What is FICA tax? Social Security and Medicare tax rates for 2026 and 2027

The rates are set by law. What changes each year is the Social Security wage base, the amount of earnings the 6.2% applies to.

On a $60,000 salary, $3,720 of Social Security tax (6.2%) and $870 of Medicare tax (1.45%) come out over the year, $4,590 in all. The employer pays another $4,590 that never shows on the pay stub.

On a $220,000 salary in 2026, Social Security tax stops at $11,439 once pay passes $184,500. Medicare tax continues on every dollar: $3,190 at 1.45%, plus $180 of Additional Medicare Tax on the $20,000 above $200,000.

Your W-2 shows Social Security tax withheld in box 4 and Medicare tax withheld in box 6. FICA is separate from federal income tax withholding in box 2: a refund of income tax does not include FICA.

Medicare tax is 1.45% for the employee and 1.45% for the employer, or 2.9% for the self-employed, with no earnings limit.

The Additional Medicare Tax adds 0.9% on wages and self-employment income above the threshold for your filing status. There is no employer match. Your employer must start withholding it in the pay period your wages for the year pass $200,000, whatever your filing status, so a married couple can owe more or less than was withheld. The difference is settled on Form 8959 with your return.

There is no employer to pay half, so you pay both: 12.4% Social Security up to the wage base and 2.9% Medicare, on 92.35% of your net profit. This is self-employment tax, figured on Schedule SE and paid through quarterly estimated taxes. Half of it is deductible when you figure your adjusted gross income.

If you also have a W-2 job, your wages use up the Social Security wage base first, and only the rest is left for self-employment income.

Nonresident alien students, scholars, teachers, trainees and researchers in F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q-1 status do not pay Social Security or Medicare tax on wages for work USCIS allows in that status, such as on-campus jobs and practical training (OPT and CPT). The exemption ends when the person becomes a resident alien for tax purposes or changes to a non-exempt status, and it never covers F-2, J-2 or M-2 family members.

Other exemptions are narrower: some state and local government employees whose employer is outside the Social Security system (Medicare tax may still apply), employees of foreign governments and international organizations in their official work, certain ministers, and children under 18 working for a parent under specific conditions. Workers covered by a totalization agreement between the U.S. and their home country may pay into only one system.

With two or more employers, each one withholds 6.2% up to the wage base on its own. If the total passes the maximum ($11,439 for 2026), you claim the excess as a credit on your federal return.

If a single employer withheld too much, or withheld FICA from an exempt F-1 or J-1 student, the employer should refund it. If it does not, you can ask the IRS for a refund on Form 843, with copies of your W-2s attached.