What are FICA and payroll taxes, and how much come out of my paycheck?

FICA is the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare, withheld separately from federal income tax. As an employee you pay 6.2% for Social Security on wages up to the 2025 wage base of $176,100, plus 1.45% for Medicare on all wages — 7.65% total — and your employer matches it. High earners pay an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ, with no employer match. Self-employed people pay both halves (15.3%) as self-employment tax but deduct half. FICA is flat and separate from your income-tax brackets, which is why your total paycheck withholding is higher than your income-tax rate alone suggests. Once your wages cross the Social Security wage base, that 6.2% stops, giving high earners a small late-year paycheck bump.