Brackets · calculator
FICA tax rates for 2026
Social Security and Medicare taxes on wages and self-employment income, with the 2026 wage base.
FICA tax on your 2026 earnings
Your share of FICA
$9,180
7.6% of $120,000
- Social Security$7,440
- Medicare$1,740
- Additional Medicare tax (0.9%)$0
- Earnings above the wage base$0
Your employer pays the same 6.2% and 1.45% on top; the additional 0.9% is employee-only.
FICA, the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare, takes 7.65% of an employee's wages in 2026: 6.2% for Social Security on wages up to the $184,500 wage base and 1.45% for Medicare on all wages, with the employer paying the same amounts on top (IRS Topic 751). Wages above $200,000 in a year also bear the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, which the employer withholds from the first paycheck past that amount regardless of filing status; on the return the threshold is $250,000 for a joint return and $125,000 married filing separately (IRS Topic 560). A worker earning $60,000 pays $4,590 of FICA; one earning $250,000 pays $15,514, because Social Security stops at the wage base. Self-employed people pay both halves, 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit: $11,304 on $80,000 of profit, half of it deductible. FICA is due on tips and overtime even when the new income tax deductions apply.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Rates and thresholds for 2026
| Tax | Employee | Employer | Self-employed | On |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security (OASDI) | 6.2% | 6.2% | 12.4% | earnings up to $184,500 |
| Medicare (HI) | 1.45% | 1.45% | 2.9% | all earnings |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% | none | 0.9% | above $200,000 single, $250,000 joint |
FICA at different salaries
| Wages | Social Security | Medicare | Additional Medicare | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,480 | $580 | $0 | $3,060 |
| $90,000 | $5,580 | $1,305 | $0 | $6,885 |
| $184,500 | $11,439 | $2,675 | $0 | $14,114 |
| $250,000 | $11,439 | $3,625 | $450 | $15,514 |
| $400,000 | $11,439 | $5,800 | $1,800 | $19,039 |
FICA is proportional below the wage base and falls as a share of pay above it, then rises slightly again when the 0.9% surtax starts. Unlike income tax, there is no standard deduction and no bracket: the first dollar of wages is taxed. Pre-tax 401(k) deferrals reduce income tax but not FICA; health insurance premiums and HSA contributions through a cafeteria plan reduce both.
Who is exempt
A few groups pay no FICA on some or all of their pay: students working for their own college, many state and local government workers covered by a public pension instead of Social Security, certain members of religious orders and nonresident aliens on some visas. Household employers must pay FICA on a nanny or housekeeper once cash wages pass the annual threshold, and report it on Schedule H with their own return.
Two jobs and the wage base
Each employer withholds Social Security up to the wage base on its own wages. A worker with two jobs paying $120,000 and $100,000 has Social Security withheld on $220,000 but owes it only on $184,500; the excess comes back as a credit on the return, computed on the wage base page. Medicare has no cap, so nothing is refunded there. FICA also counts in the combined marginal rate on an extra dollar of pay, on top of the income tax bracket.
Sources: IRS Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates; IRS Topic no. 560, Additional Medicare Tax; Form 1040-ES (2026), social security tax maximum, read on October 11, 2026.