Federal FICA Tax
Estimate the employee FICA (Social Security + Medicare) tax on wages under current federal tax law.
About Federal FICA Tax
FICA payroll tax under current federal tax law: 6.2% Social Security (capped) + 1.45% Medicare for employees, double those rates if self-employed. The wage base is indexed yearly.
Formula
FICA
FICA = SS + Medicare
Worked example
With the default values below, Federal FICA Tax returns Estimated FICA Tax of $6,885.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Annual wagesminimum 0
- 90,000
- Self-employed?one of No (employee), Yes (self-employed)
- No (employee)
Results
- Estimated FICA Tax
- $6,885.00
- Social Security
- $5,580.00
- Medicare
- $1,305.00
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2FICA
- 3Estimated FICA Tax= 6,885.00
- 4Social Security= 5,580.00
- 5Medicare= 1,305.00
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- Approximate — guards and baselines index yearly.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Approximate — guards and baselines index yearly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cap?
The Social Security wage base (currently ~$168,600) is indexed annually; high earners stop paying SS above it.
How accurate is this estimate?
Rates are approximate reference values. Local rates, exemptions and rules can differ, so treat the output as a planning figure only.