2022 Additional Medicare Tax Threshold
For 2022, the Additional Medicare Tax Threshold figures are 0.9% (Rate), $250,000 (Married filing jointly), $125,000 (Married filing separately) and $200,000 (All other taxpayers).
Effective 2022-01-01Source: 2022 Instructions for Form 8959 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2021
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2021.
| Item | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | 0.9% | 0.9% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Married filing jointly | $250,000 | $250,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Married filing separately | $125,000 | $125,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| All other taxpayers | $200,000 | $200,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who file as married filing jointly or married filing separately and owe Additional Medicare Tax on Form 8959 for 2022.
What changed this year, and why
For 2022, the Additional Medicare Tax is 0.9% on Medicare wages, RRTA compensation, and self-employment income above a threshold. The threshold is $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately. Other filing statuses have a different threshold amount.
Common questions
- What is the Additional Medicare Tax rate for 2022?
- The Additional Medicare Tax is 0.9%.
Your employer withholds at $200,000 whatever your filing status
Employers must begin withholding the Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period when an employee's wages or compensation exceed $200,000 for the calendar year, and they must continue withholding each pay period through the end of the year. This $200,000 withholding threshold applies to all employees, regardless of whether they file as single, married filing jointly, or any other status. As a result, employees whose combined income (such as two working spouses) will ultimately exceed a lower threshold like $250,000 for married filing jointly or $125,000 for married filing separately may find their employer did not withhold enough. Any shortfall is reconciled when the taxpayer files Form 8959 with their return. The tax rate applied is 0.9%, and it falls on the employee; the employer's withholding obligation is simply a collection mechanism tied to a single employer's payroll.
Your employer is required to begin withholding Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period in which your wages or compensation for the year exceed $200,000 and continue to withhold it in each pay period for the remainder of the calendar year.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
These thresholds do not move with inflation
Unlike many tax provisions, the Additional Medicare Tax threshold amounts are fixed in statute and are not adjusted each year for changes in the price level. The thresholds remain the same regardless of inflation: $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately, with other filing statuses having their own fixed amounts. Because they are not indexed for inflation, over time a growing share of taxpayers may find themselves above the threshold even if their real purchasing power has not increased. The thresholds apply to the combined total of Medicare wages and self-employment income (or, for railroad workers, to RRTA compensation compared on its own), and the 0.9% tax is imposed on the amount above the applicable threshold.
Note. The threshold amounts below aren't indexed for inflation.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
When Form 8959 is required
Form 8959 must be filed with a taxpayer's income tax return if any of several conditions is met. A taxpayer must file if Medicare wages and tips reported on any single Form W-2 exceed the amount specified, or if RRTA compensation on any single Form W-2 exceeds that amount. The form is also required when total Medicare wages and tips plus self-employment income (including a spouse's amounts, if married filing jointly) exceed the threshold for the taxpayer's filing status, or when total RRTA compensation and tips (again including a spouse's, if married filing jointly) exceed that filing-status threshold. Filing the form computes whether the 0.9% tax is owed beyond what the employer already withheld and reconciles any over- or under-withholding.
You must file Form 8959 if one or more of the following applies to you.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Wages and self-employment income are added together
When determining whether the Additional Medicare Tax applies, Medicare wages and self-employment income are added together and compared to the threshold for the taxpayer's filing status. A self-employment loss is ignored for this purpose and does not reduce the combined amount. This means a taxpayer whose wages plus net self-employment income together exceed the threshold owes the 0.9% tax on the excess, even though neither source alone would have crossed the line. For married couples filing jointly, the threshold is $250,000, and for those married filing separately it is $125,000. If self-employment income is present, the wage portion of the threshold is used up first when computing the tax attributable to self-employment.
Medicare wages and self-employment income are combined to determine if your income exceeds the threshold.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Railroad compensation is measured on its own
Railroad employees subject to the Railroad Retirement Tax Act have their compensation measured under a different rule than ordinary wages. Instead of being added to Medicare wages and self-employment income, RRTA compensation is compared on its own to the threshold for the taxpayer's filing status. This separate comparison means that a railroad worker's RRTA compensation is evaluated independently of any regular wages they may also earn. The 0.9% tax applies to RRTA compensation that exceeds the threshold, regardless of the employee's filing status or compensation from other employers. Any difference between what was withheld and the final tax computed on Form 8959 is settled when the return is filed.
RRTA compensation should be separately compared to the threshold.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Nonresident aliens and Americans abroad get no special exemption
The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies equally to everyone whose income is subject to Medicare tax, regardless of where they live or work. The instructions state explicitly that there are no special rules for nonresident aliens and U.S. citizens living abroad. Wages, Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation, and self-employment income that are subject to regular Medicare tax are also subject to the Additional Medicare Tax if they exceed the applicable threshold for the taxpayer's filing status. The threshold amounts - $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately - are not adjusted for residence overseas, and no higher exemption exists for income earned outside the United States. A U.S. citizen in a foreign country or a nonresident alien with U.S.-source wages therefore faces the same tax, the same withholding, and the same filing requirement as a taxpayer living domestically, provided the underlying wages or self-employment income are subject to Medicare tax in the first place.
