OASDI — Payroll Definition

Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance — the official name for the 6.2% Social Security tax on your paycheck.

OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) is the formal name for Social Security tax — the deduction labeled OASDI, SS, SOCSEC, or FICA-SS on your pay stub. Employees pay 6.2% of gross wages up to the annual wage base ($184,500 in 2026), and employers pay a matching 6.2%, for a maximum employee tax of $11,439. Self-employed workers pay both halves — 12.4% — through self-employment (SECA) tax. The tax funds monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits. Unlike Medicare tax (1.45%, no cap), OASDI withholding stops for the rest of the year once your wages pass the wage base — which is why high earners see the deduction disappear from late-year paychecks before it restarts in January.

Example: $2,000 biweekly gross × 6.2% = $124 OASDI withheld

Common pay stub code: OASDI / SS