Are the FICA tax rates and taxable wage bases the same for both the employee and employer if the employee earns $200,000 or less?

The answer is that the FICA tax rates and taxable wage bases are indeed the same for both the employee and employer for earnings of $200,000 or less. When it comes to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax, both the employee and the employer contribute at a standard rate of 6.2% for Social Security and an additional 1.45% for Medicare. This means that each party pays the same rate on the employee's wages up to the Social Security wage base limit, which for 2023 is set at $160,200, and this figure is subject to annual cost-of-living adjustments.

In addition, for Medicare, there is no wage base limit, meaning both parties will continue to pay the 1.45% tax on all wages earned. For employees with wages exceeding $200,000, employers are required by law to withhold an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on the excess, which the employer is not responsible for matching. However, this situation does not apply to those earning $200,000 or less, where the rates remain the same.

Thus, the answer accurately reflects that the FICA tax structure is universally applied to employees and employers at the specified income level, reinforcing