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Written by Reed Tinsley | October 21, 2016
About 12 million workers will pay more Social Security taxes in 2017, because the wage base for that tax will rise to $127,200 from this year's $118,500.
The maximum 2017 Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) portion of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax payable by each employee is $7,886.40, or 6.2% of the wage base. Employers match the employee amount with an equal contribution. For the Medicare (HI) portion of the FICA taxes, there is no wage base and all wages earned are subject to the HI tax, which also is paid by employers and employees. Each pays at a 1.45% rate, although employees pay an additional 0.9% on wages greater than $200,000. In a fact sheet, the IRS also said a 0.3% cost-of-living increase is to take effect in 2017, affecting several thresholds for benefits and coverage.
