{
  "address": "6d1b328080222c194cbcfaac71f3878b",
  "category": "other",
  "question": "Using the FICA table from SSA Contribution and Benefit Base (2026) and IRS Topic 560 (dated 2026-09-30), what is the FICA tax (Social Security, Medicare, and Additional Medicare Tax) on $150000 of annual wages for a single filer?",
  "answer": "$11,475.00",
  "askedBy": {
    "kind": "guest",
    "display": "method deck",
    "stamped": false,
    "id": null
  },
  "answeredBy": "method",
  "madeAt": "2026-09-30T22:39:30.722Z",
  "validUntil": null,
  "validityClass": "forever",
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Contribution and Benefit Base (2026 Social Security taxable maximum: $184,500)",
      "url": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html"
    },
    {
      "label": "Topic no. 560, Additional Medicare Tax",
      "url": "https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc560"
    }
  ],
  "supersedes": null,
  "supersededBy": null,
  "isSeed": false,
  "seedSource": null,
  "seedAttribution": null,
  "duplicateOfQid": null,
  "publishedAt": null,
  "unpublishedAt": null,
  "voteCount": 0,
  "queuedForSubstrate": false,
  "answerMethod": "method",
  "unsourced": false,
  "source": {
    "kind": "url",
    "value": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html",
    "retrieved_utc": "2026-09-30T19:31:29Z"
  },
  "qsha256": "e2f90bfd04c00e2f23f6ab2827992e62724b45d1d19ffac941fd32f752d96728",
  "runOne": null,
  "cardContractVersion": "card_contract/1",
  "deck_id": "method-deck",
  "deck_title": "Method Deck",
  "method": {
    "name": "FICA payroll tax, by stated table",
    "version": "1",
    "source_url_or_file": "methods/fica-payroll-tax.cjs",
    "sha256_of_method_file": "f1319e9325f89c7a5aa44535780989d68fad1d4ebbda724b9faf6d1595701ccd"
  },
  "receipt": {
    "inSubstrate": false,
    "local": true,
    "modelCallsAtMint": 0,
    "tokensAtMint": 0
  },
  "method_deck": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "name": "annual_wages",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Total annual wages subject to FICA",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "filing_status",
        "type": "string",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Filing status, used only for the Additional Medicare Tax threshold",
        "enum": [
          "single",
          "married_filing_jointly",
          "head_of_household"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "social_security_wage_base",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "required": true,
        "description": "The Social Security (OASDI) taxable wage base for the year being computed; indexed annually by the SSA.",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "social_security_rate_percent",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "%",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Employee-side Social Security tax rate.",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "medicare_rate_percent",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "%",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Employee-side Medicare tax rate, applied to all wages with no cap.",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_rate_percent",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "%",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Additional Medicare Tax rate on wages above the filing-status threshold.",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_threshold_mfj",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Additional Medicare Tax threshold for married filing jointly.",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_threshold_other",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Additional Medicare Tax threshold for single or head of household.",
        "min": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "fica_table_source",
        "type": "string",
        "required": true,
        "description": "Citation for the wage base, rates, and thresholds above; change it together with all six values when using a newer year's table."
      },
      {
        "name": "fica_table_date",
        "type": "string",
        "unit": "ISO date",
        "required": true,
        "description": "The date the cited FICA table was retrieved or published."
      }
    ],
    "outputs": [
      {
        "name": "social_security_tax",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "description": "social_security_rate_percent of wages up to social_security_wage_base"
      },
      {
        "name": "medicare_tax",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "description": "medicare_rate_percent of all wages"
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_tax",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "description": "additional_medicare_rate_percent of wages above the filing-status threshold"
      },
      {
        "name": "total_fica_tax",
        "unit": "currency units",
        "description": "Sum of the three components"
      }
    ],
    "steps": [
      "The visitor supplies social_security_wage_base, social_security_rate_percent, medicare_rate_percent, additional_medicare_rate_percent, both Additional Medicare Tax thresholds, plus fica_table_source and fica_table_date; this method never looks up a table itself. Replace all eight together to use a newer official table.",
      "social_security_tax = social_security_rate_percent / 100 * min(annual_wages, social_security_wage_base).",
      "medicare_tax = medicare_rate_percent / 100 * annual_wages (no wage base cap).",
      "additional_medicare_tax = additional_medicare_rate_percent / 100 * max(0, annual_wages - threshold), where threshold is additional_medicare_threshold_mfj for married filing jointly, otherwise additional_medicare_threshold_other.",
      "total_fica_tax = social_security_tax + medicare_tax + additional_medicare_tax.",
      "Round every component to 2 decimals (money to cents)."
