Understanding FICA Taxes: Social Security & Medicare Explained (2026)

What Is FICA?

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It's the federal payroll tax that funds two programs:

• Social Security — retirement, disability, and survivor benefits
• Medicare — health insurance for people age 65+ and certain disabled workers

2026 FICA Rates

So a typical employee pays 7.65% of every paycheck in FICA, and the employer matches 7.65% — a total of 15.3% sent to the IRS on your behalf.

How FICA Appears on Your Pay Stub

You'll usually see these line items:

• FICA-SS, OASDI, or SS Tax — Social Security
• FICA-Med, MED, or Medicare — Medicare
• Add'l Medicare — only if YTD wages exceed $200,000

Self-Employed? You Pay Both Halves

If you're self-employed, you pay 15.3% self-employment tax because you're both the employer and the employee. You can deduct half of it on your federal return.

The Social Security Wage Base

Only the first $176,100 of 2026 wages are subject to Social Security tax. Once you cross that threshold YTD, your paycheck gets a small boost because that 6.2% withholding stops for the rest of the year.

Why FICA Matters

• It builds your future Social Security benefit
• It funds Medicare hospital coverage
• It's not optional — even tipped, gig, and part-time workers owe it

See Your Real FICA Numbers

Use our paystub calculator to see your exact Social Security and Medicare withholding for any salary or hourly rate.