FICA Tax Calculator
Calculate your FICA tax (Social Security + Medicare) withheld from wages, including the Social Security wage cap and Additional Medicare Tax on high earners.
How to use this tool
- Enter your annual wages subject to FICA.
- Confirm the Social Security and Medicare rates and the wage base.
- Set the Additional Medicare threshold for your filing status and its rate.
- Read Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare, and total FICA.
Calculate the FICA tax withheld from your paycheck. Enter your wages and the rates; the calculator applies the Social Security wage cap and the Additional Medicare Tax for high earners automatically.
Formula
Social Security = min(Wages, Wage base) × SS rate
Medicare = Wages × Medicare rate (no cap)
Additional Medicare = max(0, Wages − Threshold) × Additional rate
Total FICA = Social Security + Medicare + Additional Medicare
How it works
FICA is the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare tax withheld from wages. The Social Security portion (6.2% in the US) applies only up to an annual wage base; the Medicare portion (1.45%) applies to all wages with no cap. High earners owe an Additional Medicare Tax (0.9% in the US) on wages above a filing-status threshold, which this calculator adds on the portion over the threshold you enter. Together these explain why a typical worker's combined FICA rate is 7.65% but a high earner's effective rate drops as Social Security caps out, even with the extra Medicare tax.
Every rate and threshold is an editable field with a US default, so the tool generalizes across years and filing situations: set the wage base, the Additional Medicare threshold (e.g. $200,000 single, $250,000 married filing jointly), and the rates to match your authority's figures. This estimate covers the employee FICA withheld from pay; employers pay a matching Social Security and Medicare amount (but not the Additional Medicare Tax), which is not shown here.
Reviewed by the AbraCalc Tax Desk. This calculator provides general information, not tax advice; confirm current rates and rules with your tax authority (for the United States, the IRS).
Worked example
$70,000 wages (US rates)
- Wages are below the wage base, so Social Security = 70,000 × 6.2% = 4,340.
- Medicare = 70,000 × 1.45% = 1,015.
- Wages are below the $200,000 threshold, so Additional Medicare = 0.
- Total FICA = 4,340 + 1,015 + 0 = 5,355.
- FICA as % of wages = 5,355 ÷ 70,000 = 7.65%.
Total FICA tax = $5,355.00 (7.65% of wages)
FICA tax by wages (US rates, $168,600 cap, $200,000 Additional Medicare threshold)
| Annual wages | Social Security | Medicare | Total FICA |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,480.00 | $580.00 | $3,060.00 |
| $70,000 | $4,340.00 | $1,015.00 | $5,355.00 |
| $100,000 | $6,200.00 | $1,450.00 | $7,650.00 |
| $150,000 | $9,300.00 | $2,175.00 | $11,475.00 |
| $168,600 | $10,453.20 | $2,444.70 | $12,897.90 |
| $200,000 | $10,453.20 | $2,900.00 | $13,353.20 |
| $250,000 | $10,453.20 | $3,625.00 | $14,528.20 |
Key terms
- FICA
- Federal Insurance Contributions Act — the payroll tax funding Social Security and Medicare.
- Social Security wage base
- The annual cap on wages subject to the Social Security portion of FICA.
- Additional Medicare Tax
- An extra 0.9% employee Medicare tax on wages above a filing-status threshold.
- Combined FICA rate
- The standard 7.65% employee rate (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare) below the cap.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the FICA tax rate?
- For most workers it is 7.65%: 6.2% for Social Security (up to the wage base) plus 1.45% for Medicare on all wages. Employers match this amount; the self-employed pay both halves.
- Why does my FICA rate fall at high incomes?
- Social Security stops at the annual wage base, so above it only Medicare (and any Additional Medicare Tax) applies. That lowers the effective FICA rate on each additional dollar even though the dollar amount keeps rising.
- What is the Additional Medicare Tax?
- It is an extra 0.9% employee Medicare tax on wages above a threshold ($200,000 for single filers, $250,000 married filing jointly in the US). Employers do not match it.