Why is there more income tax coming out of my check?

[Curmudgeoness]

I did not immediately notice that the income tax was higher this year than it had been last year. I do the payroll for my company, so when some of my lower earning employees asked me why their checks were lower than they had been last year, I investigated. One employee makes $250 per week and her income tax deduction was $5 per week more than it was in 2010.

Why? How? I don't get it and wonder if anyone has an answer. If we kept the "tax cuts", so it was presumed that the taxes would be the same as last year, why are the lowest income workers seeing less money in their checks?

Check your pay check stub and compare it to last year. Everyone I checked had higher deductions for income tax, although many checks have increase because of the 2% decrease in SS taxes. There is more to this story, and I have no answers to what happened.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. You're not obscenely wealthy?

:shrug:

[slackmaster]

2. That's so that less income tax has to be taken out of MY check

:hi:

[Curmudgeoness]

11. You'd better check that out and make sure.

Looks to me like it is up on everyone's checks.

[slackmaster]

16. My take-home pay has increased by about $152 per month compared to last year

No change in base salary, no change to health insurance premiums or other deductions, no change in state taxes withheld, no changes in my exemptions claimed.

[Statistical]

20. You make roughly $111K per year? Nice gig.

My analysis.

$152 * $12 = $1824 net decrease in taxes. $400 MWCP expired so your SS contribution must be reduced by $2224. The payroll tax holiday was 2% reduction on gross income. $2224 / 0.02 = $111,200.

If not then likely you payroll office either had a mistake last year or this year.

[slackmaster]

24. I wish

I make good money, but not that good.

[Curmudgeoness]

23. Good for you, you make good money. Well...

I guess it depends on what you do, doesn't it? Yes, your take home pay increased. And so did your income tax.

[slackmaster]

25. Where I live has a lot to do with how good the money is as well

Living in San Diego, or California in general, isn't cheap.

[Curmudgeoness]

31. You said a mouthful there. My sister lives in CA and I would love

to get out of the NE and be closer to family, but it is just not possible. I would never be able to make enough to cover the added cost of living there.

[Vattel]

34. In SD good inexpensive food exists!

[bluestate10]

44. What part of the NE do you live in? nt

[Curmudgeoness]

47. I'm in western PA, where it is bitter cold right now with lots of snow.

Grrrrrr, or brrrrrrr.

[slackmaster]

62. That's the one thing most people in the USA have that we in coastal SoCal don't

Heating bills in the winter.

[shadowrider]

3. Remember the tax cut you got?

It was only a reduction in withholding. The tax rate remained the same. It has to be made up. In other words, give with the left hand, take with the right (while nobody is looking).

There's your answer.

[Statistical]

4. The 2009/2010 $400 making work pay credit expired.

The $400 making work pay credit reduced taxes paid on 1040 but it also affected deduction tables. In essence you got the $400 tax reduction spread out over the year in your paychecks. The reason why was so you would get the money throughout the year and spend it opposed to simply making your refund check $400 more.

It originally was designed to be one year (2009) but was extended a second year (2010).

[Curmudgeoness]

7. So we kept the Bush cuts, but not the Obama cuts?

I really felt bad for the lower income employees who have less money in their pays now. The 2% SS reduction doesn't cover the increase in income tax. That really hits those people hardest.

[Statistical]

8. Essentially yes however everyone taxes's are lower than under Bush (2008).

Just not necessarily lower than 2009/2010.

Well everyone except the rich starting next year (HCR has some income surcharge taxes for those making >$250K).

[customerserviceguy]

38. The Obama cut changed

from a reduction in income taxes, to a reduction in FICA taxes. You'll benefit if you make more than $20,000 in wages, but if you make less, you'll notice a net reduction in your paycheck.

[Nikia]

39. I make significantly more than $20,000 per year

but have a child and non working spouse. I have more being taken out of my paycheck too.

[customerserviceguy]

40. Well, there is one other possibility

Being as the Bush tax cuts were not restored until pretty much the last minute, it's quite possible that your employer's payroll processor decided that the safest thing was to revert to the pre-Bush rates, and simply apply any extension of them as fast as it could react to whatever law passed.

The tax rate charts are way more complicated than simply dropping the FICA rate by 2% across the board, and perhaps that's what happened in your case. I suspect it happened in mine, but I will have to do some paycheck stub analysis using information I learned on this thread.

[Curmudgeoness]

43. I don't think this is the case. Our CPA told me that all his clients

are having this happen, no matter what payroll software they are using. I know that my payroll program was not released in mid-December when it usually comes out so they could have the latest charts when the tax debates were over and the law was passed.

