Guide
FICA Tax Guide 2026
Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare, and the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
2026 FICA values
Social Security is 6.2% up to $184,500 of annual wages. Medicare is 1.5% on covered wages, with an extra 0.90% above $200,000 for the calculator's single-filer threshold assumption.
FICA is separate from federal income tax withholding. A worker in a no-state-income-tax state can still see FICA and benefit deductions reduce take-home pay.
How FICA appears in the calculator
The paycheck breakdown separates Social Security, Medicare, and Additional Medicare from federal income tax. This makes it easier to see why a paycheck can have tax withheld even when state income tax is zero.