What is the Employer FICA Match?

The employer FICA match is a requirement for an employer to remit to the government double the amount of social security and Medicare taxes withheld from employee pay. This means that the employee is paying half of the amount remitted, and the employer is paying the other half. The FICA acronym refers to the Federal Contributions Insurance Act, which is the law that requires these matching payments. The taxes requiring employer matching are noted below.

Social Security Tax

The Social Security tax is usually a 6.2% tax to both the employee and the employer, up to a maximum annual wage cap that is commonly ratcheted up at the beginning of each calendar year. Social security tax rates and maximum caps are recorded in a separate table. For example, on gross wages of $1,000, a company will remit $124 to the government, of which $62 was withheld from the employee's gross wages and $62 was paid by the company (and which it records as an expense). The amount withheld from employee wages is recorded by the employer as a liability (but not an expense), since the employer has an obligation to remit these funds to the government.

Medicare Tax

The Medicare tax is a 1.45% tax to both the employee and the employer, with no upper limit on the amount paid. Thus, on gross wages of $1,000, a company will remit $29.00 to the government, of which $14.50 was withheld from the employee's gross wages and $14.50 was paid by the company (and which it records as an expense). As was the case with the social security tax, the amount withheld from employee wages is recorded by the employer as a liability (but not an expense), since the employer has an obligation to remit these funds to the government.