payroll expenses and labor cost

Hi @Jadallah  , 

What Is Payroll Expense?

 Payroll expense is the amount you pay to your employees in the form of salaries and wages in exchange for the work they do for your business. Any compensation you give to your employees should be included as a payroll expense, including bonuses, stock options, commissions, and other money spent on your employees.

Additionally, any benefits you provide your employers are also a payroll expense. The payroll expense is the portion you pay for your employees’ health care plans and/or retirement funds.

Furthermore, it also includes the amount your business pays in taxes to federal, state, and local agencies based on gross payroll figures. However, the tax withholdings from employee paychecks are not included in your payroll expenses since they’ve already been included as part of gross wages.

What Is Cost of Labor?

The cost of labor is the total amount of all salaries, wages, and other forms of income paid to employees. It also includes the total amounts of all employee benefits and federal, state, and local payroll taxes that your business has paid (not the portion your employees paid).

The cost of labor is broken into direct and indirect (overhead) costs. Direct labor costs are those expenses that are directly related to product production. Direct costs include the wages of employees who directly make the product. Indirect labor costs are those expenses related to supporting product production. Indirect costs would include the wages of office workers, security personnel, or employees who maintain factory equipment. The work they provide isn’t directly related to producing a product.

Unlike payroll expense, the cost of labor also includes the amounts paid to contract labor. An independent contractor (also called a freelancer) provides work for your business when needed, but they are not an employee. They are paid on a contract basis, using an IRS Form 1099 to report the payments. 

Cheers.