At TalentScaleHQ, we believe in absolute cost transparency for cross-border hiring. Our employment cost calculators are designed to eliminate the "hidden fees" often associated with global teams. Here is how we source and verify our data.
1. Base Salary Benchmarks
We do not rely on generic crowdsourced data (like standard Glassdoor averages), which often skew low due to domestic, non-English speaking roles. Our base salary figures specifically target export-grade tech talent (fluent English, modern tech stacks, US-timezone overlap). Data points are aggregated from:
- Verified placements from top LatAm Dev Shops.
- Specialized remote hiring platforms (e.g., Arc.dev, Turing).
- Annual tech compensation reports spanning Q4 2025 to Q1 2026.
2. Employer Taxes & Statutory Benefits
Local labor laws dictate mandatory employer burdens (Employer Payroll Taxes). We manually verify these percentages against official government tax directives and cross-reference them with Tier-1 Employer of Record (EOR) public guidelines (such as Deel and Remote).
- Mandatory Bonuses: Factored into the total cost (e.g., the 13th-month Prima in Colombia, or Aguinaldo in Mexico).
- Social Security: Includes pension, health, and labor risk provisions legally required for full-time compliant hiring.
3. EOR / Management Fees
To provide a realistic Total Annual Cost for US companies that do not have local legal entities, we include an estimated $599/month ($7,188/year) management fee, which is the industry standard for premium EOR platforms managing local payroll and compliance.