FICA takes 7.65% of your wages: 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. Social Security stops at a yearly cap, while Medicare keeps going and adds 0.9% above $200,000.
Your employer pays a matching 6.2% and 1.45% on top of your pay. For 2026, Social Security stops at $184,500 of wages, and the calculator uses that 2026 cap.
Social Security has a cap, Medicare doesn't
The wage base is the most pay that Social Security can tax in a year. The Social Security Administration also calls it the taxable maximum. It changes each year with the national average wage index: $168,600 in 2024, $176,100 in 2025 and $184,500 in 2026.
So in 2026, the most Social Security can take from one worker's wages is $184,500 × 6.2% = $11,439.
Medicare has no wage base, so it taxes every dollar you earn. The extra 0.9% is the Additional Medicare Tax. Your employer starts withholding it once your pay for the year passes $200,000.
What you pay at five pay levels in 2026
These figures use the 2026 wage base. Up to that cap, FICA is a flat 7.65% of your wages.
| Annual wages | What applies | Your FICA, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 7.65% on every dollar | $3,825 |
| $184,500 | Exactly at the Social Security cap | $14,114 |
| $200,000 | Only Medicare grows above the cap | $14,339 |
| $250,000 | 0.9% more on pay above $200,000 | $15,514 |
| $500,000 | Well past both thresholds | $21,389 |
Past the cap, only Medicare grows, so FICA takes a smaller share of each extra dollar. At $250,000, the $15,514 bill is 6.2% of wages. At $500,000, it's 4.3%. That's why FICA is called regressive at the top: the rate falls as income rises.
Where $250,000 of wages goes
Here's the 2026 bill on $250,000 split into its parts, with your employer's share below it:
| Part of the bill | Amount |
|---|---|
| Social Security: 6.2% of the first $184,500 | $11,439 |
| Medicare: 1.45% of all $250,000 | $3,625 |
| Additional Medicare: 0.9% of the $50,000 above $200,000 | $450 |
| Your FICA | $15,514 |
| Your employer's share: 6.2% and 1.45%, no 0.9% | $15,064 |
Your employer pays $450 less than you do. The IRS says there's no employer match for the Additional Medicare Tax. That 0.9% comes only out of your pay.
Which wages should you enter?
Enter your gross pay for the year, before any 401(k) contributions. According to the IRS, those contributions skip income tax withholding. They still count as wages for Social Security and Medicare.
So putting $5,000 into a 401(k) lowers the pay taxed by income tax withholding, but not your FICA. Paid by the hour? Turn your rate into a yearly figure with the hourly to salary calculator first.
Married? The 0.9% depends on how you file
What you finally owe in Additional Medicare Tax depends on your filing status. The IRS thresholds are $250,000 for married filing jointly, $125,000 for married filing separately and $200,000 for everyone else.
Withholding follows a simpler rule. An employer withholds the 0.9% only on what it pays you above $200,000. It ignores your filing status and any other job you hold. The calculator works the same way.
Say you and your spouse each earn $150,000. Neither employer withholds the 0.9%, yet your combined $300,000 is $50,000 over the joint threshold. You'd owe $450 when you file. To avoid a surprise, the IRS says you can ask your employer to withhold more income tax on Form W-4.
It can also run the other way. If you earn $220,000 and your spouse earns nothing, $180 is withheld, yet you don't owe it filing jointly. The IRS credits withheld Additional Medicare Tax against your total tax on Form 1040.
Self-employed? You pay both halves
If you work for yourself, you pay self-employment tax instead. It covers both sides of FICA: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, 15.3% in all. The Social Security part stops at the wage base, while all net earnings face the Medicare part.
The tax usually applies to 92.35% of your net earnings, once they reach $400. You can deduct half of it when you work out your adjusted gross income.
On $60,000 of net profit, that's $60,000 × 92.35% × 15.3% = $8,477.73. An employee earning $60,000 pays $4,590. The calculator doesn't model self-employment tax, so use this formula instead.
FICA is only part of what leaves your pay. The gross to net calculator adds federal income tax to the same wages. The tax bracket calculator shows which bracket your top dollar falls in.
Sources
- IRS, Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates (reviewed September 24, 2026)
- Social Security Administration, Contribution and Benefit Base (2026 base $184,500)
- IRS, Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax (reviewed August 11, 2026)
- IRS, Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax (reviewed September 24, 2026)
- IRS, Topic no. 424, 401(k) plans (reviewed September 24, 2026)