First Hire Kit: Free Tools for Hiring Your First Employee
Free, neutral calculators and plain-English guides for US small businesses hiring their first employees. No sign-up, and every number links to its source.
Calculators
True Cost of an Employee Calculator (2026, US)
Free employee cost calculator: wages plus 2026 employer Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, your state unemployment rate, workers' comp and benefits. Runs in your browser.
Contractor vs Employee Cost Calculator
Compare the yearly cost of a W-2 employee against a 1099 contractor for the same hours, and see the break-even contractor rate. Free, private, 2026 federal rates.
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Hiring Your First Employee: A Step-by-Step Checklist (US, 2026)
The federal and state steps for hiring your first W-2 employee, in order: EIN, state registrations, I-9, W-4, new-hire reporting, workers' comp, posters, and payroll filings.
Employer Payroll Taxes in 2026: What You Owe per Employee
Plain-English breakdown of 2026 employer payroll taxes: 6.2% Social Security up to $184,500, 1.45% Medicare, FUTA at 0.6% of $7,000, state unemployment, with a worked $60k example.
Contractor or Employee? How to Tell, and What Each Really Costs
How the IRS and Department of Labor decide whether a worker is a 1099 contractor or W-2 employee, red flags for misclassification, and how to compare the true cost of each.
What Does a Part-Time Employee Really Cost? A Worked Example at $18/Hour
Line-by-line cost of a 25-hour-a-week part-time employee at $18/hour in 2026: employer FICA, FUTA, state unemployment, workers' comp, and paid sick leave.
How to Calculate PTO Accrual for Part-Time Employees
The per-hour-worked PTO accrual formula, worked examples for 20-, 25-, and 30-hour schedules, and how state paid-sick-leave minimums like 1 hour per 30 interact with your policy.
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