Payroll taxes Definition Bankrate.com Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Payroll taxes
Payroll tax is a money term you need to understand. Here’s what it means. What are payroll taxes
Payroll taxes are taxes that employees and employers must pay based on wages and tips earned and salaries paid to employees. The employee pays part of these taxes through a payroll deduction, and the employer pays the rest directly to the IRS. Deeper definition
There are four basic types of payroll taxes: federal income, Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment. Employees must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes through payroll deductions, and most employers also deduct federal income tax payments. The income tax deduction varies, depending on the employee’s withholding status, but all employees pay 15.3 percent of their earnings as FICA tax. Employers pay federal unemployment tax, and the IRS explicitly states that employers may not deduct this cost from their employees. Unlike federal income tax that goes to the government’s general fund, FICA taxes fund only Social Security and Medicare program. The employee pays a 6.2 percent tax for Social Security expenses and 1.45 percent for Medicare. The employer must match the deduction and send the total amount to the IRS. Self-employed individuals pay 15.3 percent of their wages, which includes both the employer and employee portion of the tax. Payroll taxes example
You can see how much you pay in payroll taxes by looking at your pay stub. Find the line item for FICA taxes, which may have one of the following designations: Social Security, Medicare, SS, SSWT, MWT, Med, FICA SS or FICA Med. The amount listed on those lines should equal 7.65 percent of the gross income for the pay period. For example, if you earned $1,000 during the pay period, your employer deducted $76.50 for payroll taxes, leaving $923.50. Your employer most likely also deducts a percentage of your wages for income taxes as well as employee contributions to benefits such as health and dental plans and retirement accounts. The amount of money left over is your net income. Are you thinking about retirement and wondering if FICA payroll taxes will be enough to cover your expenses? Use our to determine how much you need when you retire. More From Bankrate
An LLC can simplify tax filing and reduce the legal liability of its members. How to lessen the tax liability, so you can keep as much profit in your pocket as possible. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, don’t panic — but act fast. Typically, taxpayers have two options: Take the itemized deductions or take the standard deduction. Regardless of what may cause a person to miss the tax-filing deadline, there are potential consequences. Applying for more time to file your taxes is easy. Just don’t put off paying your tax bill. The fast-approaching deadline for filing your 2021 taxes is April 18, 2022. There are seven tax brackets for most ordinary income: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. The credit was confusing even before Congress revamped it for 2021.