HVAC Employee True Cost Calculator
That $30/hr technician actually costs you $55 to $65 per hour. See every dollar with this calculator.
Employee Pay
What you pay this HVAC employee per hour, before any employer costs.
Country
Mandatory employer costs change by country. Select yours.
Mandatory Employer Costs
These are required by law. You pay them on top of every dollar of wages.
Benefits You Provide
Toggle on the benefits you offer. Only include what you actually pay for.
Productivity
Not every paid hour is productive HVAC work. Factor in drive time, paperwork, breaks, and downtime.
True Employee Cost
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per productive hour
$0
per paid hour
$0
fully loaded annual cost
Adjust the inputs on the left to see your numbers update in real time.
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True Employee Cost for HVAC Companies
You pay your HVAC tech $30 an hour. That is what shows up on the paycheck. But your actual cost to have that person on the team is $55 to $65 per hour. The gap comes from payroll taxes you owe as the employer, workers comp insurance, health coverage, PTO, and the truck and tools they need to do the job.
This calculator shows you every cost, line by line. No more guessing what an employee actually costs your HVAC business. Plug in your real numbers and see the total. Then look at the cost per productive hour, because your techs are not billing every hour they are on the clock.
Mandatory Employer Costs for HVAC
Before you add a single benefit, the government takes its cut. Employer FICA adds 7.65% to every paycheck. State unemployment adds 2% to 5%. Workers comp for HVAC classifications runs 4% to 7%, and it is higher for install crews than service techs. On a $30/hr tech, those mandatory costs alone add $4.50 to $6.00 per hour. That is $9,000 to $12,500 per year per employee in costs you cannot avoid.
The Productivity Gap in HVAC
Here is where most HVAC owners get the math wrong. You pay your tech for 2,080 hours per year (40 hours times 52 weeks). But they only bill 1,200 to 1,450 of those hours. The rest is drive time between calls, morning dispatch meetings, parts runs, training days, and PTO. If your total annual cost per tech is $115,000 and they produce 1,350 billable hours, your real cost is $85 per productive hour. That is the number you need when you set your billing rate.
Tips for HVAC Employee Costing
- Your billing rate should be 2.5x to 3.5x your true cost per productive hour. If your productive hour cost is $85, your billing rate needs to be $213 to $298 to cover overhead and profit.
- Track productive hours by technician, not as a company average. Your top tech might bill 70% of hours while a newer tech bills 50%. Price their work differently.
- Workers comp rates vary wildly by state and classification. Get your actual rate from your policy. Using an estimate here can throw your numbers off by thousands per year.
- Every benefit you add is a cost per hour. A $700/month health plan adds $4.04/hr. An $800/month truck adds $4.62/hr. Make sure your billing rate covers all of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an HVAC technician really cost per hour?
An HVAC tech making $30 per hour actually costs $55 to $65 per hour when you add employer FICA at 7.65%, workers comp at 4% to 7%, health insurance at $500 to $700 per month, PTO, truck costs at $800 to $1,200 per month, and tools. The burden multiplier for HVAC is typically 1.8x to 2.2x the base wage. That means for every dollar you pay in wages, you spend another $0.80 to $1.20 in employer costs.
What is the labor burden rate for HVAC companies?
HVAC labor burden typically runs 25% to 40% on top of base wages for mandatory costs alone. That covers employer FICA (7.65%), state unemployment (2% to 5%), and workers comp (4% to 7% for HVAC classifications). When you add health insurance, PTO, truck, and tools, the total burden reaches 80% to 120% of base wages. A company paying $30/hr in wages spends $54 to $66/hr total per technician.
What is workers comp for HVAC technicians?
Workers comp rates for HVAC technicians range from 3.5% to 7% of gross payroll depending on your state, claims history, and specific classification code. Install work is rated higher than service work. A $30/hr HVAC tech with a 5% workers comp rate costs you $1.50/hr just for that one line item. That adds up to $3,120 per year per technician.
How do you calculate the true cost of an HVAC employee?
Start with annual gross pay (hourly rate times hours per year). Add mandatory employer costs: FICA (7.65%), FUTA (0.6%), state unemployment (2% to 4%), and workers comp (4% to 7%). Then add benefits you provide: health insurance, PTO, retirement match, truck, tools, phone, and uniforms. Divide the annual total by productive hours (not paid hours) to get your true cost per billable hour.
What percentage of an HVAC tech time is billable?
Most HVAC companies see 55% to 70% of a technician total paid hours as productive or billable time. The rest goes to drive time, paperwork, parts runs, training, meetings, and downtime between calls. If you pay for 2,080 hours per year but only bill 1,350, your cost per productive hour is 54% higher than your raw hourly rate. This gap is the biggest hidden cost most HVAC owners miss.
Knowing Your Numbers Is Step One
This calculator shows you one piece. The Growth Report shows you the full picture: where you're leaking revenue, what to fix first, and how contractors like you are growing past the ceiling.