What taxes are included in FICA?

FICA generally includes Social Security tax and Medicare tax. Additional Medicare Tax is a related employee-only Medicare tax withholding requirement when wages paid by an employer exceed the federal threshold.

Does Medicare tax stop at the Social Security wage base?

No. The Social Security tax has an annual wage base, but regular Medicare tax has no wage base limit.

Employees and employers generally both pay Social Security and regular Medicare tax. Additional Medicare Tax is imposed only on the employee, with no employer share.

FICA tax basics

Understand Social Security, Medicare, and Additional Medicare Tax.

FICA is one of the most-tested payroll tax concepts because it combines tax rates, wage bases, employer shares, employee withholding, and common calculation traps.

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What FICA includes

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. In payroll study, it usually means Social Security tax and Medicare tax.

Social Security

6.2% employee and 6.2% employer

For 2026, Social Security tax applies to covered wages up to the annual wage base of $184,500. The employee and employer shares are each 6.2%.

Medicare

1.45% employee and 1.45% employer

Regular Medicare tax has no wage base limit. Covered Medicare wages remain subject to the regular Medicare tax after the Social Security wage base is reached.

Additional Medicare

0.9% employee-only tax

Employers must withhold Additional Medicare Tax on wages paid to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. There is no employer share.

Common payroll confusion

Form W-4 affects federal income tax withholding, not whether regular wages are subject to FICA.
Social Security has an annual wage base; regular Medicare does not.
Additional Medicare Tax is employee-only, even though the employer is responsible for withholding it when the $200,000 employer threshold is crossed.
FICA withholding and federal income tax withholding are separate calculations.

How FICA shows up in practice

Payroll pros and certification candidates should be comfortable identifying the tax, the payer, the rate, and whether a wage base applies.

Wage-base questions

Look for year-to-date wages before the current paycheck. Only the remaining wages below the Social Security wage base are subject to Social Security tax.

Gross-to-net questions

FICA is part of the withholding stack that turns gross pay into net pay, along with income tax and deductions.

Read gross-to-net guide

Form 941 questions

Form 941 reports wages, federal income tax withheld, and both employee and employer Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Read Form 941 basics

Practice the concept while it is fresh.

Use PrepToPay questions to practice Social Security wage-base limits, Medicare tax, Additional Medicare Tax, and payroll tax reporting concepts.

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Primary sources: IRS Publication 15 (2026), IRS Topic 751, IRS Additional Medicare Tax FAQs, and SSA contribution and benefit base. This page is for professional payroll reference support, not legal or tax advice.