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Social Security & Medicare Tax Rates |
Social Security's Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and Medicare's Hospital Insurance (HI) program are financed primarily by employment taxes. Tax rates are set by law (see sections 1401, 3101, and 3111 of the Internal Revenue Code) and apply to earnings up to a maximum amount for OASDI. |
Calendar year | Tax rates as a percent of taxable earnings | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rate for employees and employers, each | Rate for self-employed persons | ||||||||
OASDI | HI | Total | OASDI | HI | Total | ||||
1937-49 | 1.000 | -- | 1.000 | -- | -- | -- | |||
1950 | 1.500 | -- | 1.500 | -- | -- | -- | |||
1951-53 | 1.500 | -- | 1.500 | 2.250 | -- | 2.250 | |||
1954-56 | 2.000 | -- | 2.000 | 3.000 | -- | 3.000 | |||
1957-58 | 2.250 | -- | 2.250 | 3.375 | -- | 3.375 | |||
1959 | 2.500 | -- | 2.500 | 3.750 | -- | 3.750 | |||
1960-61 | 3.000 | -- | 3.000 | 4.500 | -- | 4.500 | |||
1962 | 3.125 | -- | 3.125 | 4.700 | -- | 4.700 | |||
1963-65 | 3.625 | -- | 3.625 | 5.400 | -- | 5.400 | |||
1966 | 3.850 | 0.350 | 4.200 | 5.800 | 0.350 | 6.150 | |||
1967 | 3.900 | 0.500 | 4.400 | 5.900 | 0.500 | 6.400 | |||
1968 | 3.800 | 0.600 | 4.400 | 5.800 | 0.600 | 6.400 | |||
1969-70 | 4.200 | 0.600 | 4.800 | 6.300 | 0.600 | 6.900 | |||
1971-72 | 4.600 | 0.600 | 5.200 | 6.900 | 0.600 | 7.500 | |||
1973 | 4.850 | 1.000 | 5.850 | 7.000 | 1.000 | 8.000 | |||
1974-77 | 4.950 | 0.900 | 5.850 | 7.000 | 0.900 | 7.900 | |||
1978 | 5.050 | 1.000 | 6.050 | 7.100 | 1.000 | 8.100 | |||
1979-80 | 5.080 | 1.050 | 6.130 | 7.050 | 1.050 | 8.100 | |||
1981 | 5.350 | 1.300 | 6.650 | 8.000 | 1.300 | 9.300 | |||
1982-83 | 5.400 | 1.300 | 6.700 | 8.050 | 1.300 | 9.350 | |||
1984 1 | 5.700 | 1.300 | 7.000 | 11.400 | 2.600 | 14.000 | |||
1985 1 | 5.700 | 1.350 | 7.050 | 11.400 | 2.700 | 14.100 | |||
1986-871 | 5.700 | 1.450 | 7.150 | 11.400 | 2.900 | 14.300 | |||
1988-891 | 6.060 | 1.450 | 7.510 | 12.120 | 2.900 | 15.020 | |||
1990 and later | 6.200 | 1.450 | 7.650 | 12.400 | 2.900 | 15.300 | |||
1 In 1984 only, an immediate credit of 0.3 percent of taxable wages was allowed against the OASDI taxes paid by employees, resulting in an effective employee tax rate of 5.4 percent. The OASDI trust funds, however, received general revenue equivalent to 0.3 percent of taxable wages for 1984. Similar credits of 2.7 percent, 2.3 percent, and 2.0 percent were allowed against the combined OASDI and HI taxes on net earnings from self-employment in 1984, 1985, and 1986-89, respectively. |
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