What Is OASDI on My Pay Stub? Social Security Tax, Rate, and Wage Limit
OASDI on a pay stub is the employee Social Security tax. OASDI means Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. In 2026, an employer generally withholds 6.2% of an employee's Social Security taxable wages until those wages with that employer reach $184,500. The maximum employee withholding is $11,439. The employer pays a separate 6.2% match that does not reduce the employee's net pay.
Payroll systems use different labels for the same deduction. It may appear as OASDI, FED OASDI/EE, FICA-SS, Social Security, Soc Sec, or SS. The letters EE normally identify the employee share.
Employee rate
6.2%
Employer rate
6.2% separately
2026 wage base
$184,500
Employee maximum
$11,439
2026 OASDI pay stub checker
Use the figures from one employer. Enter Social Security taxable wages, not total gross pay. The checker estimates the employee OASDI amount for the current paycheck and accounts for the 2026 wage limit.
Check an OASDI deduction
Your figures stay in your browser. This tool does not send or store payroll information.
Calculator limitation: This is an educational estimate for ordinary employee Social Security withholding. It cannot determine whether a wage or benefit is subject to FICA, verify an exemption, or replace payroll records or professional advice.
Where does OASDI appear on a pay stub?
OASDI usually appears in the taxes or employee deductions area. Read across the row to find the current deduction and year-to-date amount. Some pay stubs also show the wage amount used for the calculation.
Highlighted row: $2,000.00 in Social Security taxable wages × 6.2% = $124.00 current OASDI.
If your pay stub uses unfamiliar codes, compare it with the pay stub abbreviations reference. For the complete statement, use the labeled pay stub walkthrough.
What does OASDI mean?
OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. It is the formal name for Social Security. Payroll withholding helps finance retirement, survivor, and disability benefits for eligible workers and families.
A label ending in EE normally means the employee portion. A separate label ending in ER generally means the employer portion. The employer share should not be subtracted from employee net pay.
OASDI is not federal income tax. Changing Form W-4 information can change FIT or FWT withholding, but it does not normally change the 6.2% OASDI rate.
OASDI tax rate and wage limit for 2026
The Social Security Administration's contribution and benefit base confirms the 2026 wage limit of $184,500. Employees and employers generally each pay 6.2%, according to the SSA tax-rate table.
| Item | 2026 figure | How it affects the pay stub |
|---|---|---|
| Employee rate | 6.2% | Withheld from covered employee wages |
| Employer rate | 6.2% | Paid separately by the employer |
| Combined Social Security rate | 12.4% | Employee and employer portions together |
| Annual wage base | $184,500 | Withholding generally stops after covered wages with that employer reach the limit |
| Maximum employee amount | $11,439 | 6.2% of $184,500 |
The wage base applies separately each calendar year. It was $176,100 in 2025 and $168,600 in 2024. Always use the limit for the pay stub's year rather than applying the 2026 figure to an older statement.
How to calculate OASDI on a paycheck
When the employee remains below the annual wage base, use this formula:
Employee OASDI = Social Security taxable wages × 0.062
Do not automatically substitute gross pay for Social Security taxable wages. Qualified benefits and taxable additions can make those two figures different.
Example 1: ordinary paycheck below the limit
Fictional current-paycheck calculation
Social Security taxable wages$2,000.00
Employee rate6.2%
Expected OASDI$124.00
The calculation is $2,000 × 0.062 = $124. The employer generally contributes another $124 separately.
Example 2: a cafeteria-plan benefit changes taxable wages
Suppose gross pay is $2,000, but $200 is paid through a qualified cafeteria-plan benefit excluded from Social Security wages. The pay stub may show $1,800 in Social Security taxable wages. OASDI would then be $111.60, not $124.
Important 401(k) distinction: Traditional employee 401(k) deferrals can reduce federal income-tax wages while remaining subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. The IRS retirement-plan withholding guidance confirms this treatment.
Example 3: the paycheck crosses the wage limit
Assume prior 2026 Social Security wages with the employer are $183,000 and the current check contains $4,000 of covered wages. Only $1,500 remains below the $184,500 limit. The current OASDI deduction would be $93:
Partial wage-limit calculation
Wage base remaining$1,500.00
Current covered wages$4,000.00
Wages subject to OASDI$1,500.00
Expected OASDI$93.00
Why is OASDI not 6.2% of my gross pay?
The most common reason is that OASDI is calculated from Social Security taxable wages, which may differ from total gross pay. The result can also change when a check crosses the annual wage limit.
| Possible reason | What to compare | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified cafeteria-plan deduction | Gross pay versus Social Security taxable wages | Check whether the benefit is excluded from FICA wages |
| 401(k) deferral | Federal taxable wages versus Social Security wages | Do not assume the 401(k) reduced OASDI wages |
| Taxable fringe benefit | Cash earnings versus total Social Security wages | Ask payroll which taxable item was added |
| Annual wage-base crossover | Prior and current YTD Social Security wages | Calculate only the wages remaining below $184,500 |
| Payroll correction | Current amount against previous statements | Request the adjustment details |
| Possible payroll error | Taxable wages, rate, current amount and YTD total | Send the mismatch to payroll for review |
Small differences of a few cents can come from payroll rounding. A larger unexplained difference deserves a review of the taxable-wage figure and the current and year-to-date columns.
