Does the federal tax table already include Social Security and Medicare tax in the calculation?

The federal tax tables in the IRS instruction booklet only show federal income tax, not Social Security or Medicare taxes (which together are called FICA taxes). These are calculated separately and aren't part of what you see in those tables. For most employees, your employer withholds these taxes automatically - 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to $168,600 for 2025) and 1.45% for Medicare (on all wages, plus an additional 0.9% on wages over $200,000 for single filers). You can see these listed separately on your pay stub. If you're self-employed, you'll pay both the employer and employee portions through self-employment tax (12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare), which is calculated on Schedule SE.

I had the same confusion last year and found https://taxr.ai really helpful for explaining how all these different taxes interact. What helped me was uploading my W-2 and past tax returns, and their AI broke down exactly what portion of my taxes went where. The tool highlighted that my federal income tax (from those tax tables) was completely separate from my FICA taxes. It also explained how the withholding on my paychecks aligned with my actual tax obligations. Saved me a bunch of headaches trying to figure out if I was calculating everything correctly!

Just wanted to follow up - I tried the taxr.ai tool and it was actually super helpful! The analysis clearly showed me the difference between income tax (from those tables) and FICA taxes. It even broke down my past returns to show exactly how much went to each tax type. The visualization feature that shows where every dollar of tax goes was eye-opening. Definitely helped me understand that the tax tables are just one piece of my total tax burden. Now I finally understand why my actual tax withholding never matched what I calculated from the tables alone!

After spending 3 hours on hold with the IRS trying to get clarification about these tax tables, I finally found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed what others here are saying - the tax tables only show income tax, not FICA taxes. But they also explained that your W-4 withholding is calculated to cover all these taxes together, which was causing my confusion. Worth the call to get it straight from the source!

Ok I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After seeing the responses here I gave it a try yesterday because I had another tax question about these FICA taxes and how they relate to bonuses I'm receiving. Got connected to an IRS rep in about 22 minutes (while I was making dinner, not sitting on hold). The agent explained that not only are Social Security and Medicare separate from the tax tables, but they're calculated differently for bonuses too. Totally worth it instead of the 2+ hour wait I had last time I called on my own.

Just to add to what others have said - those tax tables can be confusing! Another thing to keep in mind is that those tables show your tax BEFORE credits are applied. So your actual tax bill might be: Amount from tax table - tax credits + Social Security and Medicare taxes. And if you're self-employed, dont forget you'll pay double the SS and Medicare since you're covering both the employer and employee portions!

The way I remember it: Tax TABLE = federal income tax only. Look at your paystub and you'll see separate line items for: - Federal income tax (this is from the tables) - Social Security (6.2%) - Medicare (1.45%) Honestly, I created a simple spreadsheet to track my estimated taxes throughout the year. I enter my income and it calculates all three taxes separately to give me a better picture of my total tax burden.

Great question! I was in the same boat when I first started working full-time. The federal tax tables only show your income tax - they don't include Social Security (6.2%) or Medicare (1.45%) taxes at all. Think of it this way: you have three separate federal taxes coming out of your paycheck: 1. Federal income tax (what the tables show) 2. Social Security tax (6.2% up to the wage cap) 3. Medicare tax (1.45% on all wages) When you're budgeting, add all three together to get your total federal tax burden. The good news is that if you're a W-2 employee, your employer handles the withholding automatically and you'll see each tax listed separately on your paystub. The tax tables are just for reconciling your income tax when you file - the FICA taxes (Social Security + Medicare) are already "settled up" through your payroll withholding throughout the year. Welcome to the working world - it gets easier once you see how it all flows together!

As someone who was completely lost on this topic last year, I can confirm what everyone's saying - the tax tables are ONLY for federal income tax. I made the mistake of thinking that was my total tax bill and was shocked when I looked at my actual paystub! What really helped me understand this was looking at my year-end W-2. Box 1 shows your wages subject to federal income tax, Box 2 shows the actual federal income tax withheld (this should roughly match what you'd calculate from the tax tables), then Box 4 shows Social Security tax withheld and Box 6 shows Medicare tax withheld - all completely separate amounts. So when you're budgeting, yes, you need to account for all three taxes. The silver lining is that as an employee, you don't have to worry about calculating the FICA taxes yourself - your employer does that math and takes it out automatically. You just need to make sure your federal income tax withholding is on track by adjusting your W-4 if needed. The tax filing process will make a lot more sense once you see how these different taxes are handled separately on your return!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who just switched from being a contractor to a W-2 employee, I was making the same mistake of thinking the tax tables showed my total federal tax burden. One thing I learned the hard way during my contractor days - if you're ever self-employed or doing freelance work on the side, you'll need to calculate and pay the Social Security and Medicare taxes yourself through self-employment tax on Schedule SE. That's when you pay both the employee AND employer portions (12.4% for Social Security + 2.9% for Medicare), which really adds up. But as a regular employee now, seeing those three separate line items on my paystub makes everything much clearer. The tax tables are just one piece of the puzzle, and understanding that distinction is crucial for proper tax planning. Thanks everyone for breaking this down so clearly!