FICA Tax Calculator

FICA Tax Calculator

Calculate FICA taxes—the combined Social Security and Medicare taxes that fund retirement and healthcare benefits. Every wage earner pays FICA on earned income.

FICA Tax Rates (2024)

Component	Employee Rate	Employer Rate	Self-Employed
Social Security	6.2%	6.2%	12.4%
Medicare	1.45%	1.45%	2.9%
Total FICA	7.65%	7.65%	15.3%

FICA Wage Limits

Tax	Wage Base	Maximum Tax
Social Security	$168,600 (2024)	$10,453.20
Medicare	No limit	No maximum
Additional Medicare	Over $200k	+0.9% (employee only)

FICA Tax Calculator

``javascript function calculateFICATax(wages, isSelfEmployed = false) { const ssWageBase = 168600; const ssRate = isSelfEmployed ? 0.124 : 0.062; const medicareRate = isSelfEmployed ? 0.029 : 0.0145; const additionalMedicareThreshold = 200000;

// Social Security (capped at wage base) const ssWages = Math.min(wages, ssWageBase); const socialSecurityTax = ssWages * ssRate;

// Medicare (no cap) const medicareTax = wages * medicareRate;

// Additional Medicare Tax (employee pays, not matched) const additionalMedicare = isSelfEmployed ? Math.max(0, wages - additionalMedicareThreshold) * 0.009 : Math.max(0, wages - additionalMedicareThreshold) * 0.009;

const totalFICA = socialSecurityTax + medicareTax + additionalMedicare;

return { wages, socialSecurityTax: socialSecurityTax.toFixed(2), medicareTax: medicareTax.toFixed(2), additionalMedicare: additionalMedicare.toFixed(2), totalFICA: totalFICA.toFixed(2), effectiveRate: ((totalFICA / wages) * 100).toFixed(2) + '%' }; } ``

FICA Examples

Wages	SS Tax	Medicare	Total FICA
$50,000	$3,100	$725	$3,825
$100,000	$6,200	$1,450	$7,650
$168,600	$10,453	$2,445	$12,898
$250,000	$10,453	$4,075	$14,528

*Includes Additional Medicare Tax where applicable*

Worked Through the Brackets

On $75,000 of gross income, filing single, taking the $14,600 standard deduction — so $60,400 of taxable income:

Bracket	Range	Income taxed here	Tax
10%	$0 – $11,600	$11,600	$1,160
12%	$11,600 – $47,150	$35,550	$4,266
22%	$47,150 – $100,525	$13,250	$2,915
Total			$8,341

That is a 11.1% effective rate against a 22% marginal rate. The two answer different questions: the marginal rate is what the next dollar costs, and it is the one that decides whether a 401(k) contribution or an extra shift is worth it. The effective rate is what you actually paid, and it is the one to budget against.

The Same Income, Different Sources

Source	Federal tax on it
Wages (above)	$8,341
Self-employment profit	$8,341 income tax plus $10,597 SE tax
Long-term capital gain of $10,000	$1,500 at 15%

Where income comes from changes the bill more than how much of it there is. A self-employed filer at this level pays roughly $10,597 that an employee never sees, because there is no employer paying the other half of FICA.