FICA Tax Calculator
Estimate Social Security and Medicare withholding.
Results update as you type.
This calculator is for illustrative purposes only. Actual rates, fees and terms vary by lender. Consult a qualified financial adviser before making borrowing decisions.
How it works
FICA tax is the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare, withheld from your wages under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. The figure shown here is your share of that tax based on your annual wages, using 2024 rates. It matters because FICA is a fixed, unavoidable deduction from earned income that comes out before you ever see your paycheck, and understanding it clarifies the gap between your salary and your take-home pay. This FICA tax calculator applies the 6.2% Social Security rate to your wages up to the 2024 wage base of $168,600 — earnings above that are not subject to Social Security tax — and the 1.45% Medicare rate to all wages, then adds the additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on any wages above $200,000. Splitting the two components this way is necessary because they have different rules: Social Security is capped, while Medicare is uncapped and gains a surtax at higher incomes. Workers use a FICA calculator to understand their paycheck deductions, to verify their employer is withholding correctly, and to plan around the higher effective tax on top earners. Note that these are the employee-side figures; your employer pays a matching 6.2% and 1.45%, and self-employed people pay both halves as self-employment tax. The result reflects 2024 thresholds, which the IRS adjusts most years, so confirm the current wage base and rules before relying on it for a different tax year.
SS = 6.2% × min(wages, $168,600) · Medicare = 1.45% × wages + 0.9% × wages over $200,000 (2024)
Social Security tax is 6.2% of your wages but only up to the annual wage base — $168,600 in 2024 — so earnings above that add nothing more to it. Medicare tax is 1.45% of all wages with no cap. On top of that, an additional Medicare tax of 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000, so high earners pay 2.35% on the portion over that threshold. Adding the Social Security and Medicare components gives your total employee FICA withholding for the year.
Source:IRS — FICA (2024)
We review all our tools from time to time to ensure accuracy.
Worked example
How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter your values
Enter annual wages.
- 2
Adjust the options
Fine-tune any options to match your situation.
- 3
Read your result
Social Security tax updates instantly as you type — no button to press.
Frequently asked questions
What is FICA tax?
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, the law that requires payroll taxes to fund Social Security and Medicare. It is withheld automatically from your wages by your employer and matched by the employer dollar for dollar. The tax has two parts: Social Security, which funds retirement, disability and survivor benefits, and Medicare, which funds health coverage for people 65 and older. FICA applies to earned income from wages, separate from federal and state income taxes that also come out of your pay.
What is the Social Security wage base?
The wage base is the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax in a year — $168,600 for 2024. You pay 6.2% on wages up to that limit, and nothing on earnings above it, so the most any employee pays in Social Security tax in 2024 is about $10,453. Medicare has no such cap. The wage base rises most years with average wage growth, so check the current figure for other tax years before relying on this estimate.
What is the additional Medicare tax?
It is an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on wages above $200,000, introduced to have higher earners contribute more. Below the threshold you pay the standard 1.45%; on the portion above it, you pay 2.35% in total. Employers begin withholding it once your wages with them pass $200,000, regardless of your filing status, though the actual threshold on your tax return varies by filing status. Unlike the base Medicare tax, employers do not match this additional 0.9%.
Do employers pay FICA too?
Yes. FICA is split evenly between employee and employer. Your employer matches your 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare contributions, so a total of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare goes toward these programs on your behalf. The employer does not match the additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on high earners. This calculator shows the employee half that appears on your pay stub; the employer's matching share is paid separately and does not reduce your wages.
How does FICA work if I'm self-employed?
Self-employed people pay both the employee and employer halves themselves, through the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) tax — 12.4% for Social Security up to the wage base and 2.9% for Medicare, plus the 0.9% surtax at higher incomes. That is effectively double the employee rate shown here. However, you can deduct the employer-equivalent half when calculating your income tax, and Social Security still only applies up to the annual wage base. This tool models the employee-side withholding for wage earners specifically.