FICA Tax 2026: Rate, Wage Base and What Counts as FICA Wages

The official 2026 Social Security and Medicare tax rates, the Social Security wage base, and the Additional Medicare Tax thresholds — with a calculator for your own FICA tax.

For 2026, FICA is 6.2% Social Security tax (employee and employer each; 12.4% total if self-employed) on wages up to the $184,500 wage base, plus 1.45% Medicare tax (2.9% self-employed) with no wage cap. An extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies above $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately) of wages or self-employment income.

For 2027 the FICA rates are unchanged (6.2% and 1.45%; IRC §3101, §3111), and the Social Security wage base rises to $192,300, as announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet (published October 14, 2026)).

Official  2026 Social Security wage base set by the Social Security Administration (Social Security Administration, Contribution and Benefit Base); rates set by statute (IRC §3101, §3111). These are the figures for income earned in 2026, reported on the 2026 return filed in early 2027. Planning for 2027? See the 2027 figures →

FICA rates and thresholds, 2026 — Social Security Administration, Contribution and Benefit Base; Additional Medicare Tax IRC §3101(b)(2) (Additional Medicare Tax, not indexed); self-employment IRC §1402(a)(12) (net earnings from self-employment)
Item2026
Social Security (OASDI) tax rate — employee and employer, each 6.2%
Social Security (OASDI) tax rate — self-employed, both halves 12.4%
Social Security wage base (maximum taxable earnings) $184,500
Maximum employee Social Security tax$184,500 × 6.2% $11,439
Medicare (HI) tax rate — employee and employer, each 1.45%
Medicare (HI) tax rate — self-employed, both halves 2.9%
Additional Medicare Tax rate 0.9%
Additional Medicare Tax threshold — single, head of household $200,000
Additional Medicare Tax threshold — married filing jointly $250,000
Additional Medicare Tax threshold — married filing separately $125,000
Self-employed: share of net profit subject to self-employment taxIRC §1402(a)(12): 100% less half of the 15.3% rate 92.35%

FICA has two parts. Social Security tax stops once your wages for the year pass the $184,500 wage base — the most an employee pays in 2026 is $11,439, or $22,878 if you are self-employed and pay both halves. Medicare tax has no wage cap at all, and the Additional Medicare Tax layers 0.9 points on top once your wages or self-employment income (not your total household income) cross the threshold for your filing status — a threshold that has never been adjusted for inflation since it took effect in 2013 (IRC §3101(b)(2) (Additional Medicare Tax, not indexed)). An employer withholds the Additional Medicare Tax once your wages from that one employer cross $200,000, regardless of filing status; you reconcile the correct amount on Form 8959.

If you are self-employed, the tax is not charged on your whole net profit: it applies to 92.35% of it, your “net earnings from self-employment” (IRC §1402(a)(12) (net earnings from self-employment)), and nothing is due when those net earnings are under $400. Half of the resulting Social Security and Medicare tax (not the Additional Medicare Tax) is then deductible from your income.

What are FICA wages?

FICA wages are the pay that Social Security and Medicare tax is charged on: W-2 box 3 (Social Security wages, capped at $184,500) and box 5 (Medicare wages, no cap). They are not the same as your taxable wages in box 1: pre-tax 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) and SIMPLE deferrals come out of box 1 but stay in boxes 3 and 5 (IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)), while cafeteria-plan (section 125) health premiums, health FSA and HSA payroll contributions are generally excluded from all three (IRS Publication 15 (2026)).

Example: $70,000 salary, $6,000 pre-tax 401(k), $5,000 of cafeteria-plan premiums and HSA — FICA from the federal engine’s payroll rule
W-2 box2026
Box 1, taxable wages ($70,000 − $6,000 − $5,000)$59,000
Boxes 3 and 5, FICA wages ($70,000 − $5,000)$65,000
Social Security tax (box 4)$4,030
Medicare tax (box 6)$942.50

Every W-2 box explained, with the new 2026 box 12 codes: Form W-2 2026, box by box.

Your 2026 FICA tax

FICA is one part of what comes out of a paycheck. Your whole 2026 return — income tax, the credits, your state and the refund or amount owed, line by line — is in the 2026 Return Preview: Unlock with the Tax Season Pass — $39 this season →

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FICA is withheld the same way every paycheck — what varies is how much of your retirement income triggers it at all. QuantCalc runs your whole retirement — withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year, on the 2026 figures above.

Run the free tax-aware simulation →

Common questions

What is the FICA tax rate for 2026?

For 2026, FICA is 6.2% Social Security tax (employee and employer each; 12.4% total if self-employed) on wages up to the $184,500 wage base, plus 1.45% Medicare tax (2.9% self-employed) with no wage cap. An extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies above $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately) of wages or self-employment income. Sources: Social Security Administration, Contribution and Benefit Base, IRC §3101(b)(2) (Additional Medicare Tax, not indexed).

What are FICA wages?

The wages Social Security and Medicare tax is charged on: W-2 box 3 (up to the $184,500 wage base) and box 5. They include pre-tax 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals, which box 1 leaves out, and exclude cafeteria-plan (section 125) benefits such as health premiums and HSA payroll contributions (IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026); IRS Publication 15 (2026)).

What is the FICA limit (wage base) for 2026?

$184,500 — the Social Security wage base. Social Security tax applies only to wages up to this amount; Medicare tax has no wage cap at all (Social Security Administration, Contribution and Benefit Base). See the 2027 estimate and full methodology →

What are the 2027 FICA figures?

See 2027 FICA limit and tax rate: the rates are unchanged by statute, and the wage base is $192,300, announced by SSA.

Sources

Every figure on this page is read at build time from QuantCalc’s tax constants, the same ones the planner runs on, and was checked against the text of the documents above. Every figure with its source: JSON. QuantCalc is calculation software, not tax advice.

Related

Form W-2 2026: boxes 1, 3 and 5 → Bonus tax rate 2026 → 2027 Social Security wage base → 2026 401(k) contribution limits → Hourly to salary, after tax → Minimum wage 2026 by state → Statutory employee: FICA withheld, no income tax → QBI deduction 2026 →

FICA is withheld the same way every paycheck — what varies is how much of your retirement income triggers it at all — see the whole picture in the free planner →