It helps to know the FICA Limit as well as wage, rate, tax, employee-employer relations, withholding and other aspects of FICA. Some of these aspects are discussed below.

Payroll taxes for the Social Security benefits are generally collected under the authority of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act or FICA. Mostly people refer to these taxes as FICA tax. The FICA tax had its origins in 1935 when the tax was part of the Social Security program

FICA Taxes
After the tax-provisioning portion of the Social Security Act – Title VIII – was taken out of the program in the year 1939, it was placed into the Internal Revenue Tax code. At that time a name more descriptive than Title VIII was needed. For this reason the tax was renamed as the Federal Insurance Contributions Act or simply FICA. Till date, FICA remains the tax collection mechanism for social security.
FICA today is used for providing for the federal system of old age, disability, survivors and hospital insurance. The first three of these are funded by the Social Security system and hospital insurance is funded by a Medicare tax. Both the employees as well as the employers are required to contribute to FICA taxes by means of regular payroll deductions. However, the good news is that there is a limit to the amount of FICA taxes an employee is generally required to pay

FICA Rates of Tax
FICA taxes are generally collected at a rate of 7.65% on gross earnings that is earnings before any deductions. The breakdown of FICA is 6.2% for Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance or OASDI) and 1.45% for Medicare. The data below shows the FICA limits for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009

FICA Tax and Social Security Limits 2005
FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%

Social Security Earnings Limit = ,000

Maximum Social Security Contribution = ,580.00
FICA Tax and Social Security Limits 2006
FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%

Social Security Earnings Limit = ,200

Maximum Social Security Contribution = ,840.40
FICA Tax and Social Security Limits 2007
FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%

Social Security Limit = ,500

Maximum Social Security Contribution = ,045.00
FICA Tax and Social Security Limits 2008
FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%

Social Security Limit = 2,000

Maximum Social Security Contribution = ,324.00
FICA Tax and Social Security Limits 2009
FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%

Social Security Limit = 6,800

Maximum Social Security Contribution = ,621.60
Social Security Taxes overpayment
In case you work more than one job in a tax year and your earnings are in excess of 2,000 in 2008 or 6,800 in 2009, then you have perhaps paid too much Social Security tax. This is because if you have more than a job in a year, each of your employers is required to withhold Social Security taxes on your wages. In a situation like this, you may end up exceeding the maximum Social Security contribution limit. If it is so, you can claim a refund on form 1040 when you file your personal income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service

The Medicare Taxes
There is a 1.45% FICA tax that helps to fund the Medicare system. Employers are also required to make the payment. This brings the total funding to 2.9% of all wages earned.
Unlike payments made to Social Security, there are no maximum contribution limits or caps in case of Medicare. All wages earned in a particular year are taxed at 1.45% rate.