2022 Additional Medicare Tax Threshold
For 2022, the Additional Medicare Tax Threshold is 0.9% (Rate), $250,000 (Married filing jointly) and $125,000 (Married filing separately).
Effective 2022-01-01Source: 2022 Instructions for Form 8959 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
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%) |
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)
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