2025 Additional Medicare Tax Threshold
For 2025, the Additional Medicare Tax Threshold is 0.9% (Rate), $250,000 (Married filing jointly) and $125,000 (Married filing separately).
Effective 2025-01-01Source: 2025 Instructions for Form 8959 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2024
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2024.
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | 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
The tax falls on individuals whose Medicare wages, RRTA compensation, or self-employment income rise above the threshold for their filing status: $250,000 for married filing jointly, $125,000 for married filing separately, and the amount shown for single, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse filers in the Threshold Amounts for Additional Medicare Tax chart in the instructions. Medicare wages and self-employment income are combined when testing against the threshold, and a self-employment loss is not counted; RRTA compensation is compared to the threshold on its own. There are no special rules for nonresident aliens or for U.S. citizens living abroad. If you file Form 8959 you must also file one of the returns it attaches to, and you can be liable even when nothing was withheld, because employer withholding follows a wage test rather than your filing status.
What changed this year, and why
The Additional Medicare Tax for 2025 is 0.9%, and it applies to Medicare wages, Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation, and self-employment income above a threshold amount set by filing status: $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately. The 2025 Instructions for Form 8959 attach a note to the threshold chart stating that the threshold amounts are not indexed for inflation, so unlike bracket and standard deduction figures they do not move from one year to the next. The reminders in the 2025 instructions deal with missing or incorrect wage statements and with the territory wage forms, not with the rate or the thresholds, and the tax continues to be figured and reported on Form 8959.
Common questions
- What is the Additional Medicare Tax rate for 2025?
- The rate is 0.9%. It applies only to the part of your Medicare wages, RRTA compensation, or self-employment income that exceeds the threshold amount for your filing status, not to the whole amount. On Form 8959 the calculation is explicit: line 7 multiplies the wages above the threshold by 0.9%, line 13 does the same for self-employment income, and line 17 does the same for RRTA compensation. The results are added in Part IV.
- What are the Additional Medicare Tax thresholds for 2025?
- The threshold is $250,000 if you are married filing jointly and $125,000 if you are married filing separately. Single, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse filers use the amount listed for their status in the Threshold Amounts for Additional Medicare Tax chart in the Instructions for Form 8959. The instructions note directly beneath the chart that these threshold amounts are not indexed for inflation, so the same figures carry forward until Congress changes them.
- Who must file Form 8959?
- You must file if the Medicare wages and tips on any single wage statement exceed the amount the instructions state, if your RRTA compensation on any single wage statement exceeds it, or if your total Medicare wages and tips plus self-employment income, combined with your spouse's on a joint return, are greater than the threshold for your filing status. The same test applies to total RRTA compensation and tips. Form 8959 is attached to Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, Form 1040-NR, or Form 1040-SS.
- Why did my employer withhold Additional Medicare Tax when I do not owe it?
- Because employer withholding follows the wages that employer pays, not your filing status. An employer must begin withholding in the pay period in which your wages or compensation for the year cross the withholding threshold and continue for the rest of the calendar year, regardless of your filing status and regardless of wages paid by another employer. You cannot ask the employer to stop. If you do not owe the tax, you claim a credit for the withheld amount against your total tax liability by filing Form 8959.
- Do the Additional Medicare Tax thresholds go up with inflation?
- No. The Instructions for Form 8959 state under the threshold chart that the threshold amounts are not indexed for inflation. That means the $250,000 married filing jointly figure and the $125,000 married filing separately figure stay where they are while wages rise, so more filers cross them over time. It also means the thresholds are not something to look up again each year the way an inflation-adjusted bracket or standard deduction amount is.
- How do wages and self-employment income interact for this tax?
- If you have both, the threshold for applying the tax to your self-employment income is reduced, but not below zero, by the total Medicare wages you received. The wages are tested first, and whatever is left of the threshold is what shelters the self-employment income. A self-employment loss is not taken into account, and negative amounts are not considered. There is no equivalent reduction rule for RRTA compensation.
- Is RRTA compensation combined with my wages for the Additional Medicare Tax?
- No. The instructions say RRTA compensation should be separately compared to the threshold, while Medicare wages and self-employment income are combined. On a joint return that means spouses do not add wages to RRTA compensation to see whether they are over the threshold; each stream is measured on its own. Form 8959 mirrors that split, with Part I for Medicare wages, Part II for self-employment income, and Part III for RRTA compensation.
- Can I have extra tax withheld to cover the Additional Medicare Tax?
- Not for this tax specifically. You can file a new Employee's Withholding Certificate with your employer to request additional income tax withholding, and that extra withholding is applied against the taxes shown on your return, including any Additional Medicare Tax liability. Estimated tax payments work the same way and cannot be designated for this tax either. If you owe it and wait to pay with your return, you may face an estimated tax penalty, determined using Form 2210.
