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Fica Tax Guide

What Is FICA Tax? 2026 Rates, Wage Limits, and Employer Payroll Guide

Vikas Vishwakarma

Written by Global FPO Team

What Is FICA Tax? 2026 Rates, Wage Limits, and Employer Payroll Guide

Article Summary

This should save you ~10 minutes of reading

  • FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It is separate from federal income tax.
  • The employee and employer each pay 7.65%, for a combined 15.3%.
  • Only the Social Security part has a wage cap ($184,500 in 2026). Medicare has none.
  • Pre-tax 401(k) contributions do not reduce FICA wages. Section 125 health premiums do.
  • Employers must withhold, match, deposit, and report FICA. Errors lead to IRS penalties.

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Contact your employer's payroll department to review the error and issue a corrected Form W-2c if necessary; if the employer cannot resolve an eligible overpayment, you may be able to claim a refund from the IRS.

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