Medicare Blog

reasons why you would have an additional 9% medicare tax

by Prof. Jovani Feeney MD Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
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The Additional Medicare Tax applies to wages, railroad retirement (RRTA) compensation, and self-employment
self-employment
Use Schedule SE (Form 1040) to figure the tax due on net earnings from self-employment. The Social Security Administration uses the information from Schedule SE to figure your benefits under the social security program.
https://www.irs.gov › about-schedule-se-form-1040
income over certain thresholds
. Employers are responsible for withholding the tax on wages and RRTA compensation in certain circumstances.
Jan 18, 2022

How to calculate additional Medicare tax properly?

  • Normal medicare tax rate for individual is 1.45 % of gross wages or salary
  • Normal medicare tax rate for self employed person is 2.9 % of Gross income.
  • If wage or self employment income is more than the threshold amount , only then you are liable for additional medicare tax .

Do employers match additional Medicare tax?

An employer must begin withholding Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period in which the wages or railroad retirement (RRTA) compensation paid to an employee for the year exceeds $200,000. The employer then continues to withhold it each pay period until the end of the calendar year. There's no employer match for Additional Medicare Tax.

When do you pay additional Medicare tax?

While everyone pays some taxes toward Medicare, you’ll only pay the additional tax if you’re at or above the income limits. If you earn less than those limits, you won’t be required to pay any additional tax. If your income is right around the limit, you might be able to avoid the tax by using allowed pre-tax deductions, such as:

Why is there a cap on the FICA tax?

Key Takeaways

  • Social Security and Medicare payroll withholding are collected as the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax.
  • Income tax caps limit do not apply to Medicare taxes, but Social Security taxes have a wage-based limit.
  • The cap limits how much high earners need to pay in Social Security taxes each year.

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Who would be subject to additional Medicare taxes?

A 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies to Medicare wages, self-employment income, and railroad retirement (RRTA) compensation that exceed the following threshold amounts based on filing status: $250,000 for married filing jointly; $125,000 for married filing separately; and. $200,000 for all other taxpayers.

How is additional Medicare tax calculated?

What is the additional Medicare tax? The additional Medicare tax of 0.9% applies only to higher wage earners. It is paid in addition to the standard Medicare tax. An employee will pay 1.45% standard Medicare tax, plus the 0.9% additional Medicare tax, for a total of 2.35% of their income.

Do employers have to pay the additional Medicare tax?

Employers are required to begin withholding Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period in which the employer pays wages in excess of $200,000 to an employee.

Why am I being charged additional Medicare tax?

An individual will owe Additional Medicare Tax on wages, compensation and self-employment income (and that of the individual's spouse if married filing jointly) that exceed the applicable threshold for the individual's filing status.

Why did I get a Medicare surtax?

The Additional Medicare Tax applies to people who make more than a set income level for the year. As of 2013, the IRS requires higher-earning taxpayers to pay more into Medicare. The extra tax was announced as part of the Affordable Care Act and is known as the Additional Medicare Tax.

How do I avoid Medicare surtax?

Despite the complexity of this 3.8% surtax, there are two basic ways to “burp” income to reduce or avoid this tax: 1) reduce income (MAGI) below the threshold, or 2) reduce the amount of NII that is subject to the tax.

What is the 3.8 Medicare surtax?

The Medicare tax is a 3.8% tax, but it is imposed only on a portion of a taxpayer's income. The tax is paid on the lesser of (1) the taxpayer's net investment income, or (2) the amount the taxpayer's AGI exceeds the applicable AGI threshold ($200,000 or $250,000).

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