What Is OASDI on My Paystub? 2026 Rates, Meaning & How It Differs From FITW

Updated: August 26, 2026

Published by DG Paystub Editorial Team. OASDI is the 6.2% Social Security tax on your paystub. See the 2026 rate, the $184,500 wage cap, and how OASDI compares to Medicare, FITW, and CASDI lines.

OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance — the official name for the federal Social Security tax. Your employer withholds 6.2% of your gross wages for OASDI, on earnings up to $184,500 in 2026, and matches that amount with its own 6.2% contribution. The money funds Social Security retirement, survivor, and disability benefits. OASDI is mandatory for almost all U.S. workers, so you cannot opt out simply because you'd rather keep the cash — but the deduction also stops for the rest of the year once your wages cross the annual cap.

Key Takeaways

• OASDI = Social Security tax. It may appear on your paystub as OASDI, FED OASDI/EE, SS, SOCSEC, or simply "Social Security."
• The 2026 employee rate is 6.2% on wages up to $184,500, for a maximum withholding of $11,439. Your employer pays a matching 6.2% that never comes out of your check.
• Self-employed workers pay both halves — 12.4% — through the self-employment tax, though they can deduct the employer-equivalent portion on their federal return.
• OASDI is not the same as FITW. FITW is federal income tax withholding, which varies with your W-4; OASDI is a flat 6.2% regardless of filing status or dependents.
• OASDI generally isn't refundable, but if multiple employers withheld more than the annual maximum combined, you can claim the excess as a credit on Schedule 3 of Form 1040.

What Does OASDI Mean?

OASDI is the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program — the formal name Congress gave Social Security. Together with Medicare tax, it makes up FICA (the Federal Insurance Contributions Act), which is why some paystubs bundle both lines under a single "FICA" label. If you want the full breakdown of how the two FICA pieces work together, see our guide to Social Security and Medicare taxes explained.

How OASDI Appears on Your Paystub

Payroll systems abbreviate this deduction in several ways, and they all mean the same 6.2% tax:

• OASDI or OASDI/EE ("EE" means employee)
• FED OASDI/EE — common on ADP and government paystubs
• SS, SOCSEC, or Social Security
• FICA-SS or listed inside a combined FICA line

If your stub uses a code you don't recognize, our reference on paystub codes and abbreviations decodes the most common ones.

How Much OASDI Tax Do You Pay in 2026?

The Social Security Administration sets the taxable wage base each year. For 2026 it rose to $184,500 (up from $176,100 in 2025), while the rate itself stayed at 6.2%.

The math on any single check is simple: multiply your gross pay for the period by 0.062. If you earn $900 in gross wages in a pay period, your OASDI line should show about $55.80. Note that OASDI is calculated on your gross taxable wages — before federal income tax, but generally after certain pretax benefits like Section 125 health premiums are removed. That's one reason the deduction can look slightly smaller than a straight 6.2% of your top-line pay. If gross-versus-taxable wages are new territory, start with gross pay vs. net pay.

OASDI vs. Medicare vs. FITW vs. CASDI

These four lines get confused constantly because they sit next to each other in the deductions block. Here's how they differ in 2026:

What Is FITW on My Paystub?

FITW stands for Federal Income Tax Withholding — the portion of each paycheck your employer sends to the IRS as a prepayment of your annual income tax. Unlike OASDI's flat 6.2%, FITW changes with your earnings, filing status, dependents, and any extra withholding you request on Form W-4. That's why two coworkers with identical pay can have different FITW amounts but identical OASDI amounts. FITW may also appear as FIT, FWT, FWH, or "Fed Tax." Our 2026 payroll taxes overview walks through how all the federal withholdings fit together.

What Is CASDI on My Paystub?

CASDI (sometimes CA SDI or CA-SDI) only appears if you work in California. It funds the state's disability insurance and paid family leave programs. For 2026, the employee rate is around 1.3% of wages, with no wage cap, since California removed the taxable wage limit in 2024 — but the EDD adjusts the rate annually, so confirm the current figure on the EDD's website or your latest stub. Employers don't match CASDI; it's entirely employee-paid. A handful of other states (such as New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Hawaii) run similar disability programs under different codes, so check your state's employment department site or ask HR if you see an unfamiliar SDI line.

