5 states adds $0/yr on OnPay, ~$576/yr on Gusto Simple, $960/yr on Rippling, and $1,536/yr on ADP RUN.

Frequently Asked Questions (2026 Verified Data)

Which US states have the highest and lowest employer SUI payroll taxes in 2026?

Arizona ($160/emp max at 2.0% on $8,000) and Florida ($189/emp at 2.7% on $7,000) have the lowest new-employer SUI costs. Washington ($1,056/emp on a $72,800 wage base) and New Jersey ($1,290/emp on a $43,300 wage base) have the highest.

How much does it cost to register for payroll taxes in a new state when hiring a remote worker?

Registering directly on official state Department of Labor / Department of Revenue (.gov) portals costs $0 in almost all states. Third-party registration services (CorpNet, Middesk, Rippling, ADP) charge $150 to $250+ per state for filing the form.

Which payroll software does not charge extra per month for multiple states?

OnPay ($40 base + $6/person) and Justworks include multi-state payroll tax filings across all 50 states with $0 per-state monthly add-on fees.

What is the 2026 IRS FUTA tax rate per employee?

Per IRS Publication 15 (.gov), the 2026 FUTA wage base is $7,000 at a net effective rate of 0.60% (6.0% minus the 5.4% state UI credit), equaling $42 per employee per year in non-credit-reduction states.

Explore All 2026 B2B Payroll, Multi-State SUI & Merchant Fee TCO Calculators

Cluster 1: Payroll, Multi-State HRIS & Global EOR TCO

Cluster 2: Merchant Processing & Interchange-Plus TCO

Official Regulatory (.gov) & Published Vendor Fee Sources

IRS Publication 15 (2026 Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide — FICA & FUTA Rates) (.gov) (verified 2026-10-24)
Washington Employment Security Department (ESD) & NC DES 2026 SUI Tax Rate Schedules (.gov) (verified 2026-10-24)
OnPay Official 2026 Multi-State Payroll Pricing ($0 Extra State Fee) (verified 2026-10-24)
Gusto Official 2026 50-State Payroll Tax Registration & Filing Guide (verified 2026-10-24)