I now understand that the $400 making-work-pay deduction has now vanished (but I don't understand why we allowed that). But there is something more involved here. I don't believe that companies like Peachtree and QuickBooks and ADP are not using the right tax tables.

[customerserviceguy]

53. I do monitor my paycheck stubs from week to week

because my HR department can often mess up a requested change, and while I suspected that a slow adoption of the Bush tax cuts was to blame, it does seem more likely that a $400 credit has simply disappeared. I'm going to have to do the arithmetic on it when I get back to work next week, I keep them on my hard drive there.

Being as the tax bill went through at the very end of the year, it would not greatly surprise me that some tax tables being used for payroll calculation were adopted without sufficient testing.

[Curmudgeoness]

63. I wondered if this might be the case, so I went to the IRS website.

I pulled up the Publication 15 for 2010 and 2011. This is where the tax tables are published. I did a calculation for that $250 per week employee who is single with no exemptions. The tax calculation for 2010 was $15.90 and the calculation for 2011 was $23.30.

This information is right from the horse's mouth. These are the correct tax tables from the IRS.

[customerserviceguy]

79. Well, doing a bit of math

The difference in withholding is $7.40 a week, which works out to $384.80 per year, pretty darned close to the $400 Making Work Pay tax break, almost a rounding error away.

Your $250 per week employee is making $13,000 a year. That person will only see a reduction of $260 this year in FICA tax, which works out to $5 a week in lower taxes. Clearly, this worker is losing $2.40 a week in take home pay, about 1%.

Yep, I have to conclude that the tax charts are simply reflecting the loss of the MWP credit, and the Bush tax brackets (your fictional employee would be in the 10% bracket) have indeed been implemented in the IRS figures. I do allow the possibility that private employers and their payroll processors might not have all the IRS charts (or their allowable equivalents) loaded into their computers.

The well-off really did get a hell of a break on this tax law, as was said here during its pending passage, we did get sold down the river.

[bluestate10]

49. Some companies have not gotten the new rates into place yet.

Per the new law, any money over-withheld will be paid back as a lump sum once the new rates are in effect.

[Hannah Bell]

81. More than that -- top rates are actually LOWER this year.

[doc03]

41. So why did my taxes go up on my pension check? I am retired

and don't qualify for the making work pay credit.

on edit: Oh I am retired and therefore don't get the 2% payroll tax reduction either.

[bobbolink]

5. Because you are not in the preferred group.. the vaunted MiddleClass.

Welcome to peon status.... being used is so much FUN.

[DBoon]

13. what is this "Middle Class" of which you speak?

I vaguely recall my grandfather speaking of such a thing once existing, along with other stories of those long ago days. Things like "pensions" and "retirement".

[bobbolink]

14. Ask Grayson, Sanders, Hartmann, Schultz. It is the only class they recognize.

[bluestate10]

52. The middle class and upper middle class are the heaviest taxes.

As a percentage of total income, the MC and UMC pay 20-28% of their incomes in taxes. People above $375,000 cap at 35% and remain at that level for all income above $375,000. Because of their numbers, the MC and UMC have historically shouldered the largest share of the country's tax burden. One reason why there is crisis in states and at the federal level in regards to revenue is that the MC, in particular, is being decimated. Poor people, as an entire class, has never paid more that ~6% of the federal government's revenue total in any year.

[bobbolink]

55. Try reading up on regressive taxes. Poor people pay Far More of a percentage of their income.

Also, the recent bill signed by Obama made poor people the only ones with an INCReASE in taxes.

[Statistical]

56. Taxes are still lower than 2008. n/t

[Curmudgeoness]

65. Lower for who? Everyone? Sigh, don't make me pull out

my 2008 tax return. But that wouldn't help since I won't have a 2011 tax return for another year or so.

I wish this was true, but I am not seeing it.

[Statistical]

83. There was no federal income tax increase between 2008 and today.

The Bush era tax brackets are in effect. There were no credits, exemptions, or deductions dropped relative to 2008. The brackets and exemptions were adjusted for inflation making taxes slightly (very slightly lower).

Compared to 2008, 2009 was lower because of $400 MWPC
Compared to 2008, 2010 was lower because of $400 MWPC
Compared to 2008, 2011 is the same for income tax but lower overall due to the 2% payroll tax holiday.

The only tax increase (for some) is from 2009/2010 -> 2011, however even those persons are paying less taxes (everything else being the same) than they did in 2008.

[Hannah Bell]

85. They're lower for the top 1%, that's for sure. They're lower for the top 1% than in 2009, too.

[bluestate10]

67. That is questionable.

A person making $20,000 pays roughly $1,200 in taxes and because of economic status, gets much of it refunded. A person making $100,000 pays $20,000 and is lucky to get a penny back. Higher earners live in higher cost of living regions. The economic stress on both wage levels is the same, the higher earner may in reality have more stress in the higher cost of living environment.

