At a glance
Quick answer
The FICA calculator answers two payroll questions for one worker: how much Social Security and regular Medicare tax the employee ultimately owes on covered W-2 wages and reported tips, and how much matching payroll tax the employers bear. When that worker has multiple employers, it also separates final annual Social Security liability from estimated withholding across those jobs. Enter Social Security wages and reported tips separately from Medicare wages and tips because W-2 boxes 3 plus 7 and box 5 can differ. Regular Medicare has no wage base ceiling.
How the calculation works
Calculate Social Security by person, not by job
Employee Social Security is 6.2% of covered wages up to the worker's annual wage base. The employer rate is also 6.2%, but each employer applies withholding to the wages it pays without coordinating another employer's payroll. Final employee liability therefore uses combined wages capped once, while observed withholding can reflect the cap separately at each job. The calculator reports potential excess withholding rather than subtracting it invisibly from the liability.
Add Medicare without reusing the Social Security cap
Regular employee Medicare is 1.45% of entered W-2 box 5 Medicare wages and tips, and employers generally match another 1.45%. The Social Security wage base does not stop Medicare. This focused result does not add the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax. That employee-only tax has no employer match, and its withholding trigger and return liability thresholds follow different rules. Use the Additional Medicare calculator for that separate result.
Read employee liability, withholding, and employer cost separately
Final employee regular FICA combines capped employee Social Security liability with uncapped regular Medicare. Potential excess Social Security withholding is estimated from the separate employer wage entries. Actual return reconciliation uses tax withheld, including W-2 box 4, so payroll corrections and fraction of a cent rounding can change the credit. Employer FICA is a business cost and is not normally deducted as a second employee tax.
Use one worker's covered wage records
For each employer, add W-2 box 3 Social Security wages and box 7 Social Security tips for the Social Security input, then enter box 5 Medicare wages and tips. The regular W-2 relationship requires box 5 to equal or exceed the box 3 plus box 7 total, so the calculator stops when an employer record reverses that relationship. Do not combine a spouse's or another household member's records because each worker has a separate Social Security cap. Allocated or unreported tips require separate treatment. Railroad compensation belongs under RRTA rather than this regular FICA model.
2025 and 2026 values
Tax year 2025
2025 final FICA values
The final 2025 Social Security wage base is $176,100. Employee and employer Social Security rates are each 6.2%. Employee and employer regular Medicare rates are each 1.45%, with no regular Medicare wage-base cap.
Tax year 2026
2026 planning FICA values
The 2026 planning wage base is $184,500. The implemented rates remain 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% regular Medicare for both employee and employer calculations.
Recalculate it yourself
Worked example
One worker earns $100,000 at each of two employers
A worker receives $100,000 of covered wages from Employer A and $100,000 from Employer B during 2025.
- Final employee Social Security liability = $176,100 wage base × 6.2% = $10,918.20.
- Employer withholding = ($100,000 × 6.2%) + ($100,000 × 6.2%) = $6,200 + $6,200 = $12,400.
- Potential excess Social Security withholding = $12,400 − $10,918.20 = $1,481.80.
- Regular employee Medicare = ($100,000 + $100,000) × 1.45% = $200,000 × 1.45% = $2,900.
- Final employee regular FICA = $10,918.20 Social Security + $2,900 Medicare = $13,818.20.
Result
Final employee regular FICA is $13,818.20. The $12,400 Social Security withheld by the two employers is not the final Social Security liability; $1,481.80 is identified as potential excess withholding.
What is included
- One worker's employee and employer Social Security, employee and employer regular Medicare, separate Social Security and Medicare wage records for two employers, annual wage base capping, combined regular FICA, and potential excess employee Social Security withholding.
- Final 2025 and planning 2026 wage bases and statutory rates.
What is not included
- The employee-only 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, federal and state unemployment tax, self-employment tax, RRTA railroad compensation, allocated or unreported tips, state disability insurance, local payroll charges, and income tax withholding.
- A decision that entered compensation is covered wages, a spouse or household total, predecessor, successor, or related employer treatment, common paymaster treatment, exact payroll fraction of a cent reconciliation, or instructions for claiming a credit on a specific return.
Common mistakes
Calling $12,400 the worker's final Social Security tax
Two payrolls each withheld 6.2% on $100,000, but the person has one $176,100 annual cap. Final liability is $10,918.20, and the difference is potential excess withholding.
Stopping Medicare at $176,100
The wage base belongs to Social Security. Regular Medicare continues across the full $200,000, producing $2,900 in the approved example.
Subtracting employer FICA from employee take-home pay
The matching employer share is shown to explain payroll cost. It is not a second employee withholding amount.
Frequently asked questions
What does the FICA tax calculator include?
It calculates one employee's Social Security and regular Medicare amounts, the employer matching amounts, their combined total, and estimated potential excess Social Security withholding. The separate 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax is excluded.
Which W-2 amounts should I enter?
For the same worker at each employer, add box 3 Social Security wages and box 7 Social Security tips for the Social Security input, then enter box 5 Medicare wages and tips separately. For this regular FICA scope, box 5 must be at least the box 3 plus box 7 total. Do not combine a spouse's or another household member's wages.
Is the employer FICA share deducted from my paycheck?
No. The employer share is generally an additional employer cost. The employee share is the amount normally withheld from covered wages.
Does regular Medicare tax stop at the Social Security wage base?
No. The Social Security wage base limits Social Security tax, while regular Medicare tax generally continues on covered wages without that wage base.
Is the potential excess Social Security amount my return credit?
Not necessarily. The calculator estimates withholding from wage records. A return uses actual Social Security tax withheld, including W-2 box 4 amounts, and applies separate rules for excess withheld by one employer or railroad compensation.
Primary sources
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide for 2025, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide for 2026, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- IRS Publication 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide for 2025, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- IRS Publication 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide for 2026, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- 2025 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- IRS Questions and answers for the Additional Medicare Tax, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- IRS Topic 608, Excess Social Security and RRTA Tax Withheld, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- Social Security 2025 cost-of-living adjustment facts, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- Social Security 2026 cost-of-living adjustment facts, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25