Payroll tax estimator ESTIMATE

Both halves of FICA

On a $2,000 payment with nothing paid earlier in the year, employee Social Security is 6.2% × $2,000 = $124, and the employer matches $124. Employee Medicare is 1.45% × $2,000 = $29, and the employer matches $29. Employer FICA cash is $153. The employee’s Additional Medicare withholding is $0 because year-to-date wages are under $200,000. Topic 751 says the employer starts that 0.9% withholding in the pay period wages for the year go over $200,000 and does not match it.

Social Security stops for both sides once the employee’s 2026 wages hit $184,500. A $2,000 check when $184,000 was already paid has only $500 left under the base, so each side’s Social Security tax is 6.2% × $500 = $31, while Medicare still applies to the full $2,000.

What is missing on purpose

Federal income-tax withholding depends on Form W-4 and Publication 15-T. It is not a flat percent, so it is not here — the paycheck estimator is a separate, rougher income-tax sketch. Federal unemployment (FUTA) and state unemployment are separate from FICA and are not in this total. Benefits, retirement matches, and local taxes are not in it either. Contractor payments are not wages; compare 1099-NEC and W-2 before you run someone through payroll.

How to book the employer share

The employee amounts are withholdings: a liability until you deposit them. The employer match is payroll tax expense. Both usually leave the bank in the same deposit. The starter chart of accounts splits wages, payroll tax expense, and payroll liabilities so the month-end close can tie the liability to the deposits still owed.

Sources

• IRS Topic 751 — 6.2% and 1.45% rates, 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500, and 0.9% Additional Medicare withholding over $200,000 with no employer match.
• SSA contribution and benefit base — 2026 base $184,500; employee and employer each contribute 6.2%.

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