Payroll Tax Calculator
Estimate the Social Security and Medicare tax withheld from an employee paycheck.
Your Details
Breakdown
Visual split of the key components
- Social Security186
- Medicare43.5
Sensitivity
How the result changes across a range
How It Works
- Enter the values on the left.
- Press Calculate to see your results and charts.
- Use Reset to start over from the defaults.
Formula Used
Employers match both portions; this shows only the employee's withheld share.
Good to Know
- • Social Security tax stops once annual wages hit the yearly wage base cap.
- • Higher earners pay an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax above a threshold.
Important Notes
- • Doesn't model the Social Security wage base cap for high earners.
- • Employer matches an equal amount, not shown here.
What FICA Actually Funds
FICA tax — Social Security and Medicare combined — funds retirement, disability, and healthcare benefits for current and future beneficiaries. Unlike income tax, it's a flat rate on wages (not progressive), split between employee and employer, which is why it shows up as a fairly steady percentage on every paycheck rather than varying with total annual income the way income tax withholding does.
The Social Security Wage Base Cap
Social Security tax only applies up to an annual wage base that's adjusted each year — income above that threshold isn't subject to the 6.2% Social Security portion, though Medicare tax has no such cap and even increases slightly for very high earners. This calculator applies the flat rate without modeling that cap, so very high annual earners should expect their actual Social Security withholding to plateau at a fixed dollar amount partway through the year.
Terminology Explained
- FICA — the combined Social Security and Medicare payroll tax.
- Social Security wage base — the annual income cap above which the 6.2% Social Security portion no longer applies.
Putting It Into Practice: One Paycheck's FICA Withholding
On a $3,000 gross paycheck:
Medicare = $3,000 × 1.45% = $43.50
Total FICA = $229.50
The employer matches this $229.50 dollar-for-dollar, meaning the true cost of Social Security and Medicare on this paycheck is $459 total — split evenly, though only the employee's $229.50 shows up in the paycheck deduction.
Paycheck Size Comparison Table
| Gross Pay | FICA Withheld |
|---|---|
| $2,000 | $153.00 |
| $3,000 | $229.50 |
| $5,000 | $382.50 |
Missteps to Avoid About Payroll Tax
- Confusing FICA with income tax withholding — they're separate line items on a pay stub.
- Not knowing about the Social Security wage base cap — high earners stop paying the 6.2% portion above a yearly threshold.