Workers' comp premium calculator
Workers’ compensation is the one premium a contractor can compute exactly, because the formula is published. Enter your payroll by class and the rates from your declarations page, and the arithmetic is the same one your carrier runs.
Pre-filled with a mixed crew. Take the class rates from your own declarations page — filed rates are state- and carrier-specific, so this tool never invents one.
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Annual premium
- Carpentry crew
- $17,100
- Roofing crew
- $25,200
- Office and estimating
- $245
- Manual premium
- $42,545
- Experience modification
- ×1.00
This is the rating core only. Your bill will also carry an expense constant, any schedule credit or debit your underwriter applies, and state assessments — and it will be trued up at audit against actual payroll. Payroll not split by class code in your records will be rated at the highest applicable class.
§ 1What this estimates
The rating core of your workers’ compensation premium. It excludes the expense constant, schedule credits and debits, and state assessments — all of which sit on top and none of which change the shape of the answer.
§ 2How to use it
- § 1Add one row per class code that appears on your policy.
- § 2Copy the rate for each code from your declarations page. Rates are filed per state and per carrier; nobody can give you a national number.
- § 3Enter your e-mod. 1.00 if you do not have one yet — small employers often do not.
§ 3Worked example
The default crew shows the pattern that matters: a roofing payroll of $90,000 costs more in premium than a carpentry payroll of $180,000, because the class rate is roughly three times higher. That is the whole reason payroll records by class are worth keeping.
| Scenario | How payroll is rated | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Records split by class code | Each class at its own rate | You pay the true blended cost |
| No usable split | All payroll at the highest class | The office salary is rated as roofing |
| Sub with a valid certificate | Not your payroll | No effect on your premium |
| Sub with no certificate | Treated as your payroll at audit | Backdated premium across the year |
§ 4State notes
Requirements differ by state and Texas is the outlier — workers’ compensation is not universally mandatory there for private employers, which moves the question into your contracts rather than removing it. Everywhere else, employing anyone generally means carrying it, and the board that licenses you will usually ask to see it.
Checked against
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation — programme listread 2026-09-04
- CSLB — Limited Liability Company (LLC) licencesread 2026-09-04
Not legal advice. Fees, bond amounts and deadlines are set by statute and change without notice — confirm with the board that issues your licence before you file.