Medicare Tax Calculator (US)

This Medicare tax calculator estimates Medicare tax and Additional Medicare Tax on wages or self-employment income. It helps separate Medicare tax from the broader payroll tax picture.

Unlike Social Security tax, regular Medicare tax generally does not have the same wage base limit. Higher earners may also owe Additional Medicare Tax above certain income thresholds.

If wages are $90,000, regular Medicare tax applies to those wages. If income rises above the Additional Medicare Tax threshold for your filing situation, extra Medicare tax may apply to the excess.

Self-employed workers should pay close attention because Medicare tax is part of self-employment tax planning, alongside Social Security tax and income tax.

Review Medicare tax when income changes, bonuses are paid, self-employment income grows, or household earnings cross additional tax thresholds.

Use the estimate as a planning guide, then confirm exact thresholds, withholding, and filing treatment with current IRS guidance.

Use this calculator to isolate regular Medicare tax and Additional Medicare Tax from the rest of a US payroll or self-employment estimate.

The component uses annual earned income, employee versus self-employment income type, and filing status to estimate the base Medicare amount plus any additional Medicare amount.

Use social security tax for the Social Security side of FICA, and payroll tax when you want a paycheck-style net pay estimate.

Use self-employment tax when business profit and expenses matter more than a standalone Medicare estimate.

Keep investment income separate. Net Investment Income Tax is handled by net investment income tax, not this earned-income Medicare page.

Treating Medicare tax as the same thing as Social Security tax. Social Security has a wage base; regular Medicare is modelled differently here.

Forgetting to switch between employee and self-employment income type. The selected type changes the regular Medicare rate used by the component.

Ignoring Additional Medicare Tax when earned income exceeds the selected filing-status threshold.

Mixing Medicare hospital insurance tax with Medicare Part B/D premiums — premiums are separate from payroll tax.

Using the result as a full paycheck calculator. Federal withholding, state tax, benefits, retirement deductions, and other payroll items are outside this page.

Example: enter $220,000 of annual earned income as an employee and select single filing status to see regular Medicare tax, Additional Medicare Tax, the threshold used, and the amount subject to the additional rate.

Change filing status to see how the additional-tax threshold changes in the simplified model.

Change income type to self-employment only when you are modelling self-employment earnings rather than W-2 wages.

Compare the result with the payroll tax calculator if you need Medicare shown alongside Social Security and federal withholding.

Pair with social security tax to review the two main FICA components separately.

Pair with payroll tax when a paycheck-style net pay estimate is more useful than a standalone Medicare number.

Pair with net investment income tax only when investment income and MAGI are part of the question.

Keep the filing status and income type the same across tools when comparing scenarios.

Check whether the income entered is earned income subject to Medicare tax, not investment income.

Check whether you selected employee or self-employed income type correctly.

Check current thresholds and filing rules before filing or making a payroll decision.

Rerun this Medicare tax calculator when earned income, filing status, or employee/self-employment classification changes.

Recheck after bonuses, new jobs, or self-employment income changes if those push income near an Additional Medicare threshold.

If this estimate differs from payroll software, trace regular Medicare and Additional Medicare separately before adjusting the income input.