Method: the formula, the sources and what is excluded

The formula

Each contribution uses its own documented earnings base and limits. The generic annual percentage formula is not a universal payroll rule. Brazil's worked assumptions include a thirteenth salary and a separate one-third vacation premium, with ordinary contributions and FGTS on covered remuneration. The total-gross option includes both salary additions. The Philippines model calculates twelve monthly capped contributions and fixed EC only for its supported constant high-pay scenario. Lower or irregular pay requires monthly payroll; no unsupported estimate is shown.

There is no score, no weighting and no editorial adjustment anywhere in it. Ordering on every table is by a computed number, ascending or descending as stated, and that is the whole ranking method.

Where the rates come from

A national social security agency, tax authority or labor ministry, wherever one publishes the rate. Every line carries the URL it came from and the date it was read, and two separate labels.

The first label is the kind of source. 33 of 67 lines are marked statutory, meaning the page belongs to the body that sets or collects that contribution. The remaining 34 are marked payroll reference: the statutory page could not be reliably retrieved, or the figure is published by an industry body or a government news service rather than by the collecting agency itself, so a national payroll reference is named instead. Both are linked on the country page; neither is hidden behind a summary.

The second label is confidence in the reading. 30 of 67 lines are high and 37 are medium. A line can be statutory and still medium, for example where the agency had not yet published the current year and the previous year's figure is shown.

Statutory extra pay and the contribution base

Extra salary payments and the earnings base for each contribution are separate rules. The generic annual model uses the documented extra-pay flag where it applies; a scheme-specific payroll_model overrides that flag and states its own scope, monthly bases and fixed charges. An omitted item can still be due.

Brazil separately adds the vacation premium and includes it, together with thirteenth salary, in the covered remuneration used by its worked model. The Philippines override applies each scheme by month and fixed EC only in the supported constant high-pay scenario; it does not infer PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG treatment from SSS.

For the same reason the calculator asks whether the salary you enter is a twelve-month base or an annual total that already contains the extra pay. The two produce different employer costs from the same headline number.

What we exclude, deliberately

Anything set per employer rather than by statute, anything set regionally where there is no national figure, and anything that depends on a collective agreement. The exclusions are described here. These estimates cover the modeled items and assumptions, rather than a complete payroll bill. An omitted cost can still apply, and a representative rate can be higher or lower than the rate an individual employer pays.

The two salary levels

Each country page shows a mid-level salary and double it to illustrate the effect of contribution ceilings. In the supported Philippines high-pay scenario the contribution subtotal is fixed, while thirteenth salary still increases with basic pay. In Portugal there is no ceiling at all, and a single headline percentage would hide that difference completely.

Currency

We publish no exchange rates and convert nothing. Each country is in its own currency, provider fees are in the dollars the provider publishes, and comparisons between countries are made on the uplift percentage rather than on converted amounts. An exchange rate we could not date would put a fabricated number into every figure on the site.

Corrections and the data itself

The whole dataset, including every source URL, is published. The dataset page defines every column and gives the license and the citation to use; the files themselves are data.csv, providers.csv and data.json, all under CC BY 4.0. If a rate here does not match the statutory source today, tell us and we will re-read and re-date the entry.

How companies get on this site

The dataset covers the providers named on the provider page; it is not a survey of every employer of record. Providers without a confirmed public starting price are marked "Not published". No provider can pay to be included, excluded, or moved. We do not own, operate, or hold a stake in any product listed. The ranking formula is: published list price per employee per month, ascending, with providers that publish no price listed after them in alphabetical order. We do not accept free accounts, demos, or review units.

Placement is not for sale

No provider has paid, or can pay, to appear here or to be ordered above another. The referral payouts that could influence a site like this are published next to the prices on the provider page and again on the disclosure page.

Last updated: 2026-10-14