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SSA AND IRS
Social Security tax in 2026.
The employee rate is still 6.2%. The only number that changed for most people is the wage the rate applies to. In 2026 that wage stops at $184,500.
The Social Security Administration’s contribution and benefit base for earnings in 2026 is $184,500. IRS Topic 751 states the same limit. An employee who earns at least that much pays 6.2% of $184,500, which is $11,439. The employer pays the same $11,439. Someone who earns $90,000 pays 6.2% of $90,000, which is $5,580, and never sees the cap.
What happens the paycheck after you cross the cap
Withholding stops for Social Security on wages above the base. It does not stop for Medicare. A December bonus paid after year-to-date wages have already hit $184,500 should show $0 Social Security and 1.45% Medicare. The bonus calculator does that if you enter wages already paid.
Two jobs do not coordinate the cap during the year. Each employer withholds 6.2% as if it were the only job, up to the base at that employer. If the combined wages exceed $184,500 you have overpaid the employee share, and the excess is a credit on the income-tax return. This page cannot see your other W-2.
Self-employment is a different statute: 12.4% up to the same base, because there is no employer half. None of the paycheck tools on this site are a Schedule SE.
Questions
Did the wage base rise for 2026?
Yes. It is $184,500 for 2026, up from $176,100 in 2025.
Is the Medicare wage base the same?
No. Medicare has no wage base. The 1.45% employee share applies to every dollar of covered wages.
Two paychecks, one cap
Each employer withholds 6.2% as if it were the only job, up to $184,500 at that employer. Two jobs that each pay $100,000 will each withhold Social Security on the full $100,000. Combined wages are $200,000, so the employee has paid 6.2% on $15,500 too much. The excess is a credit on the income-tax return. This page cannot see the second W-2. If you already know wages at the other job, the bonus tool at least stops Social Security once you type year-to-date wages above the base.
The maximum employee share is $11,439, which is 6.2% of $184,500. Medicare does not have a matching maximum. Self-employment is 12.4% up to the same base because there is no employer half, and it is not what a W-2 calculator should show.
$200,000 of wages at one employer
Social Security applies to the first $184,500 only, so the employee pays $11,439 and then stops. The remaining $15,500 is Medicare wages at 1.45% and, for a single filer, is still under the $200,000 Additional Medicare threshold if the wages are exactly $200,000, so the extra 0.9% is about zero at that exact point and starts on the next dollar. A bonus paid after the base has been hit should show no Social Security. Type the wages already paid into the bonus calculator or it will keep charging 6.2%.