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FICA Calculator

FinancePayroll and Benefits
How you are paid

Sets the Additional Medicare threshold: $200,000, $250,000 or $125,000.

Your total FICA for the year —
Social Security (OASDI)
—
Medicare (HI)
—
Additional Medicare tax
—
Employer's matching share
—
Share of earnings
—

FICA is 7.65% of an employee's wages: 6.2% Social Security on pay up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 plus 1.45% Medicare on all pay, with 0.9% more above $200,000 for single filers. A $50,000 salary owes $3,825, and the employer pays another $3,825.

About this tool

Payroll staff, new hires reading a first pay stub and freelancers budgeting for quarterly estimates all need the same split: how much goes to Social Security and how much to Medicare. Enter yearly wages or net self-employment earnings, pick how you are paid and your filing status, and the calculator shows each piece, the Additional Medicare surtax, the employer's matching share and the total as a share of earnings. Self-employed figures apply the 92.35% Schedule SE adjustment and the combined 15.3% rate. It uses the 2026 Social Security wage base; someone with two employers in one year may see more withheld than this figure, because each employer applies the cap separately and the excess is refunded on the return.

How to use it

  1. Choose how you are paid

    Employee uses the 7.65% withholding rates; self-employed uses Schedule SE with both halves.

  2. Enter yearly earnings

    Gross wages from box 1 of a pay summary, or net profit from your business.

  3. Pick your filing status

    It sets the point where the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax starts.

  4. Check the working

    Each line shows the base, the rate applied and the dollar amount.

Examples

$50,000 salary, single

How you are paid
Employee (W-2)
Yearly wages or net self-employment earnings
50000
Filing status
Single or head of household

Result Your total FICA for the year: $3,825.00
Social Security (OASDI): $3,100.00
Medicare (HI): $725.00
Additional Medicare tax: $0.00
Employer's matching share: $3,825.00
Share of earnings: 7.65%

  1. Social Security = $50,000.00 × 6.2% = $3,100.00
  2. Medicare = $50,000.00 × 1.45% = $725.00
  3. Additional Medicare = max(0, $50,000.00 − $200,000.00) × 0.9% = $0.00
  4. Total = $3,825.00

Below the wage base, an employee pays a flat 7.65%, and the employer pays the same $3,825 again.

$250,000 salary, single

How you are paid
Employee (W-2)
Yearly wages or net self-employment earnings
250000
Filing status
Single or head of household

Result Your total FICA for the year: $15,514.00
Social Security (OASDI): $11,439.00
Medicare (HI): $3,625.00
Additional Medicare tax: $450.00
Employer's matching share: $15,064.00
Share of earnings: 6.21%

  1. Social Security = $184,500.00 × 6.2% = $11,439.00 (capped at the $184,500.00 wage base)
  2. Medicare = $250,000.00 × 1.45% = $3,625.00
  3. Additional Medicare = max(0, $250,000.00 − $200,000.00) × 0.9% = $450.00
  4. Total = $15,514.00

Social Security stops at the $184,500 wage base, while Medicare continues and picks up 0.9% extra on the $50,000 above $200,000.

$100,000 net self-employment

How you are paid
Self-employed
Yearly wages or net self-employment earnings
100000
Filing status
Single or head of household

Result Your total FICA for the year: $14,129.55
Social Security (OASDI): $11,451.40
Medicare (HI): $2,678.15
Additional Medicare tax: $0.00
Employer's matching share: $0.00
Share of earnings: 14.13%

  1. Net earnings subject to SE tax = $100,000.00 × 92.35% = $92,350.00
  2. Social Security = $92,350.00 × 12.4% = $11,451.40
  3. Medicare = $92,350.00 × 2.90% = $2,678.15
  4. Additional Medicare = max(0, $92,350.00 − $200,000.00) × 0.9% = $0.00
  5. Total = $14,129.55

Only 92.35% of net earnings is taxed, at the combined 15.3% rate, giving $14,129.55.

How it is calculated

FICA = 6.2% × min(W, 184,500) + 1.45% × W + 0.9% × max(0, W − T)

W
yearly wages; for self-employment, 92.35% of net earnings, with the rates doubled to 12.4% and 2.9%
T
Additional Medicare threshold: $200,000 single, $250,000 married jointly, $125,000 married separately

Social Security stops at the yearly wage base set by the Social Security Administration, $184,500 for 2026. Medicare has no cap. The 0.9% Additional Medicare tax applies only to the employee or self-employed person; employers do not match it. For self-employment, the 92.35% factor mirrors the employer-half deduction an employee never sees on wages.

Sources

When not to use it

  • Railroad workers pay under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act, not FICA.
  • Some state and local government staff, ministers and certain nonresident students are exempt or covered differently.
  • People with both wages and self-employment income need Schedule SE, which reduces the SE wage base by wages already taxed.

Common mistakes

  • Applying 6.2% Social Security to pay above the yearly wage base.
  • Adding the employer's matching share to the employee's own cost.
  • Using gross self-employment receipts instead of net profit after business expenses.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my employer withhold Additional Medicare tax when I file jointly?

Employers must withhold the 0.9% once your wages from them pass $200,000 in a calendar year, regardless of your filing status. If your joint income stays under $250,000, the extra withholding is credited back on Form 8959 with your return.

What happens if two employers both withhold Social Security?

Each employer applies the wage base on its own, so combined withholding can exceed 6.2% of $184,500. The excess Social Security tax is claimed as a credit on your Form 1040.

Why is self-employment tax figured on 92.35% of profit?

An employee's FICA is computed on wages that exclude the employer's 7.65% share. Multiplying net earnings by 92.35%, which is 100% minus 7.65%, puts self-employed people on the same footing.

Do pre-tax 401(k) contributions lower FICA?

No. Traditional 401(k) deferrals reduce income tax wages but are still subject to Social Security and Medicare. Section 125 cafeteria plan items such as most health premiums are generally excluded from FICA wages.

Does the employer match the Additional Medicare tax?

No. The employer pays 6.2% and 1.45% on the same wages it withholds on, but the 0.9% surtax falls on the employee alone, which is why the matching share here leaves it out.

Is half of self-employment tax deductible?

Yes. The employer-equivalent half of the Social Security and Medicare portion is an adjustment to income on Schedule 1. It lowers income tax, not the self-employment tax itself.

Cite this tool

Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.

APA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 24). FICA Calculator. Tools Directory. Retrieved October 28, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/fica-calculator/

MLA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “FICA Calculator.” Tools Directory, 24 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/fica-calculator/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “FICA Calculator.” Tools Directory. Last modified October 24, 2026. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/fica-calculator/.

Link<a href="https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/fica-calculator/">FICA Calculator – Tools Directory</a>