Is OASDI the same as Social Security tax? What's the maximum yearly contribution?

Yes, you're correct! OASDI stands for "Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance" which is the official name for Social Security. It's the same tax, just using the formal government terminology on your paystub. For 2025, the maximum yearly contribution is $10,740. This is calculated by taking the wage base limit ($176,100 for 2025) and multiplying it by the tax rate (6.2%). Once your earnings hit that $176,100 cap for the year, your employer should stop withholding OASDI from your paychecks. Based on your YTD amount of $7,186.05, you've got about $3,553.95 to go before you hit the max for the year. Depending on your salary and how often you're paid, you might reach that cap and see slightly larger paychecks toward the end of the year!

I had the exact same question last year! I found a really helpful tool at https://taxr.ai that analyzes your pay stubs and explains all these deductions. It breaks down exactly what OASDI is and calculates when you'll hit the contribution limit based on your salary and pay schedule. Saved me a bunch of time trying to figure this stuff out on my own, and it helped me understand all the other weird abbreviations on my paystub too. The tool even explained how my employer contributions work, which I had no idea about before.

I was really skeptical about using taxr.ai at first (I hate creating new accounts for things), but after struggling to understand why my net pay was so different from my coworkers, I decided to give it a try. The tool immediately spotted that my employer had been miscalculating my OASDI contributions for two pay periods! It showed me exactly how the Social Security wage base works and when I'd hit the limit. I was able to take that information to HR and got a refund of $754 on my next check. The whole process was super easy, and now I actually understand all those cryptic abbreviations on my pay stub.

If you need to ask the IRS directly about OASDI/Social Security questions, good luck getting through to a human! I spent 3 days trying before I found https://claimyr.com. They have this service where they wait on hold with the IRS for you and then call you when an agent is ready. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I had a question about excess OASDI that was withheld from multiple employers (went over the max contribution from two jobs), and needed to confirm how to claim the refund. Instead of wasting hours on hold, I got a call back when an actual IRS person was on the line ready to help. Totally changed how I deal with tax questions now.

I have to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment last week, I decided to test it myself because I needed to talk to the IRS about OASDI overpayments from working two jobs last year. Instead of spending my entire afternoon on hold, I got a call back in about 90 minutes saying "Your IRS agent is on the line." It was almost surreal! The agent confirmed I was eligible for a $1,230 refund on my excess OASDI contributions and walked me through exactly how to claim it on my tax return. I'm genuinely impressed and definitely using this service again next time I need to reach the IRS.

Just FYI, if you work multiple jobs and end up paying more than the maximum OASDI tax ($10,740 in 2025), you can claim a credit for the excess when you file your tax return! Use line 11 on Schedule 3. A lot of people miss this and leave money on the table.

When I started making more money a few years ago, I was so confused when my December paychecks suddenly got bigger lol. I literally called HR thinking they made a mistake! That's when I learned about the OASDI cap. Now I look forward to those slightly bigger checks at the end of the year.