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Employee FICA Tax Calculator

Employee FICA Tax Calculator. Estimate employee Social Security and Medicare payroll tax for one pay period, accounting for the remaining Social Security wage base at this employer. Use it to check a paycheck or compare a payroll estimate.

Inputs

Paycheck & Withholding inputs

Choose the calendar year for the wage base and rates you enter.

Pay period identifies the paycheck scenario; the calculation uses the wages entered for this period.

Range: 0–100,000,000 $

Enter gross wages subject to payroll tax for this paycheck.

Range: 0–100,000,000 $

Enter Social Security wages paid earlier this calendar year by this employer, before the current paycheck.

Range: 0–100,000,000 $

Enter the annual wage base for the selected tax year. It is not automatically looked up.

Range: 0–100 %

Enter the employee share rate as a whole-number percentage.

Range: 0–100 %

Enter the employee share rate as a whole-number percentage. Additional Medicare Tax is handled separately.

Result

Ss Taxable Wages
10,000.00
Total Fica
765.00
Estimate
Medicare Tax
145.00
Social Security Tax
620.00
How to interpret this result
This estimate applies employee Social Security tax only up to the remaining annual wage base at the entered employer, and Medicare tax to all entered current wages. Pay period is context; enter gross wages for that single paycheck.
Applicability and limits
Use one employer’s payroll records and the correct calendar-year wage base/rates. Social Security wages from another employer generally do not change this employer’s withholding computation; excess Social Security tax across employers may be claimed on the individual return. Additional Medicare Tax, tips, pretax wage exclusions, corrections, and state/local payroll taxes are outside this estimate.
Calculation basis
Remaining Social Security wage base = max(annual wage base − prior same-employer YTD Social Security wages, 0). Current Social Security taxable wages = min(current period gross wages, remaining base). Employee FICA = Social Security taxable wages × supplied Social Security rate + current period gross wages × supplied Medicare rate.

Formula

Calculation logic

Formula definitions and substituted values.

What to check

  • An employee enters pay-period wages, same-employer year-to-date Social Security wages, tax year, and applicable rates to estimate employee FICA.
  • Use it to check a pay stub or estimate employee FICA for one pay period.
  • Use one employer’s payroll records and the correct calendar-year wage base/rates. Social Security wages from another employer generally do not change this employer’s withholding computation; excess Social Security tax across employers may be claimed on the individual return. Additional Medicare Tax, tips, pretax wage exclusions, corrections, and state/local payroll taxes are outside this estimate.

Related calculators

Use one employer’s payroll records and the correct calendar-year wage base/rates. Social Security wages from another employer generally do not change this employer’s withholding computation; excess Social Security tax across employers may be claimed on the individual return. Additional Medicare Tax, tips, pretax wage exclusions, corrections, and state/local payroll taxes are outside this estimate.