Payroll Tax Calculator

The Payroll Tax Calculator estimates employee and employer FICA from gross pay and pay frequency. It returns Social Security, Medicare, combined FICA, and employee net pay after the modeled employee deductions.

Calculation method

The calculator annualizes the entered pay using the selected periods per year, then applies its static 2024 assumptions: 6.2% Social Security up to a $168,600 wage base, 1.45$200,000 annual pay.

$\text{Annual gross}=\text{Pay per period}\times\text{Periods per year}$ $\text{Employee net}=\text{Gross pay per period}-\text{Employee Social Security}-\text{Employee Medicare}$

Employer FICA is shown separately. The employer does not pay the additional Medicare amount in this model.

Worked example

For $2,000 paid bi-weekly:

1. Annual gross: $2,000 x 26 = $52,000.
2. Annual Social Security: $52,000 x 6.2% = $3,224.
3. Annual Medicare: $52,000 x 1.45% = $754.
4. Per-period employee FICA is each annual amount divided by 26.

Questions

Does this calculate income tax?

No. It models FICA only. Federal, state, local, withholding allowances, credits, and deductions are not included.

Which pay periods are supported?

Weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, and annually. The selected frequency changes the annualization multiplier and per-period tax amounts.

Are the tax rates current for every year?

No. The implementation uses static 2024 wage-base and rate assumptions. Verify current IRS limits before using the estimate for payroll or filing.

Limitations

This calculator is an educational payroll estimate. It does not model retirement deferrals, pretax benefits, state taxes, local taxes, bonuses, multiple jobs, or employer-specific payroll rules.