New Jersey · 2026 planning data

New Jersey SUTA rate and employer cost for 2026

New Jersey's sourced 2026 unemployment-insurance model uses a taxable wage base of $44,800 per employee and a 2.80% standard new-employer rate. The assigned rate can differ after an acquisition, experience rating, industry classification, or state assessment.

Calculate a New Jersey estimate

How the New Jersey SUTA line is estimated

State unemployment tax applies only up to the annual UI wage base for each employee. For an employee earning at least $44,800, the planning calculation is:

The standard sourced new-employer rate in the EmployerCost model is 2.80%. A transferred experience account, special industry rule, assessment, or employer notice can produce a different total.

What this New Jersey estimate does not include

New Jersey employers owe one mandatory cost that this calculator does not add to the total, because it depends on facts the calculator never asks for — how many people the employer has, which city the work happens in, how much payroll it runs in a quarter. Adding it to every employer would overcharge the ones the rule does not reach, so it is named here instead of buried in a number.

• Temporary Disability Insurance, employer contribution — about $224 a year for a $60,000 employee

  0.50% for a new employer on a separate $44,800 wage base of its own, ranging 0.10% to 0.75% with experience. This is the D.I. column of the same rate table the unemployment figure comes from.

  Applies when: Every covered employer.

  Source: New Jersey Department of Labor: employer rate information

What changes the real employer cost

• New Jersey has multiple employer and employee contribution programs; this MVP focuses on employer-side planning cost.
• Validate state disability, family leave, and local obligations before payroll setup.
• Employer Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA remain separate federal cost lines.
• Workers compensation in New Jersey runs 198% of the national median — 98% above it, 2nd of 51 jurisdictions at $2.16 per $100 of payroll (Oregon DCBS 2024 premium rate ranking). That is a relativity between states, not your rate: class code, carrier, payroll exposure and experience modifier decide what you actually pay.
• Health benefits, retirement contributions, payroll software, and HR administration depend on the employer's choices.

Use the calculator's custom SUTA field whenever an official notice supplies a different rate. Read the SUTA rate guide and employer payroll tax guide before relying on a planning result.

New Jersey employer cost questions

What is the New Jersey SUTA wage base for 2026?

The sourced taxable wage base used by EmployerCost is $44,800 per employee. Wages above that cap are not included in this SUTA line, but can still affect Social Security, Medicare, benefits, workers compensation, and other costs.

What rate should a new New Jersey employer use?

The standard sourced new-employer rate in the EmployerCost model is 2.80%. A transferred experience account, special industry rule, assessment, or employer notice can produce a different total.

Is SUTA the full cost of a New Jersey employee?

No. Start with salary, then add employer FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers compensation, benefits, and payroll administration. The New Jersey calculator keeps uncertain items as ranges.

Official sources

• New Jersey Department of Labor: employer rate information
• U.S. Department of Labor — Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, effective January 2026

Verified against official sources July 30, 2026.

General planning information only. Not payroll, tax, legal, insurance, or HR compliance advice.