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Median household income and taxes. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA / ˈ f aɪ k ə /) is a United States federal payroll (or employment) tax payable by both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare [1] —federal programs that provide benefits for retirees, people with disabilities, and children of deceased workers.
The Social Security tax is one component of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) and Self-employment tax, the other component being the Medicare tax. It is also the maximum amount of covered wages that are taken into account when average earnings are calculated in order to determine a worker's Social Security benefit.
FICA tax is a tax levied in the United States to fund Social Security and Medicare. Pay-as-you-earn tax is a tax paid on each paycheck to pay towards income tax. It is commonly refunded when taxpayers file income tax returns. Withholding tax is money withheld from a paycheck, often to contribute to income tax liability.
In addition to income tax, a wage earner would also have to pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) (and an equal amount of FICA tax must be paid by the employer): $40,000 (adjusted gross income) $40,000 × 6.2% [36] = $2,480 (Social Security portion) $40,000 × 1.45% = $580 (Medicare portion)
Here’s a breakdown of FICA taxes: Social Security tax : Both you and your employer contribute 6.2 percent of your wages up to a capped amount called the taxable maximum ($168,600 in 2024).
The tax is a percentage of taxable wages [46] with a cap. The tax rate and cap vary by jurisdiction and by employer's industry and experience rating. For 2009, the typical maximum tax per employee was under $1,000. [47] Some states also impose unemployment, disability insurance, or similar taxes on employees. [48]
All told, with the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, 12.4% of your paycheck is paid to the government for Social Security taxes and another 2.9% for Medicare, for a total FICA tax rate of 15.3% ...
Under FICA tax policy as of December 2017, the act mandates 3 different types of payroll taxes that employees have withheld from their paychecks: a 6.2% Social Security tax, a 1.45% Medicare tax, and, starting in 2013, a 0.9% Medicare tax for workers who make over $200,000 a year. [5]