Payroll Withholding Calculator

"Payroll withholding" covers everything an employer takes out of an employee's paycheck before it's paid — income tax withholding plus the employee's share of FICA payroll taxes. This payroll withholding calculator breaks down each piece for any pay frequency.

Income Tax Withholding vs. Payroll (FICA) Taxes

These are often lumped together, but they're different. Income tax withholding is an estimate of your annual federal (and state) income tax liability, collected gradually. Payroll taxes (FICA) — Social Security and Medicare — fund specific federal programs and are calculated as flat percentages of wages, separate from income tax brackets entirely.

The Social Security Wage Base

Social Security tax (6.2%) applies only up to an annual wage base — $176,100 for 2025 and $184,500 for 2026. Once your year-to-date wages cross that threshold, Social Security withholding stops for the rest of the year (though it resets each January). Medicare tax (1.45%) has no such cap and applies to all wages.

Additional Medicare Tax at Higher Incomes

Once wages exceed $200,000 ($250,000 for married filing jointly), an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies on top of the standard 1.45% rate — but only on the portion of wages above that threshold. The calculator factors this in automatically once your annualized wages cross the relevant amount for your filing status.

Per Pay Period, Any Frequency

Select weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or annual pay to see how payroll withholding scales with your pay schedule. For a similar breakdown framed around personal paycheck planning rather than payroll mechanics, see our paycheck calculator.