FICA (Social Security + Medicare)
The US payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare — flat-rate, applies before federal income tax.
FICA — the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax — funds two US programs: Social Security (retirement and disability insurance) and Medicare (health insurance for the elderly). FICA is deducted from gross pay before federal income tax is computed and is split between employee and employer.
For 2025, the employee share is 6.2% on Social Security wages up to the wage base ($176,100), 1.45% on all Medicare wages (no cap), and an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages above $200,000 for single filers. The employer matches the 6.2% + 1.45% (but not the additional 0.9%).
Unlike federal income tax, FICA has no standard deduction or personal exemption — it applies to every dollar of wage income from the first one earned. This makes FICA the highest-marginal-rate deduction on low and middle incomes in the US. Each US state calculator on this site shows FICA as a separate line in the breakdown above the federal and state income-tax components.
Calculator pages that use this term
See also
- Social Security tax (US) — The 6.2% US payroll tax that funds Social Security retirement and disability — capped at the annual wage base.
- Medicare tax (US) — The 1.45% US payroll tax that funds Medicare — no wage cap, plus a 0.9% additional surcharge above $200,000.
- Social Security wage base (US FICA cap) — The annual ceiling above which the 6.2% Social Security portion of FICA stops applying — $176,100 (2025).
- Effective tax rate — Total deductions divided by gross pay — the single percentage that summarises the overall tax bite.