FICA
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax — Social Security (6.2%) plus Medicare (1.45%) on wages, paid by both employer and employee.
FICA is the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax, which funds Social Security retirement and disability insurance (the OASDI portion) and Medicare hospital insurance (the HI portion). FICA has two components: 6.2% on the first $168,600 of wages in 2024 (the "Social Security wage base," indexed for inflation), and 1.45% on all wages with no wage base. Both portions are matched by the employer, so the total payroll cost is 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare. An additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies to employee wages over $200,000 and is paid only by the employee (no employer match).
FICA is reported quarterly on Form 941 (or annually on Form 944 for very small filers) and deposited per the IRS deposit schedule — monthly by the 15th of the following month for monthly depositors, or by Wednesday/Friday after each pay date for semi-weekly depositors. See the IRS deposit schedule guide for the deposit rules.