OASDI Tax on Your Paycheck: 2026 Wage Base Explained
OASDI is the Social Security tax on your paycheck. See the 2026 wage base of $184,500, the 6.2% rate, the $11,439 max, and how to calculate your own.
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Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Tax rules change periodically, always check current IRS/state guidance or consult a professional.
Quick Answer: What Is OASDI on Your Paycheck?
OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, the formal name for the Social Security tax. It is the 6.2% deduction on your pay stub that funds Social Security benefits.
In 2026, OASDI applies to the first $184,500 of wages, for a maximum employee tax of $11,439. On $1,000 of gross pay, OASDI takes $62. Use the Paycheck Calculator to see your exact OASDI line alongside the rest of your take-home pay.
What Is OASDI Tax (and Why It’s on Your Paycheck)
If you have ever scanned your pay stub and stopped on a line that says “OASDI” or “Fed OASDI/EE,” you are looking at your Social Security tax. The two names describe the same thing.
OASDI is short for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. That is the official name of the Social Security program, which the Social Security Administration (SSA) runs. The tax funds three kinds of benefits: retirement income for older workers, payments to surviving spouses and children, and disability benefits.
Payroll departments label this deduction in a few different ways. You might see “OASDI,” “Fed OASDI/EE” (the EE means employee), “SS,” or simply “Social Security.” They all point to the same 6.2% withholding.
Keep in mind that OASDI is not your income tax. Federal and state income taxes use brackets and depend on your deductions and filing status. OASDI, by contrast, is a flat percentage of your gross wages, withheld from your very first dollar of pay. Even if you owe no federal income tax, OASDI still comes out of each check.
OASDI Tax Rate and the 2026 Wage Base
The OASDI rate has held steady at 6.2% for employees for decades. What changes from year to year is the wage base, the income ceiling the tax applies to.
The 2026 numbers break down like this:
- Employee OASDI rate: 6.2%
- Employer OASDI rate: 6.2% (paid on top of your wages)
- Combined rate: 12.4%
- 2026 wage base: $184,500 (up from $176,100 in 2025)
- Maximum employee OASDI tax: $11,439.00 ($184,500 x 6.2%)
The wage base jumped $8,400 from 2025, an increase of about 4.8%. That rise is tied to the annual cost-of-living adjustment (the 2026 COLA was 2.8%) and growth in average national wages. For someone who earns above the cap, the higher base means up to $520.80 more in OASDI this year ($8,400 x 6.2%).
One point trips people up. The wage base caps OASDI only. The Medicare portion of your payroll tax (1.45%) has no income ceiling and keeps coming out of every dollar you earn, plus a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on high wages. So when OASDI stops mid-year for a high earner, Medicare keeps right on going.
How to Calculate OASDI on Your Paycheck
The math is simple: multiply your gross pay for the period by 6.2%. The result is your OASDI deduction for that paycheck, up to the annual cap.
A quick reference: $1,000 of gross pay x 6.2% = $62 in OASDI. Scale that to your own paycheck and you have your number.
Worked Examples by Salary and Pay Frequency
These examples use 2026 rates. None of these salaries reach the wage base, so OASDI applies to every dollar all year.
$45,000 salary, paid weekly (52 checks)- Gross per check: $865.38
- OASDI per check: $53.65 ($865.38 x 6.2%)
- Annual OASDI: $2,790.00
- Gross per check: $2,692.31
- OASDI per check: $166.92 ($2,692.31 x 6.2%)
- Annual OASDI: $4,340.00
- Gross per check: $10,000.00
- OASDI per check: $620.00 ($10,000 x 6.2%)
- Annual OASDI: $7,440.00
When OASDI Stops for High Earners
Once your year-to-date wages cross $184,500, your employer stops withholding OASDI for the rest of the calendar year. Your paychecks get noticeably bigger until January resets the counter.
Take a $220,000 earner paid biweekly ($8,461.54 per check). Their cumulative wages cross $184,500 partway through the 22nd pay period, around late October. At that point the OASDI deduction of about $524.62 per check disappears, and that money stays in their pocket for the final paychecks of the year. This is expected behavior, not a payroll error.
If you earn $184,500 or less, the cap never applies and OASDI comes out of every check all year.
OASDI vs. Medicare vs. FICA vs. Income Tax
These terms overlap, which is why pay stubs confuse so many people. Here is how they nest together.
FICA (the Federal Insurance Contributions Act) is the umbrella. The total employee FICA rate is 7.65%, split into two parts:
- OASDI / Social Security: 6.2% on wages up to $184,500
- Medicare: 1.45% on all wages, no cap
So OASDI is one slice of FICA rather than a separate tax stacked on top of it. If your stub lists OASDI and Medicare on separate lines, those two together are your FICA.
OASDI is also separate from your income tax. Federal income tax (and state income tax, where it applies) is calculated on brackets and your W-4 elections. You can read more in our guide on what percentage of your paycheck goes to taxes.
