Medicare Tax Calculator

Total Medicare tax you owe —

Regular Medicare tax: —
Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%): —
Employer's matching share: —
Effective Medicare rate: —

Employees pay 1.45% Medicare tax on all wages and employers match it; self-employed people pay 2.9% on 92.35% of net profit. Earnings above $200,000 (single), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately) carry an extra 0.9%. A single employee earning $210,000 owes $3,045 plus $90, or $3,135.

About this tool

Medicare tax has no wage cap, unlike Social Security, so every dollar of pay is taxed and high earners face a second layer. Payroll staff checking a pay stub, freelancers estimating Schedule SE, and couples near the joint threshold all need the same split. Enter how you are paid, your filing status and annual earnings; the result separates the regular tax, the Additional Medicare Tax, the employer's matching share for W-2 wages, and your effective rate, with each multiplication written out. The tool treats wages and self-employment profit separately; if you have both, the thresholds interact on Form 8959 and the figure here is an estimate only.

How to use it

Pick how you are paid
Employee uses the 1.45% payroll rate; self-employed applies 2.9% to 92.35% of net profit.
Choose filing status
This sets the threshold for the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.
Enter annual earnings
Type yearly Medicare wages (box 5 of Form W-2) or net self-employment profit; the totals update as you type.

Examples

Single employee, $210,000

How you are paid: Employee (W-2)
Filing status: Single / HoH
Annual wages or net self-employment profit: 210000

Result Total Medicare tax you owe: $3,135.00
Regular Medicare tax: $3,045.00
Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%): $90.00
Employer's matching share: $3,045.00
Effective Medicare rate: 1.493%

Employee Medicare = $210,000.00 × 1.45% = $3,045.00
Employer pays a matching $3,045.00 (not deducted from pay)
Additional Medicare Tax = max(0, $210,000.00 − $200,000.00) × 0.9% = $90.00
Total Medicare tax you owe = $3,045.00 + $90.00 = $3,135.00

1.45% of every dollar gives $3,045, and the $10,000 above the $200,000 threshold adds $90 of Additional Medicare Tax.

Joint filers, $210,000 wages

How you are paid: Employee (W-2)
Filing status: Married, jointly
Annual wages or net self-employment profit: 210000

Result Total Medicare tax you owe: $3,045.00
Regular Medicare tax: $3,045.00
Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%): $0.00
Employer's matching share: $3,045.00
Effective Medicare rate: 1.45%

Employee Medicare = $210,000.00 × 1.45% = $3,045.00
Employer pays a matching $3,045.00 (not deducted from pay)
Additional Medicare Tax = max(0, $210,000.00 − $250,000.00) × 0.9% = $0.00
Total Medicare tax you owe = $3,045.00 + $0.00 = $3,045.00

The joint threshold is $250,000, so no 0.9% is owed, although an employer paying one spouse over $200,000 would still withhold it.

Self-employed, $100,000 profit

How you are paid: Self-employed
Filing status: Single / HoH
Annual wages or net self-employment profit: 100000

Result Total Medicare tax you owe: $2,678.15
Regular Medicare tax: $2,678.15
Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%): $0.00
Employer's matching share: $0.00
Effective Medicare rate: 2.678%

Net earnings subject to SE tax = $100,000.00 × 92.35% = $92,350.00
Medicare part of SE tax = $92,350.00 × 2.9% = $2,678.15
Additional Medicare Tax = max(0, $92,350.00 − $200,000.00) × 0.9% = $0.00
Total Medicare tax you owe = $2,678.15 + $0.00 = $2,678.15

Schedule SE taxes 92.35% of profit, $92,350, and the Medicare part is 2.9% of that: $2,678.15.

How it is calculated

Medicare tax = base × r + max(0, base − threshold) × 0.9%

base: Medicare wages, or net self-employment profit × 92.35%
r: 1.45% for the employee share, 2.9% for self-employed
threshold: $200,000 single, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse; $250,000 married filing jointly; $125,000 married filing separately

Regular Medicare tax applies to the whole base with no ceiling. The Additional Medicare Tax under Internal Revenue Code section 3101(b)(2) applies only to the portion above the threshold for your filing status and is never matched by the employer. The thresholds are fixed in law and not indexed for inflation, so they are the same every year.

Sources

Topic no. 560, Additional Medicare Tax — Internal Revenue Service
Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax — Internal Revenue Service
Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates — Internal Revenue Service

When not to use it

If you have both W-2 wages and self-employment profit, the threshold is shared on Form 8959 and needs the full form.
Railroad workers paid under RRTA compensation follow a separate Medicare calculation.
Certain nonresident aliens and student workers are exempt from FICA and owe no Medicare tax.

Common mistakes

Entering gross pay instead of Medicare wages, which already exclude some pre-tax items such as many cafeteria plan benefits.
Applying the 0.9% to all wages instead of only the amount above the threshold.
Forgetting the 92.35% step for self-employment profit, which overstates the tax by about 8%.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a wage cap for Medicare tax?

No. Social Security tax stops at the annual wage base, but the 1.45% Medicare tax applies to every dollar of wages, and the 2.9% self-employed rate applies to all qualifying profit.

Does my employer pay the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax too?

No. The employer matches only the regular 1.45%. The extra 0.9% is paid by the employee alone, which is why the employer's share shown here never includes it.

Why was 0.9% withheld when our joint income is under $250,000?

Employers must withhold the extra 0.9% once they pay you more than $200,000 in a year, without regard to filing status. If your combined wages stay under $250,000, Form 8959 credits the excess against your income tax on the return.

Why does self-employed Medicare use 92.35% of profit?

Schedule SE reduces net profit by 7.65%, mirroring the employer's half of FICA that an employee never sees in pay. The 2.9% then applies to the remaining 92.35%.

Are the thresholds adjusted for inflation?

No. The $200,000, $250,000 and $125,000 thresholds have been fixed since the tax began in 2013, so more workers cross them over time as wages rise.

Can I deduct Medicare tax on my return?

Employees cannot. Self-employed people deduct half of their self-employment tax, including the regular Medicare part, as an adjustment to income; the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax is not part of that deduction.

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). Medicare Tax Calculator. Tools Directory. Retrieved October 28, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/medicare-tax-calculator/

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Link

<a href="https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/medicare-tax-calculator/">Medicare Tax Calculator – Tools Directory</a>