What is labor burden?

Every employment cost beyond the base wage: payroll taxes, workers' comp, liability, benefits, vehicle, phone and tools. It's usually 25–60% on top of wages.

Why do billable hours matter?

Fixed costs spread across fewer billable hours raise your true hourly cost. Drive time, shop time and PTO all reduce billable hours.

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Labor Burden Calculator

Your real labor cost is never the base wage. Add burden to price jobs that actually make money.

Your numbers

Base hourly wage ($/hr)

Billable hours per year

Payroll taxes (%)

Workers' comp (%)

General liability (%)

Benefits per year ($)

Truck, phone, tools per year ($)

Results

Annual base wages: $56,000
Taxes & insurance: $10,640
Benefits, truck, tools: $13,200
Burdened hourly cost: $45.62
Burden rate: 42.6%

Planning estimate only — based on the inputs above and typical industry rates, not a quote or a guarantee. Verify against your own costs before pricing work.

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