There are no special rules for Additional Medicare Tax for nonresident aliens and U.S. citizens living abroad. Wages, RRTA compensation, and self-employment income that are subject to Medicare tax will also be subject to Additional Medicare Tax if in excess of the applicable threshold.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Withholding starts the pay period your wages cross $200,000, not spread over the year
Employers must start withholding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax in the exact pay period when your cumulative wages or Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation for the calendar year first exceed $200,000. The tax is not withheld gradually across every paycheck from January onward; instead, withholding begins once, on the pay period in which the $200,000 cumulative total is crossed, and then continues in each subsequent pay period for the rest of that calendar year. This $200,000 withholding threshold is the same for every employee regardless of filing status, even though the actual Additional Medicare Tax thresholds on the return may differ - for example, $250,000 for married filing jointly or $125,000 for married filing separately. Because the employer's withholding threshold is fixed at $200,000 for everyone, a married couple filing jointly whose combined income exceeds $250,000 may find that too little was withheld, while a single taxpayer earning less than the withholding threshold but whose combined wages and self-employment income exceed the applicable threshold on the return may find that nothing was withheld at all. Either way, the final tax is reconciled on Form 8959 when the return is filed.
Your employer is responsible for withholding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on your Medicare wages or RRTA compensation paid in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. Your employer is required to begin withholding Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period in which your wages or compensation for the year exceed $200,000 and continue to withhold it in each pay period for the remainder of the calendar year.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Withheld Additional Medicare Tax comes back as a credit if you do not actually owe it
When an employer is required to withhold the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, the employee cannot ask the employer to stop withholding, even if the employee knows their income for the year will end up below the threshold on the return. If, when the return is prepared, the taxpayer does not actually owe any Additional Medicare Tax - for example, because combined wages and self-employment income fall below the $250,000 threshold for married filing jointly or the $125,000 threshold for married filing separately - the full amount that was withheld during the year comes back as a credit. The taxpayer claims this credit against the total tax liability shown on the return by filing Form 8959. The credit is dollar for dollar: every dollar of Additional Medicare Tax withheld by the employer reduces the tax owed on the return by the same amount. Withholding that exceeds the actual liability results in a refund of the excess; withholding that falls short means the taxpayer pays the remaining balance when the return is filed. The employer's obligation to withhold is based on wages alone, not the taxpayer's filing status or other income, so the amount withheld may not match the tax ultimately owed.
You can't ask your employer to stop Additional Medicare Tax withholding if it is required to withhold it. If you don't owe Additional Medicare Tax, you can claim a credit for any withheld Additional Medicare Tax against the total tax liability shown on your tax return by filing Form 8959.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Your wages eat into the threshold for your self-employment income, but RRTA pay does not
When a taxpayer has both wages and self-employment income, the threshold amount for determining whether Additional Medicare Tax applies to the self-employment income is reduced by the amount of Medicare wages received. This means that wages eat into the threshold available for self-employment income. For example, if a married taxpayer filing jointly has a threshold of $250,000 but also receives wages that are subject to Additional Medicare Tax, those wages reduce the amount of self-employment income that can be earned before the 0.9% tax applies. The threshold cannot be reduced below zero, however. Importantly, there is no equivalent rule for Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation - RRTA compensation does not reduce the threshold for self-employment income. This distinction matters because it affects how much self-employment income is subject to the tax when a taxpayer has multiple types of income. The reduction ensures that the combined wages and self-employment income are properly tested against the filing status threshold when computing the actual tax liability on Form 8959, preventing taxpayers from avoiding the tax by splitting income between wages and self-employment.
If you have both wages and self-employment income, the threshold amount for applying Additional Medicare Tax on the self-employment income is reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of wages subject to Additional Medicare Tax. There is no equivalent rule for RRTA compensation.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Waiting to pay it with your return can trigger a penalty
Taxpayers who owe Additional Medicare Tax but wait to pay it when they file their return may face an estimated tax penalty. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax is not automatically withheld in all cases - for example, self-employment income has no employer withholding, and wages below the employer-level withholding threshold also escape withholding even if the taxpayer's combined income exceeds the threshold for their filing status. When the taxpayer files, they must pay the tax due on the excess above the applicable threshold, which is $250,000 for married filing jointly or $125,000 for married filing separately. If the taxpayer has not made sufficient estimated tax payments or had enough withheld during the year to cover this liability, the IRS may impose a penalty for failure to make estimated tax payments. The penalty is determined using Form 2210, or Form 2210-F for farmers and fishermen, and is calculated based on the amount underpaid and the period of underpayment. To avoid the penalty, taxpayers who expect to owe Additional Medicare Tax should either increase their withholding or make quarterly estimated tax payments rather than waiting to pay the full amount with their return.
Estimated tax penalty. You may be subject to a penalty for failure to make estimated tax payments if you owe Additional Medicare Tax and wait to pay the tax with your tax return. See Form 2210 (or Form 2210-F for farmers and fishermen) and its separate instructions to determine if the penalty applies to you.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
2022 Instructions for Form 8959 (IRS)
- Rate
A 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies to your Medicare wages
- Married filing jointly
Married filing jointly $250,000
- Married filing separately
Married filing separately $125,000
- All other taxpayers
Single $200,000 Head of household $200,000 Qualifying surviving spouse $200,000