Employer payroll costs by country, 2026

Highest and lowest employer costs by country

Highest in the index

50.9%Brazil, with 13th salary and vacation bonus

Lowest in the index

0.79%Thailand, capped at THB 875 a month

United States, for comparison

About 7.7%FICA plus FUTA on $50,000

EOR fee on top

$399 to $699per employee per month, list prices

These are the employer's mandatory contributions on a salary of about USD 40,000, as a share of gross pay, including mandatory bonuses where the country row says so. They are the costs you pay in addition to salary whether you hire through an EOR or your own entity.

Employer payroll cost by country: the full index

Every country we have checked against official sources, with the employer cost on a salary of about USD 40,000, the 2026 minimum wage and minimum paid leave. Country names link to the country page, which shows the line-by-line math, the caps, notice and severance rules and an all-in EOR example.

Countries whose cost we could confirm only in part (for example Italy, Chile, Switzerland, Belgium, Romania and Bolivia) are left out until the missing items are confirmed. Vendor country pages get some of these wrong: Remote's explorer shows 0% employer cost for India and Brazil, while our rows show 3.4% for India (provident fund on the Rs 25,000 wage ceiling plus gratuity accrual) and 50.9% for Brazil at the sample salaries. The Brazil EOR guide and India EOR guide show the math.

What drives the differences

1. Who pays: employer or employee

Countries split social insurance differently. Lithuania puts 19.5% on the employee and 1.77% on the employer. Estonia does the opposite: the employer pays a 33% social tax. A low employer rate can mean the employee carries the cost instead, so compare total cost and take-home pay, not the employer rate alone.

2. Caps and ceilings

Many countries stop charging above a salary ceiling, so the employer share falls as pay rises. Examples from the 2026 rules:

• Germany: pension and unemployment capped at EUR 8,450 a month; health and long-term care at EUR 5,812.50 a month.
• Canada: CPP on earnings up to CAD 74,600 (CPP2 to CAD 85,000); EI on up to CAD 68,900.
• Singapore: CPF ordinary wage ceiling SGD 8,000 a month from January 1, 2026.
• Mexico: IMSS and INFONAVIT base capped at 25 UMA a day (MXN 2,932.75).
• No cap at all: United Kingdom employer NICs (15% above GBP 5,000), Estonia and Sweden's full rate (Costa Rica's CCSS charges also show no ceiling, though that is not confirmed).

That is why each figure here is pinned to one salary. A Canadian hire at CAD 120,000 costs the employer about 5.2% in CPP, CPP2 and EI, not 7.86%. The international employee cost calculator page shows that math.

3. Mandatory bonuses

Some countries require extra pay that works like a contribution. Mexico requires an aguinaldo of at least 15 days' salary and a 25% vacation premium. Costa Rica's aguinaldo is one-twelfth of a year's pay. Colombia adds a prima de servicios of 30 days a year and a cesantias deposit of one month a year. Argentina's SAC is one-twelfth of annual pay in two installments. Brazil adds a 13th salary and a one-third vacation bonus, the Philippines a 13th month pay, and the Netherlands an 8% holiday allowance. Our figures include these bonuses for Brazil, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Argentina, among others, as each country page shows.

4. Severance and retirement accruals

Italy's TFR (6.91%), Israel's severance contribution (6% or 8.33%), South Korea's retirement allowance (8.33%, which takes Korea from 9.97% to 18.30%) and the UAE's end-of-service gratuity are paid or accrued during employment. EORs often bill these monthly.

5. Regional taxes and exemptions

Australia's 12% super becomes 18.10% with New South Wales payroll tax. Canada's provinces add employer health taxes and workers comp. Mexico City adds a 4% payroll tax. Colombia's exemption for income-tax-paying companies is the difference between 34.2% and 47.7%.

Add the EOR fee to get the all-in cost

An employer of record charges a monthly fee per employee on top of salary and contributions. Published list prices run from $399 to $699 a month, which is $4,788 to $8,388 a year, or about 12% to 21% of a USD 40,000 salary.

On a USD 40,000 hire, the fee can cost more than the mandatory contributions. In the United Kingdom, contributions are 14.88% of GBP 30,000 (GBP 4,462.80), while a $599 monthly fee is $7,188 a year. Read what EOR services really cost for deposits, FX markups and termination fees, and the best EOR providers ranked for how they compare.

Top country pages

• United Kingdom: 14.88% on GBP 30,000. NICs 15% above GBP 5,000 plus 3% pension.
• Germany: 21.30% on EUR 35,000, before U1/U2 levies and accident insurance.
• Canada: 7.86% on CAD 56,643, federal CPP and EI only; provinces add more.
• Mexico: 31.8% on MXN 740,000, including aguinaldo and Mexico City payroll tax.
• Brazil: 50.9% on BRL 203,280, including the 13th salary and vacation bonus. India: 3.4% on INR 3,800,000, with provident fund on the Rs 25,000 ceiling plus gratuity accrual.
• Netherlands: 28.0% on EUR 35,546 with the 8% holiday allowance. Philippines: 11.3% on PHP 2,520,000 with the 13th month pay.
• France 31.79%, Spain 32.15%, Australia 12.00% (super only), Japan 15.70%, Poland 20.48%, Ireland 12.90%.

If you plan to hire several people in one country, compare the EOR fee with running your own entity in EOR vs setting up an entity.

How we measure employer cost

1. We pick a salary of about USD 40,000 in local currency, converted at the ECB reference rate where the row says so (for example MXN 740,000 at 18.52 per USD, Oct 15, 2026). Some rows use a typical local professional salary instead, and say so (UK GBP 30,000, Canada CAD 56,643).
2. We apply every mandatory employer contribution from the official source, with its 2026 cap and floor.
3. We add mandatory bonuses or accruals where the country row includes them, and say which.
4. We leave out items that depend on the employer, such as industry accident rates, profit sharing and voluntary benefits, and name them in the row.
5. We leave a country out of the index when only part of its cost could be confirmed (for example Italy, Chile, Switzerland and Belgium) or when the inputs could not be confirmed at all.

Each country page shows the math. If you spot a figure that has changed, the date checked is on every row.