To pay Social Security tax, employees have 6.2% of their wages withheld automatically by their employer, self-employed workers owe the full 12.4% and send it in with quarterly estimated payments plus a Schedule SE at tax time, and employers deposit both the withheld employee share and their own matching 6.2% electronically through the federal payment system. Which path applies to you depends on how you earn your income, and each has its own forms, deadlines, and payment tools.
If You Work for an Employer
Your Social Security tax is handled for you. Your employer withholds 6.2% of your gross wages from every paycheck and sends it to the IRS.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3101 – Rate of Tax There’s no separate form to file and no direct payment to make. At year-end, your W-2 shows the total Social Security wages and the total withheld.
The 6.2% rate only runs up to the annual Social Security wage base. For 2026 that base is $184,500, which caps the employee-side tax at $11,439 for the year.2Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base Once your wages with a single employer cross the base, that employer stops withholding for the rest of the year. Medicare tax, which is a separate 1.45% line on your pay stub, has no cap and keeps coming out on every dollar you earn.
If you hold more than one job, each employer withholds against its own wage base, and the combined total can push you past the annual cap. When it does, you claim the excess back as a credit on your tax return. Spouses filing jointly still calculate any excess separately.3Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 608, Excess Social Security and RRTA Tax Withheld
If You’re Self-Employed
Working for yourself means there’s no employer to split the tax with you. You owe the full 12.4% Social Security tax on your net self-employment income, plus 2.9% for Medicare, for a combined self-employment tax rate of 15.3%.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1401 – Rate of TaxSelf-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
You don’t apply 12.4% to the full net profit. Multiply your net self-employment earnings by 92.35% first, then apply the tax rate to that reduced figure. The Social Security portion stops at the same $184,500 wage base that applies to employees. You report the whole calculation on Schedule SE, filed with your Form 1040.5Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax
Because you’re carrying both halves, the tax code lets you deduct half of your self-employment tax when figuring your adjusted gross income. That deduction goes on Schedule 1; you don’t need to itemize to take it.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax
Quarterly Estimated Payments
Rather than waiting until April, you send the IRS four estimated payments a year using Form 1040-ES. These cover both your income tax and your self-employment tax. For tax year 2026, the due dates are:
- First quarter: April 15, 2026
- Second quarter: June 15, 2026
- Third quarter: September 15, 2026
- Fourth quarter: January 15, 2027
You’re required to make estimated payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in total tax for the year after subtracting withholding and refundable credits.7Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Taxes Missing or shorting a quarter can trigger an underpayment penalty that runs on each late amount for as long as it stays unpaid. You can avoid it by owing under $1,000 at filing time, paying at least 90% of your current-year tax, or paying 100% of the prior-year tax shown on your return, whichever is smallest. That prior-year safe harbor climbs to 110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income was above $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately).8Internal Revenue Service. Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals Penalty
If You’re an Employer
Every employer owes a matching 6.2% Social Security tax on each employee’s wages, added to the 6.2% withheld from the employee.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3111 – Rate of Tax You deposit the combined 12.4% along with withheld income tax and Medicare tax on the schedule the IRS assigns you.
Most employers report these taxes quarterly on Form 941.10Internal Revenue Service. About Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return Very small employers whose annual liability for Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax runs $1,000 or less can request permission to file Form 944 once a year instead.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 944 (2025)
Deposit Schedule
How often you deposit is set by a lookback period. For 2026 Form 941 filers, that lookback runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025:
- Monthly depositor if your lookback-period taxes were $50,000 or less. Deposits are due by the 15th of the following month.
- Semiweekly depositor if your lookback-period taxes exceeded $50,000. Deposits track paydays on a semiweekly cycle.
- Next-day deposit if you accumulate $100,000 or more on any single day. That deposit is due the next business day.
New employers start on the monthly schedule for their first calendar year.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide All employer deposits must be electronic. Paper checks are not accepted for federal tax deposits; use EFTPS, a business tax account, or Direct Pay for businesses.13Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Executive Order 14247
The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
Withheld Social Security and income taxes are treated as trust fund money that the employer holds for the government. If a business fails to turn those funds over, the IRS can assess a penalty equal to the full unpaid amount against any person inside the company who was responsible for collecting or paying the tax and willfully did not.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6672 – Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax, or Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax A responsible person can be an officer, director, shareholder, partner, or anyone with authority over how company money is spent.15Internal Revenue Service. Employment Taxes and the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) Using company funds to pay vendors or other bills instead of employment taxes counts as willful failure even without any intent to defraud.
If You Employ Someone in Your Home
Household employers work outside the Form 941 system. If you pay a nanny, housekeeper, caretaker, or similar worker whose tasks and methods you control, and you pay any one such worker $3,000 or more in cash wages during 2026, you must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on those wages.16Internal Revenue Service. Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer’s Tax Guide Below that threshold, neither of you owes Social Security or Medicare tax.17Social Security Administration. Employment Coverage Thresholds You report and pay on Schedule H attached to your Form 1040, not on Form 941. Wages paid to your spouse, your child under 21, or a worker under 18 whose primary occupation isn’t household work don’t count toward the $3,000 threshold.
Ways To Send the Payment
Once you know what you owe, the IRS accepts several transfer methods. What you can use depends on whether you’re paying as a business or as an individual.
Employers
Employer deposits go through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), which lets you schedule deposits in advance and provides confirmation numbers as proof of timely payment.18Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Welcome to EFTPS Online Enrollment at eftps.gov is free. Cash, check, and credit card are not accepted for these deposits.
Individuals and Self-Employed Taxpayers
Individuals can no longer create new EFTPS accounts. The IRS points people to these options instead:19Internal Revenue Service. EFTPS: The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
- IRS Online Account, which lets you schedule same-day or future payments from a bank account and shows up to five years of payment history.20Internal Revenue Service. Online Account for Individuals
- Direct Pay, which pulls from a checking or savings account with no registration and no fee.21Internal Revenue Service. Direct Pay With Bank Account
- The IRS2Go mobile app, which routes to Direct Pay and card payment options.22Internal Revenue Service. IRS2GoApp
- Credit or debit card through one of the IRS-approved processors. Debit fees run roughly $2.10 to $2.15 per transaction; credit card fees run about 1.75% to 1.85% of the amount paid.23Internal Revenue Service. Pay Your Taxes by Debit or Credit Card or Digital Wallet
- Check or money order by mail, sent with Form 1040-V so the payment posts to the right account. The mailing address depends on where you live and is in the Form 1040 instructions.24Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1040-V, Payment Voucher for Individuals
If you already have an existing individual EFTPS account, you can keep using it for now. Whichever method you pick, hold on to the confirmation number or a copy of your voucher. That’s your proof the payment was made on time.