Why Your OASDI Amount Changes From Paycheck to Paycheck

A moving OASDI number is usually normal. The common reasons:

• Your gross pay changed. Overtime, a quarterly bonus, holiday pay, or fewer scheduled hours all change the 6.2% calculation proportionally.
• Pretax benefits started or stopped. Enrolling in a Section 125 health plan lowers your OASDI-taxable wages; dropping coverage raises them. (Traditional 401(k) contributions do not reduce OASDI wages — they only reduce FITW.)
• You crossed the wage base. Once your year-to-date wages hit $184,500 in 2026, OASDI withholding stops entirely and your take-home pay jumps for the rest of the year. The YTD column on your paystub is how you track progress toward that cap.
• A payroll correction was applied. Employers sometimes true-up a prior-period error in a later check.

If the percentage looks wrong rather than just different, verify it yourself:

1. Find your gross taxable wages for the pay period (gross pay minus pretax Section 125 deductions).
2. Multiply that figure by 0.062.
3. Compare the result to the OASDI/FED OASDI/EE line — it should match to within a cent or two of rounding.
4. Check the YTD OASDI column: it should be roughly 6.2% of YTD taxable wages, and never more than $11,439 for 2026.
5. If the numbers don't line up, ask HR or payroll for a correction — employers, not the IRS, fix in-year withholding errors. You can also model what a correct stub should look like with a free paystub generator and compare it line by line against your own.

OASDI for Self-Employed Workers

If you're a freelancer, gig worker, or independent contractor, no one withholds OASDI for you — instead you pay the full 12.4% (both the employee and employer halves) through the self-employment tax on IRS Schedule SE, on net self-employment earnings up to the same $184,500 base. Two features soften the hit: the tax applies to 92.35% of your net earnings rather than the full amount, and you can deduct the employer-equivalent half when calculating your adjusted gross income. Self-employment tax rules have real nuance, so confirm your specific situation with a tax professional.

Can You Get OASDI Tax Back?

For most people, no — OASDI is a true tax, not a refundable prepayment like FITW. You "get it back" in the form of future Social Security benefits, not on your tax return. There are two exceptions worth knowing:

• Multiple employers over-withheld. If you worked two or more jobs and your combined OASDI withholding exceeded the annual maximum ($11,439 for 2026), claim the excess as a credit on Schedule 3 of Form 1040 when you file. This is common for job-switchers with high combined wages, because each employer withholds as if it were your only one.
• A single employer over-withheld. You can't claim that on your 1040 — the employer is supposed to correct the error and repay you. If it won't, the IRS provides Form 843 as a fallback claim route.

Who Is Exempt From OASDI?

Exemptions are rare and narrow. The main categories the IRS recognizes:

• Members of certain religious sects that have opposed public insurance since before 1951 can apply for exemption on Form 4029 — and permanently waive Social Security and Medicare benefits in exchange.
• Students employed by the school they attend at least half-time may be exempt on that on-campus job.
• Nonresident aliens on F-1, J-1, M-1, or Q-1 visas are generally exempt on wages tied to their visa purpose, along with foreign government employees paid in their official capacity.
• Some state and local government employees covered by a qualifying public pension instead of Social Security.

If none of those describes you, OASDI is mandatory. Anyone who claims they can get your Social Security tax "turned off" is describing something that doesn't exist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is OASDI the same as Social Security tax?

Yes. OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) is the formal program name for Social Security, so the OASDI line on your paystub is your Social Security tax. Some payroll systems label the identical deduction SS, SOCSEC, or FICA-SS.

What does FED OASDI/EE mean?

It means the federal OASDI tax paid by the employee ("EE"). Your employer pays a separate, matching 6.2% share — sometimes tracked internally as OASDI/ER — which never appears as a deduction from your wages.

Why is my OASDI deduction bigger than my Medicare deduction?

Because the rates differ: OASDI is 6.2% while Medicare is 1.45%. On the same taxable wages, your OASDI line should run a bit more than four times your Medicare line — a quick ratio check you can use to spot payroll errors.

Can I opt out of paying OASDI?

No. For nearly all employees, OASDI withholding is required by federal law regardless of your W-4 choices. The only exceptions are narrow statutory ones — certain religious sects (via Form 4029), qualifying student workers, some nonresident visa holders, and some government employees with alternative pension coverage.

Does OASDI stop being withheld at some point during the year?

It can. In 2026, once your year-to-date wages with one employer reach $184,500, that employer stops withholding OASDI for the rest of the calendar year and your net pay increases. Withholding restarts at zero the following January.

Is FITW the same as OASDI?

No. FITW is federal income tax withholding — an estimate of your annual income tax that depends on your W-4 — while OASDI is a flat 6.2% Social Security tax. FITW is reconciled when you file your tax return and can produce a refund; OASDI generally cannot.

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