    ],
    "constants": [
      {
        "name": "social_security_wage_base_2026",
        "value": 184500,
        "unit": "currency units",
        "source": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "social_security_rate",
        "value": 0.062,
        "unit": "rate",
        "source": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "medicare_rate",
        "value": 0.0145,
        "unit": "rate",
        "source": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_rate",
        "value": 0.009,
        "unit": "rate",
        "source": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_threshold_mfj",
        "value": 250000,
        "unit": "currency units",
        "source": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "additional_medicare_threshold_other",
        "value": 200000,
        "unit": "currency units",
        "source": 1
      }
    ],
    "examples": [
      {
        "name": "worked example",
        "inputs": {
          "annual_wages": 150000,
          "filing_status": "single",
          "social_security_wage_base": 184500,
          "social_security_rate_percent": 6.2,
          "medicare_rate_percent": 1.45,
          "additional_medicare_rate_percent": 0.9,
          "additional_medicare_threshold_mfj": 250000,
          "additional_medicare_threshold_other": 200000,
          "fica_table_source": "SSA Contribution and Benefit Base (2026) and IRS Topic 560",
          "fica_table_date": "2026-09-30"
        },
        "expected": {
          "answer": "$11,475.00"
        },
        "check": "hand computation: SS = 0.062*150000 = 9300.00 (under wage base); Medicare = 0.0145*150000 = 2175.00; Additional Medicare = 0 (under 200000 threshold); total = 9300+2175+0 = 11475.00"
      },
      {
        "name": "test vector: wages above both the wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold",
        "inputs": {
          "annual_wages": 300000,
          "filing_status": "married_filing_jointly",
          "social_security_wage_base": 184500,
          "social_security_rate_percent": 6.2,
          "medicare_rate_percent": 1.45,
          "additional_medicare_rate_percent": 0.9,
          "additional_medicare_threshold_mfj": 250000,
          "additional_medicare_threshold_other": 200000,
          "fica_table_source": "SSA Contribution and Benefit Base (2026) and IRS Topic 560",
          "fica_table_date": "2026-09-30"
        },
        "expected": {
          "answer": "$16,239.00"
        },
        "check": "hand computation: SS = 0.062*184500 = 11439.00 (capped at wage base); Medicare = 0.0145*300000 = 4350.00; Additional Medicare = 0.009*(300000-250000) = 0.009*50000 = 450.00; total = 11439+4350+450 = 16239.00"
      }
    ],
    "disclaimer": "General payroll tax formula only, using a stated, cited FICA table. Not tax advice. Employer-side matching and self-employment tax rules differ. Consult a licensed tax professional or the IRS/SSA for your actual situation.",
    "deck_category": "tax"
  },
  "status": "minted",
  "kind": "method",
  "provenanceClass": "own_question",
  "provenance": {
    "schema": "card_provenance/2.0.0",
    "chain": [
      {
        "source": {
          "kind": "url",
          "value": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html",
          "retrieved_utc": "2026-09-30T19:31:29Z"
        },
        "sha256": "997dcd775ad95b9a14329bfea20ee46fda78d10d483c12b204a31db5026a65c8",
        "supersedes": null,
        "added_utc": "2026-09-30T22:39:30.722Z",
        "added_by": "method:FICA payroll tax, by stated table",
        "why": "the method that computed this answer",
        "check": null,
        "status_label": "pending",
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  }
}