FICA Tax Calculator

Say you're single and earn $85,000 in wages for the 2025 tax year. Your FICA tax is 6.2% Social Security ($85,000 × 6.2% = $5,270) plus 1.45% Medicare ($85,000 × 1.45% = $1,232.50), for a total employee FICA of $6,502.50 - an effective FICA rate of 7.65%. Your employer pays a matching $6,502.50, so the government collects $13,005 on your wages. This FICA tax calculator breaks all of that out, including the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax for high earners. All figures are for tax year 2025.

The 2025 FICA rates and limits

FICA has two flat-rate pieces, plus a surtax for high earners:

The employee total on most wages is 7.65%, your employer matches it, and the combined contribution is 15.3%. The maximum 2025 Social Security tax is $176,100 × 6.2% = $10,918.20 per worker.

The Social Security wage base cap

Social Security tax only applies to the first $176,100 of wages in 2025 - earnings above that are not taxed for Social Security. Medicare, by contrast, has no cap, so the 1.45% keeps applying no matter how much you earn. If you change jobs mid-year and overpay Social Security across two employers, you can claim the excess back when you file.

The 0.9% Additional Medicare tax

High earners owe an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on wages above $200,000 (single, head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately). Only the employee pays this - employers do not match it. Your employer withholds it once your wages with them top $200,000, but the actual liability is reconciled on your tax return based on your filing status.

FICA for the self-employed

If you're self-employed, you pay both halves as self-employment tax: 12.4% Social Security (up to $176,100) and 2.9% Medicare on net earnings, applied after multiplying net earnings by 0.9235. The same 0.9% Additional Medicare applies over the thresholds. The upside: you can deduct one-half of your self-employment tax on your income tax return.

How to use this FICA calculator

You only need two or three inputs to get an accurate result. Work through the fields in order:

1. Gross wages: enter your annual (or per-paycheck) gross pay before any deductions. FICA is figured on gross wages, not on take-home pay.
2. Filing status: choose single, head of household, married filing jointly, or married filing separately. This only changes the threshold for the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax - the base 6.2% and 1.45% are the same for everyone.
3. Read the breakdown: the calculator splits out your Social Security tax, regular Medicare tax, any Additional Medicare tax, your total employee FICA, and the matching amount your employer pays.

Because the rates are flat, the result updates the instant you change a number. If your wages are below $176,100 and under the Additional Medicare threshold, your total will simply be 7.65% of your gross pay.

A second worked example: a high earner over both thresholds

Suppose you're single and earn $250,000 in wages for 2025. Social Security is capped at the $176,100 wage base, so you pay the maximum $10,918.20 (not 6.2% of the full $250,000). Regular Medicare is 1.45% on all $250,000 = $3,625. Because your wages top the $200,000 single threshold, you also owe the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax on the $50,000 above it = $450. Your total employee FICA is $14,993.20. Your employer matches the Social Security and regular Medicare ($10,918.20 + $3,625 = $14,543.20) but does not match the $450 surtax. This is why high earners can't simply multiply their salary by 7.65%.

Who this calculator is for

FICA touches almost every paycheck in the United States, so this tool helps a wide range of people:

• Employees who want to understand the "Social Security" and "Medicare" lines on their pay stub.
• New hires translating a job offer's salary into actual take-home pay.
• High earners checking whether the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax applies to them.
• Small-business owners and payroll staff estimating the employer match they owe per worker.
• Freelancers and the self-employed sizing up their self-employment tax before quarterly estimated payments.
• Anyone budgeting who needs the full picture of payroll taxes alongside federal income tax.

Key FICA terms explained

• FICA: the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, the law that authorizes the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.
• Wage base: the maximum amount of annual wages subject to Social Security tax - $176,100 for 2025. Wages above it are exempt from the 6.2%.
• OASDI: "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance," the formal name for the Social Security portion. It may appear on your pay stub as OASDI rather than "Social Security."
• HI: "Hospital Insurance," the formal name for the Medicare portion (the 1.45%).
• Additional Medicare tax: the 0.9% surtax on high wages, paid only by the employee, with thresholds that depend on filing status.
• Employer match: the equal 6.2% + 1.45% your employer contributes on your behalf; combined with your share it totals 15.3%.

What FICA actually pays for

FICA is not a general tax - it funds two specific programs. The 6.2% Social Security portion goes into the trust funds that pay retirement, survivor, and disability benefits, and your lifetime earnings record determines the benefit you'll eventually receive. The 1.45% Medicare portion (plus the 0.9% surtax) funds Medicare Part A, which covers hospital care for people 65 and older and certain younger people with disabilities. Unlike federal income tax, the money you pay into Social Security is tied directly to the benefits you can claim later, which is why your annual Social Security statement shows your recorded earnings.

Pre-tax deductions that lower FICA wages

Not every payroll deduction reduces the wages FICA is calculated on. Knowing the difference helps you understand why your FICA might be lower than 7.65% of your stated salary:

• Reduce FICA wages: contributions to a health savings account (HSA) through payroll, premiums paid through a Section 125 "cafeteria" plan (health, dental, vision), and flexible spending account (FSA) contributions generally come out before FICA is applied.
• Do not reduce FICA wages: traditional 401(k) and 403(b) contributions lower your federal income tax but are still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax. Roth contributions don't reduce either.

This calculator works from the gross wages you enter, so if you want a FICA figure that reflects pre-tax health or HSA deductions, subtract those amounts from your gross pay first.

How FICA compares to federal income tax

People often lump all paycheck withholding together, but FICA and federal income tax behave very differently:

• Rate structure: FICA is flat (6.2% + 1.45%); income tax is progressive with brackets.
• Deductions: the standard deduction and itemized deductions cut income tax but never reduce FICA.
• Caps: Social Security stops at the wage base; income tax has no income ceiling.
• Refunds: over-withheld income tax comes back as a refund; FICA generally doesn't, except excess Social Security from holding two jobs.
• Purpose: FICA is earmarked for Social Security and Medicare; income tax funds the general federal budget.

To estimate the income-tax side of your paycheck, pair this tool with our Income Tax Calculator or Paycheck Calculator.

Limitations and assumptions

This calculator is a planning estimate, not tax advice. Keep these assumptions in mind:

• It uses the 2025 rates and the $176,100 Social Security wage base; these figures change most years.
• It calculates FICA on the gross wages you enter and does not automatically subtract pre-tax HSA, FSA, or cafeteria-plan deductions.
• It does not include federal income tax, state or local taxes, or other withholdings on your check.
• The Additional Medicare tax is withheld by employers strictly above $200,000; your true liability is reconciled on your return using the threshold for your filing status, so withholding and final tax can differ.
• Self-employment tax is structured differently (the 0.9235 net-earnings factor and the one-half deduction) and isn't the focus of this employee-side calculator.