Self-employed workers handle this differently. With no employer to split the bill, they pay the full 12.4% OASDI rate themselves through SECA (the Self-Employment Contributions Act), on top of the full 2.9% Medicare rate. The same $184,500 wage base applies, making the maximum self-employed OASDI tax $22,878 for 2026. Our breakdown of self-employment tax vs. employee tax walks through the difference.
Why Your OASDI Might Look Wrong, and How to Get a Refund
Most of the time, a higher-than-usual OASDI line just means your gross pay went up. A raise, overtime, or a bonus all increase the 6.2% calculation, since OASDI is flat on gross wages. There is nothing to fix.
The case worth watching is working two jobs. Each employer withholds OASDI independently, as if they were your only employer, with no view of what the other one took. If your combined wages pass $184,500 across both jobs, your total OASDI withholding can climb above the $11,439 maximum, and you have effectively overpaid.
To recover that overpayment:
- Multiple employers (excess withholding): Claim the overpaid OASDI as a credit on your federal return. Report it on Form 1040, Schedule 3, Line 11. The IRS treats it as tax already paid, so it increases your refund or lowers what you owe.
- Single employer over-collected: You cannot claim this on Schedule 3. Your employer has to correct it and refund you directly.
This only applies to OASDI. Medicare has no wage cap, so there is no such thing as a Medicare overpayment refund from working multiple jobs.
A few narrow groups are exempt from OASDI entirely:
- Members of certain religious groups who have filed IRS Form 4029, and some clergy
- Some nonresident aliens on F-1, J-1, M-1, or Q visas
- Students working for the school where they are enrolled
- Self-employed people with net earnings under $400 for the year
For nearly everyone else, OASDI is mandatory and cannot be opted out of.
See Your OASDI in Your Full Take-Home Pay
OASDI is only one of several deductions standing between your gross pay and the amount that lands in your bank account. Federal income tax, Medicare, state income tax, and any pre-tax benefits all chip away at the total too.
Looking at OASDI on its own tells you part of the story. Seeing it next to everything else tells you the whole one. That is where running your real numbers helps.
Pay44 computes your Social Security (OASDI) at 6.2% up to the wage base, then layers in Medicare, federal tax, and state tax for all 50 states plus DC, so you can watch each line shrink your gross into net. You can also run the numbers in the FICA tax calculator or browse the full set of paycheck tools. Prefer to do it on your phone? Download the app.
Related Reading
- FICA Taxes Explained: 2026 Rates and Limits — How OASDI and Medicare combine into the 7.65% FICA total, with paycheck examples from $50K to $200K.
- How to Read Your Pay Stub — A line-by-line guide to every deduction on your stub, including OASDI and Medicare.
- What Percentage of Your Paycheck Goes to Taxes in 2026? — See the share of your paycheck going to federal, state, and payroll taxes at common salary levels.
References
- SSA — Contribution and Benefit Base — Canonical Social Security wage base table, including the $184,500 figure for 2026.
- SSA — 2026 COLA Fact Sheet — Taxable maximum, OASDI rates, and the cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.
- IRS Topic No. 751 — Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates — Official OASDI and Medicare rates and the wage base.
- IRS Topic No. 608 — Excess Social Security and RRTA Tax Withheld — How to claim excess OASDI withheld by multiple employers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does OASDI mean on my paycheck?
OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, which is the formal name for the Social Security portion of FICA. It is the 6.2% deduction that funds Social Security retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. On a pay stub it may appear as OASDI, Fed OASDI/EE, SS, or Social Security.
How much is OASDI tax in 2026?
OASDI tax is 6.2% of your gross wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500. That makes the maximum employee OASDI tax for the year $11,439. Your employer pays a matching 6.2%, so the combined rate is 12.4%.
What is the OASDI wage base for 2026?
The OASDI wage base for 2026 is $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025. Once your year-to-date wages pass $184,500, the 6.2% OASDI tax stops for the rest of the year. The increase was driven by the annual cost-of-living adjustment.
Is OASDI the same as Social Security?
Yes. OASDI and Social Security are two names for the same tax and the same program. OASDI is one part of FICA, alongside the Medicare tax. On your pay stub you may see it labeled either way.
Why is my OASDI tax higher than usual?
Usually it is because your gross pay went up, often from a raise, overtime, or a bonus, since OASDI is a flat 6.2% of gross wages. If you work two jobs, each employer withholds OASDI independently, which can push your combined withholding above the annual maximum.
Can I get my OASDI tax back?
There is no general OASDI refund, but if you worked for multiple employers and your combined OASDI withholding exceeded $11,439 in 2026, you can recover the excess. Claim it as a credit on Form 1040, Schedule 3, Line 11 when you file your federal return.
Is OASDI tax mandatory? Can I opt out?
OASDI is mandatory for most workers and cannot be waived. Only narrow exemptions exist, such as certain clergy and members of qualifying religious groups, some nonresident aliens on F, J, M, or Q visas, students working for the school where they are enrolled, and self-employed people earning under $400.
Does OASDI come out of every paycheck all year?
OASDI is withheld from every paycheck until your year-to-date wages reach $184,500. After that point, OASDI stops for the rest of the calendar year and your take-home pay rises. Medicare tax keeps coming out with no cap.