OASDI stands for Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.  It is often referred to as Social Security tax. The tax funds the Social Security program, which is administered by the Social Security Administration. Your OASDI deduction is found on your LES under the deductions tab/section. The deduction is 6.2% of your basic pay.

In order to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, per a Presidential Memorandum issued on August 8, 2020, and Internal Revenue Service Notice 2020-65 issued on August 28, 2020, the Social Security tax withholdings of service members who met the wage threshold were deferred.

Note, the Social Security taxes are shown on Army, Air Force, and Navy Service Members’ Leave and Earnings Statements as “FICA-SOC SECURITY”) tax withholdings. The Social Security tax is labeled as “Social Security” on the LES for the Marine Corps.

 Presidential Memorandum link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/13/2020-17899/deferring-payroll-tax-obligations-in-light-of-the-ongoing-covid-19-disaster

IRS Tax Deferral Implementation:  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/guidance-issued-to-implement-presidential-memorandum-deferring-certain-employee-social-security-tax-withholding

IRS Notice 2020-65: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-20-65.pdf
IRS Notice 2021-11: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-21-11.pdf
 

If your monthly rate of basic pay was less than $8,666.66 in any month from September to December 2020, Social Security taxes on the wages in that month were deferred. If your monthly rate of basic pay was at or above $8,666.66, your social security tax withholding was not affected by this temporary deferral.

The Social Security tax deferral was effective for applicable service members with a monthly rate of basic pay of less than $8,666.66 during any month from beginning September 2020 to December 2020.
 

- The LES for Active Duty Air Force, Space Force, Army and Navy members lists the Social Security tax as “FICA-SOC SECURIT” within the deductions section.

- The LES for most Reserve or National Guard Air Force, Army and Navy members jointly lists the Social Security tax and the Medicare tax as “FICA TAXES” within the deductions section.

- For the Marine Corps this deduction is listed as “Social Security” on the LES.

Note, the Social Security and Medicare tax are generally calculated at 6.2% and 1.45% of basic pay, respectively. If a military member is contributing to the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), the calculation is slightly different. See the question on how to calculate the tax deferral within the FAQs for more information on the MGIB impact to social security taxes.

 Members who have paid in full during 2021 will receive a 2020 W-2C in January 2022 reflecting full withholding/payment of the employee’s share of Social Security taxes in box 4 of the W-2.

 Per IRS guidance, if you had only one employer during 2020 and your Form W-2C (Corrected Wages and Tax Statement) for 2020 only shows a correction to box 4 to account for employee Social Security tax that was deferred in 2020 and withheld in 2021 pursuant to IRS Notice 2020-65, no further steps are required.

For more information, the IRS has provided instructions for employees receiving a W-2C due to the Social Security tax deferral. See https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/form-w-2-reporting-of-employee-social-security-tax-deferred-under-notice-2020-65.

For Active Duty members, log into your mypay account and look at your most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). If you have a remaining balance, there will be a note in the remarks section that shows the remaining balance of your 2020 deferred Social Security taxes. The remark reads:

“MISCELLANEOUS DEBTCURRENT DEDUCT XX.XX “

 “TOTAL DEBT XXX.XX BALANCE XXX.XX.”

For Reservists and Guardsmen, log in to your myPay account and look at your most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) in which you received a payment. If you have a remaining balance, there will be a note in the remarks section that shows the remaining balance of your 2020 deferred Social Security taxes. The remark reads:

“EMPLOYEE SHARE FICA DEBT BALANCE $XX.XX”.
 

Many reservists and national guard members did not repay the entirety of the 2020 deferred taxes during 2021 due to irregular and intermittent duty schedules. In order to fulfill the DoD’s legal responsibility to collect and pay the employee’s share of Social Security taxes,  the collection rate for Reserve and National Guard members will increase to 10% of disposable pay from each payment received during 2022 until the deferred tax balance is repaid in full.  

A small group of Active Component members will also owe a remaining deferred tax balance in 2022 as a result of periods of inactive pay status. For those members, the 2020 deferred Social Security taxes will continue to be collected until paid in full. 
 

Per IRS guidance, a Form W-2C (Corrected Wages and Tax Statement) for tax year 2020 will be issued for service members who have 2020 deferred Social Security taxes collected from wages during 2022. The Form W-2Cs will be provided in January 2023 for those members who make their final payment in 2022.

Per IRS guidance, if you had only one employer during 2020 and your Form W-2C (Corrected Wages and Tax Statement) for 2020 only shows a correction to box 4 to account for employee Social Security tax that was deferred in 2020 and withheld in 2021 and 2022 pursuant to IRS Notice 2020-65, no further steps are required.

For more information, the IRS has provided instructions for employees receiving a W-2C due to the Social Security tax deferral. See https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/form-w-2-reporting-of-employee-social-security-tax-deferred-under-notice-2020-65

If you separate or retire in 2021 or 2022, before the deferred Social Security tax is collected in full, the unpaid balance will be collected from your final pay. If there are insufficient funds to collect the full amount, you may receive a letter with instructions for repayment. Collection will occur through the out-of-service collection process. You will receive a letter via US mail which will provide instructions for repayment. Payments can be made online via Pay.gov.

For balances less than $25: Members who receive a letter with a total balance less than $25 will be given a total of 60 days to pay in full. If not paid within the 60 days, a W-2C will be issued to the member for the year the separation occurred, reporting the unpaid amount as additional wages earned, which may require the member to file an amended tax return.