Additional Medicare Tax Threshold 2026

Who it applies to

It applies to individuals, not to employers, and it has no employer match. Medicare wages, self-employment income, and railroad retirement compensation that exceed the threshold for your filing status are subject to it. Employers withhold it from an employee's wages above a single amount the IRS states separately, without regard to filing status, so withholding and liability do not line up for everyone: a married couple filing jointly can have the tax withheld before they owe any of it, and a married person filing separately can owe it before an employer has withheld anything. Form 8959 is where the two are reconciled. There are no special rules for nonresident aliens, or for U.S. citizens and resident aliens living abroad.

What changed this year, and why

Nothing moved for 2026. The Additional Medicare Tax rate is 0.9%, and the income above which it bites is $250,000 for a married couple filing jointly and $125,000 for a married person filing separately, the same amounts as for 2025. The IRS states the rate and the threshold table without attaching a year to either, which is the point: these amounts were written into the law as fixed figures and are not adjusted for inflation, so they have stayed where they were put while wage bases and brackets around them moved every year. The IRS says the tax helps fund the Affordable Care Act tax provisions, including the premium tax credit.

Common questions

What is the Additional Medicare Tax rate for 2026?

It is 0.9%. It is charged on Medicare wages, self-employment income, and railroad retirement compensation above the threshold for your filing status, and it is on top of the ordinary Medicare tax rather than a replacement for it.

What are the 2026 Additional Medicare Tax thresholds?

$250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately. The IRS also states a third threshold covering all other taxpayers, which this page does not carry as its own figure.

Did the thresholds change from 2025?

No. They were $250,000 and $125,000 for married couples filing jointly and separately in 2025, and they are the same for 2026. The thresholds are fixed in the statute and carry no inflation adjustment, so they do not move from year to year the way the social security wage base or the tax brackets do.

Why did my employer withhold Additional Medicare Tax when I do not owe it?

Because an employer withholds on wages above a single amount without regard to filing status, and must begin in the pay period in which an employee's wages for the year pass it, continuing each pay period to the end of the calendar year. A married couple filing jointly is not over their own threshold at that point. You settle the difference on Form 8959, which reports both the tax you owe and the Additional Medicare Tax that was withheld.

How does it work if I have both wages and self-employment income?

The IRS gives three steps. Figure the tax on any Medicare wages above the threshold for your filing status, without regard to whether any tax was withheld; reduce that threshold by the total Medicare wages you received, but not below zero; then figure the tax on any self-employment income above the reduced threshold. A self-employment loss is not taken into account, and railroad retirement compensation is compared to the threshold separately.

Does it apply if I live abroad?

Yes. The IRS says there are no special rules for nonresident aliens or for U.S. citizens and resident aliens living abroad. Their Medicare wages, railroad retirement compensation, and self-employment income are subject to the tax on the same terms, if paid in excess of the threshold for their filing status.

Does my employer pay a matching share?

No. The IRS says there is no employer match for Additional Medicare Tax, which is what separates it from the ordinary Medicare tax an employer and employee split. The employer's only role is withholding and reporting it.

Which forms report it?

Form 8959 computes the tax, and it is reported on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, on Form 1040-NR, or on Form 1040-SS. If you expect to owe it, the IRS suggests either asking your employer to withhold an additional amount of income tax on Form W-4 or making estimated tax payments, and points to Publication 505 for how to work either out.

Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Additional Medicare Tax calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.