US Payroll Tax (FICA) Calculator
Estimate US Social Security and Medicare (FICA) tax withheld from a paycheck.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Standard employee FICA rates: Uses the standard 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare employee withholding rates, doesn't apply the Social Security wage base cap or the additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on high earners, and doesn't include federal/state income tax.
About this calculator
US employees and small employers often want a quick check on how much of a paycheck goes to FICA before income tax withholding is even factored in, and the two FICA components carry different flat rates that are easy to misremember or mix up. This calculator takes gross pay and applies the standard employee withholding rates, 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, to show each tax separately along with pay remaining after FICA. It's useful for employees estimating take-home pay, small business owners double-checking payroll software output, or anyone budgeting around a paycheck's expected deductions. Because it uses flat statutory percentages rather than a graduated bracket system, the calculation itself is simple, but knowing the two exact rates and keeping them separate from income tax withholding is exactly the kind of detail people get wrong doing it from memory.
Worked example
$3,000 gross pay
Result: $186.00 Social Security, $43.50 Medicare
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