Why did OASDI change or stop coming out?
If OASDI stops late in the year, first check whether Social Security wages with that employer reached $184,500. Regular Medicare withholding can continue because Medicare does not have the same wage cap.
OASDI starts again for covered wages paid in a new calendar year. If the deduction disappears while YTD Social Security wages remain far below the limit, possible explanations include an exempt payment, a worker-classification issue, a payroll-code change, a correction, or an error. Payroll should identify the exact reason.
| What you see | Check first | Likely direction |
|---|---|---|
| OASDI is $0 | YTD Social Security wages | Wage limit, exempt wages, classification, correction or error |
| Less than 6.2% of gross | Social Security taxable wages | Pretax benefit or partial wage-base crossover |
| More than the expected amount | Taxable additions and adjustments | Fringe benefit, correction or possible error |
| Changed between equal-gross checks | Taxable wages and benefit deductions | Different wage treatment or a YTD adjustment |
| More than $11,439 for the year | Number of employers and each W-2 | One-employer error or multiple-employer excess withholding |
Use the current versus YTD pay stub guide to identify when a change first appeared.
OASDI vs FICA, Medicare and FIT
| Pay stub line | Meaning | Typical employee treatment in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| OASDI / Social Security | Social Security portion of FICA | 6.2% of covered wages up to $184,500 |
| MED / Medicare | Medicare portion of FICA | 1.45% of covered Medicare wages; no ordinary wage cap |
| FICA | OASDI and Medicare together | Usually 7.65% employee share before Additional Medicare Tax |
| FIT / FWT | Federal income-tax withholding | Varies with taxable wages, Form W-4 information, pay frequency and IRS tables |
For more detail, read what FICA means on a pay stub, what MED means, and how FIT or FWT works.
What if two employers withhold too much OASDI?
Each employer calculates Social Security tax independently. An employer does not normally know how much another employer already withheld. Combined employee withholding can therefore exceed the annual maximum.
For example, two employers each paying $100,000 in 2026 Social Security wages could each withhold $6,200. The combined amount would be $12,400, which is $961 above the 2026 employee maximum.
The correction method depends on the cause. If one employer alone withheld too much, ask that employer to correct and refund the error. If the excess resulted from two or more employers, it may generally be claimed as a credit on the employee's federal income-tax return. See IRS Topic 608 for the official distinction.
Do self-employed people pay OASDI?
Self-employed people generally pay the Social Security portion through self-employment tax rather than an employee pay-stub deduction. The Social Security portion is 12.4% because the person covers both the employee and employer shares.
The IRS generally calculates self-employment tax from 92.35% of net earnings, and people with net self-employment earnings of $400 or more usually must calculate it on Schedule SE. Employee wages and self-employment earnings must be coordinated when the same person has both. See IRS Topic 554 for the rules.
Is OASDI mandatory?
OASDI withholding is mandatory for most employees with covered U.S. wages. Limited exceptions can apply based on the worker, employer, visa status, government retirement system, religious exemption, or type of service. A missing deduction does not prove that an exemption is valid. Ask payroll which rule it applied.
How to verify OASDI with your W-2
- Find Social Security wages in Form W-2 Box 3.
- Find Social Security tax withheld in Box 4.
- Multiply Box 3 by 6.2%, subject to the annual maximum.
- Compare the result with Box 4, allowing for ordinary rounding.
- If the amount is wrong, contact the employer before filing when possible.
For one employer, Box 4 should generally not exceed $11,439 for 2026. When several W-2s are involved, review each employer separately and then calculate the combined employee withholding.
If the pay stub itself is difficult to read, start with what a pay stub contains and the deduction-code reference.
Frequently asked questions
FED OASDI/EE normally identifies the employee share of federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. In plain language, it is employee Social Security tax.
Yes. OASDI is the program's formal name. Social Security tax is the familiar name used on many pay stubs.
Not exactly. OASDI is the Social Security part of FICA. Medicare tax is the other main part.
An employee generally pays 6.2% of Social Security taxable wages up to $184,500. The maximum 2026 employee amount is $11,439.
Employee 401(k) deferrals generally remain subject to Social Security and Medicare tax even when a traditional deferral reduces federal income-tax wages.
Social Security has an annual wage base. Regular Medicare tax does not have the same cap, so MED can continue after OASDI stops.
Possibly. The process depends on whether one employer made an error or several employers correctly withheld amounts that exceeded the combined annual maximum.
No. Covered earnings can help a worker earn Social Security credits, but eligibility and benefit amounts depend on the program's rules and the person's earnings record.
Official sources
- Social Security Administration: Contribution and Benefit Base
- Social Security Administration: Social Security Tax Rates
- IRS Topic 751: Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
- IRS: Retirement Contributions and FICA Withholding
- IRS Topic 608: Excess Social Security Tax Withheld
- IRS Topic 554: Self-Employment Tax
Educational use: This article and calculator provide general information, not legal, tax, payroll, accounting, or financial advice. Treatment can depend on the worker, employer, payment, benefit plan, and other facts. Employees should ask payroll about an unexplained deduction and use a qualified professional for individual tax questions.
Creating a pay record? The ePaystubs pay stub generator helps arrange earnings, taxes, and deductions in a clear format. Use accurate payroll information and verify every calculation before issuing or relying on a document.