What Is OASDI on My Paycheck?

If you have looked closely at a pay stub and wondered what "OASDI" means, you are looking at your Social Security tax. OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, which is the formal name for the Social Security program. The line is not a mistake and it is not optional.

What OASDI pays for

The name spells out what the tax funds. Old-age benefits are the retirement checks most people picture when they think of Social Security. Survivors benefits go to the family of a worker who dies. Disability insurance supports workers who can no longer earn because of a qualifying disability. Your OASDI contributions pay into that system.

How much it is

OASDI is withheld at 6.2% of your wages, up to the yearly Social Security wage base of $184,500 for 2026. Once your year-to-date wages pass that cap, the OASDI line stops for the rest of the year. On many stubs it appears as "Fed OASDI/EE," where "EE" means employee, marking it as your share.

Your employer pays a matching 6.2% that you never see on your stub. Counting both sides, 12.4% of your wages up to the cap goes to Social Security.

OASDI versus Medicare

OASDI is only half of what people call FICA. The other half is Medicare, which shows up as its own line, often "Fed MED/EE," at 1.45% of wages. Two differences matter. Medicare has no wage cap, so it keeps coming out after OASDI has stopped, and high earners pay an extra 0.9% Medicare tax above the withholding threshold. Do not confuse the two lines, because they fund different programs and follow different rules.

Is it optional?

No. OASDI is a mandatory payroll tax set by federal law. You cannot opt out through your W-4, and adjusting your withholding only changes federal income tax, not OASDI. The one point where it naturally stops is the wage base, and even then it resets at the start of the next year. To see how OASDI sits alongside income tax on your check, use the take-home pay calculator, or read more on the wage base and the full FICA rates.