Additional Medicare Tax
Some taxpayers may be liable for an Additional Medicare Tax if your income exceeds certain limits. Here are six things that you should know about this tax:
- Tax Rate. The Additional Medicare Tax rate is 0.9 percent.
- Income Subject to Tax. The tax applies to the amount of certain income that is more than a threshold amount. The types of income include your Medicare wages, self-employment income and
railroad retirement (RRTA) compensation. You must combine your wages and self-employment income to figure the tax. - Threshold Amount. You base your threshold amount on your filing status. If you are married and file a joint return, you must combine your spouse’s wages, compensation, or self-employment income with yours. Use the combined total to determine if your income exceeds your threshold. The threshold amounts are:
| Filing Status | Threshold Amount |
| Married filing jointly | $250,000 |
| Married filing separately | $125,000 |
| Single | $200,000 |
| Head of household | $200,000 |
| Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child | $200,000 |
- Withholding / Estimated Tax. Employers must withhold this tax from your wages or compensation when they pay you more than $200,000 in a calendar year. If you are self-employed you should include this tax when you figure your estimated tax liability.
- Underpayment of Estimated Tax. If you had too little tax withheld, or did not pay enough estimated tax, you may owe an estimated tax penalty.
If you owe this tax, file Form 8959, with your tax return. You also report any Additional Medicare Tax withheld by your employer on Form 8959.
Information from IRS Tax Tip 2015-41 was used in this blog.
