Enter your annual gross income and select whether you are a W-2 employee or self-employed. If your income exceeds $200,000 (single filer) or $250,000 (married filing jointly), select "Yes" for the Additional Medicare surtax — your employer won't withhold it automatically so you may owe it at tax time.
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It funds Social Security and Medicare. As a W-2 employee, you pay half (6.2% + 1.45%) and your employer pays the other half — but economists generally agree that the employer's share comes out of what would otherwise be your wages. Self-employed workers pay both halves (15.3%) but can deduct the employer-equivalent portion from their taxable income. The Social Security wage base ($168,600 in 2024) means high earners stop paying SS tax once they hit the cap mid-year.