INQUIRY 17-06, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)
Published: December 28, 2017
Effective: January 01, 2018
Summary
For payments received on or after January 1, 2018, the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) maximum amount paid by employees will increase as described below.
FICA Employee
The current Federal Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)) and Medicare amounts are calculated by multiplying the current FICA-taxable wages by the appropriate FICA rate.
The FICA rate remains at 7.65 percent. Of the 7.65 percent, the 6.2 percent Social Security portion has a maximum annual earnings of $128,400 with a maximum amount paid by the employee of $7,960.80. The FICA Medicare rate remains at 1.45 percent on wages up to $200,000. The FICA Medicare rate remains at 2.35 percent for the portion of wages over $200,000.
Medicare-Only Employee
The Medicare rate remains at 1.45 percent on wages up to $200,000. The Medicare rate remains at 2.35 percent for the portion of wages over $200,000.
No action on the part of the employee or the personnel office is necessary.
Inquiries
For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at or via the customer service portal.