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.
Your employer withholds at $200,000 whatever your filing status
Your employer must begin withholding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period where your Medicare wages or RRTA compensation exceed $200,000 for the calendar year, and must continue withholding it each pay period for the rest of that year. This $200,000 withholding trigger applies to every worker, no matter what filing status you use on your return. The result is that a married couple filing jointly may have tax withheld at the $200,000-per-employer level even though their actual Additional Medicare Tax threshold is $250,000. If too much was withheld, you claim the excess as a credit against your total tax liability when you file Form 8959 with your return. If too little was withheld because you have wages from more than one employer, self-employment income, or a lower filing-status threshold, you pay the balance when you file. You cannot ask your employer to stop withholding once it has started.
A railroad employer must withhold Additional Medicare Tax on compensation it pays to you in excess of $200,000 for the calendar year, regardless of your filing status and regardless of wages or compensation paid by another employer.
2025 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
These thresholds do not move with inflation
The Additional Medicare Tax thresholds are set by statute and do not increase with the cost of living. Once a year, many tax-related amounts - such as standard deductions and retirement plan contribution limits - are adjusted upward for inflation, but the income levels at which the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax begins to apply are not. The threshold for married couples filing jointly remains $250,000 and for married couples filing separately it remains $125,000, year after year unless Congress changes the law. The thresholds for single filers, heads of household, and qualifying surviving spouses are also fixed at the same statutory dollar amounts. Over time, because wages generally rise with inflation, more taxpayers may find themselves above these fixed dollar amounts and subject to the tax even though their real purchasing power has not increased. When planning for future years, you cannot assume the threshold will move upward to keep pace with higher prices or higher wages; the same numbers apply until they are changed by legislation.
Threshold Amounts for Additional Medicare Tax Note: The threshold amounts below aren’t indexed for inflation. Filing status Threshold amount Married filing jointly $250,000 Married filing separately $125,000
2025 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
When Form 8959 is required
You are required to file Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax, with your federal income tax return if any one of several conditions is met. First, you must file if your Medicare wages and tips reported in box 5 of any single Form W-2 are greater than $200,000. Second, you must file if your Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation reported in box 14 of any single Form W-2 is greater than $200,000. Third, you must file if the total of your Medicare wages and tips plus your self-employment income - and, if you are married filing jointly, your spouse's Medicare wages, tips, and self-employment income - exceeds the threshold amount that applies to your filing status. Fourth, you must file if the combined Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation and tips of you and your spouse, if married filing jointly, exceed the threshold for your filing status. In other words, the filing requirement is triggered by either wages or railroad compensation crossing $200,000 at a single employer, or by total income crossing the threshold that applies to the way you file your return.
Who Must File You must file Form 8959 if one or more of the following applies to you. • Your Medicare wages and tips on any single Form W-2 (box 5) are greater than $200,000. • Your RRTA compensation on any single Form W-2 (box 14) is greater than $200,000.
2025 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Wages and self-employment income are added together
For purposes of the Additional Medicare Tax, your Medicare wages and your self-employment income are added together to see whether your total exceeds the threshold that applies to your filing status. This means that wages you earned as an employee and net earnings from self-employment are not looked at in isolation; they are combined to determine if you have crossed the line at which the 0.9% tax applies. A self-employment loss, however, is not counted for this purpose - it does not reduce your wages. If the combined total is above your threshold, Additional Medicare Tax is owed on the excess. For married couples filing jointly, the threshold is $250,000; for those filing separately, it is $125,000. When you have both wages and self-employment income, the amount of Additional Medicare Tax that applies to the self-employment income is calculated by first reducing the threshold by the total of your Medicare wages, so that wages and self-employment income together are measured against one threshold, not two separate ones.
Medicare wages and self-employment income are combined to determine if your income exceeds the threshold. A self-employment loss shouldn’t be considered for purposes of this tax.
2025 Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax (IRS)
Railroad compensation is measured on its own
Compensation subject to the Railroad Retirement Tax Act is treated separately from Medicare wages when applying the Additional Medicare Tax. While wages and self-employment income are added together to see whether a taxpayer has crossed the applicable threshold, RRTA compensation is not combined with either of those; it is compared on its own to the threshold for the taxpayer's filing status. This means a railroad employee could owe Additional Medicare Tax on railroad compensation above the threshold even if their non-railroad wages are below it, or vice versa. A railroad employer must withhold the 0.9% tax on RRTA compensation that exceeds the statutory withholding amount in a calendar year, without regard to the employee's filing status or to wages or compensation the employee may receive from another employer. The amount that may actually be owed on the return depends on the filing-status threshold - $250,000 for married filing jointly, $125,000 for married filing separately - and on how the railroad compensation alone compares to that threshold.
RRTA compensation should be separately compared to the threshold.
2025 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.
2025 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