[bobbolink]

68. Its not questionable to people who understand the reality.

One small example.... Buffet pays less taxes than his secretary and cleaner:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece

I'm sure that's not what you want to hear, and you will find a way to wiggle out of it, but there it is.

Plus, you are ignoring the fact that sales taxes AREN'T REFUNDABLE, and hit poor people much harder.

I get that it doesn't matter to you. It rarely does to people who look down on poor folk.

[Curmudgeoness]

72. You're kidding, right? Just trying to get us all worked up?

When you look at ALL taxes, the poor are hit the hardest. The poor must spend all of the money they make to survive, so they don't have ways to shelter any income. They also pay more in sales taxes, since all that they make is spent. Then there is the fuel tax, phone taxes, utility taxes, etc. They pay the same per gallon of gas in taxes that the wealthy pay.

And as to the higher earners living in higher cost of living areas, that is just because they want to, and many do not live in expensive areas. And if we are talking expensive as in a large area like California, there are plenty of poor people there too.

[Hannah Bell]

88. even in a small area like new york city, there are plenty of poor people living there.

even though the top 1% takes 44% of the income in that city, while getting massive tax breaks -- for example, on property.

[Hannah Bell]

86. ha. ha. someone making $100K a year has the option of reducing expenses.

please don't tell me it's impossible.

a person making $20K has much less room (assuming the same number of dependents).

[Starry Messenger]

94. Uh no.

I make less than 30,000 and usually end up having to pay more to the feds. And I live in the Bay Area, CA. Even with my father the Enrolled Agent preparing my taxes for me one year, I ended up having to cough up another $140.

[bluestate10]

70. The increase in taxes happened because of.

Expiration of the make work tax reduction and the meager impact of a 2% FICA reduction for low wage earners. The solution for the dilemma is convincing people to vote for their economic interests. Low earners don't vote in high percentages, for their lot to change, they have to make voting a habit and make their power visible.

[bobbolink]

74. I will repeat the obvious, for all of you who like to diss poor people and claim we are worthless to

you.

Remember the 2000 and 2004 electons, with the voter suppression tactics?

Remember that those efforts were mainly in inner city areas?

Can you guess WHY that was?

BECAUSE IT ISN'T AFFLUENT PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO STAND IN LINE 3, 5, 7 HOURS TO VOTE.

Now, please lay off the stuff about your party not needing us. It doesn't reflect well on you.

[bobbolink]

95. Thank you for blaming the victims. That is so easy, and such a guarantee to get people to vote for

you.

[Curmudgeoness]

61. Your argument doesn't hold water. Yes, the MC and UMC

pay most of the taxes that fund our government, but they hold a higher percentage of wealth than the percentage of taxes that they pay. They shoulder a large share of the tax burden, but they earning a larger share too.

The reality is that the working poor are squeezed from every direction. But this is a subject for a different day.

[Hannah Bell]

80. 1) Define "poor," "middle class" & "upper middle class."

2) "People above $375,000 cap at 35% and remain at that level for all income above $375,000."

Not according to this, which says top rates are:

Wage income:

2008-9: 38.3
2010-2012: 37.9

Unearned Income:

2008-9: 35.4
2010-12: 35.0

Capital Gains:

2008-9: 15.4
2010-12: 15.0

That is to say, if half your million-dollar income over $375K is from capital gains, half "unearned," your effective tax rate on that extra income = 25%, not 35%.

http://www.ctj.org/pdf/regcg.pdf


According to 2008 IRS figures, the average rate for the top 1%, those who made over $380K, the group which took home 20% of all US income, was 23.27%, down from 27.5% in 2001.

The average rate for the top 0.1%, who took home 10% of all income in the US, was less -- 22.7%, down from 28% in 2001.

And of course that doesn't include money that doesn't get taxed AT ALL, such as cash stashed in charitable foundations, family trusts, or cayman bank accounts.


The average rate for the bottom 50%, who took home 12.75% of all US income, was 2.59%, down from 5.63% in 1986.

http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521,00.html#_grp3



3) Does that mean that "Poor people, as an entire class, has never paid more that ~6% of the federal government's revenue total in any year."

Uh, no, because the income tax is not the only federal tax paid by "poor people".

- Since the 1983 "fix" for Social Security, the working class has been "loaning" about .5-1% of their SS taxes to the federal government, who took the money & lowered taxes on billionaires, and now tells us that despite the 30-year 2-trillion dollar loan, there's not enough money to pay for SS.

- Federal excise taxes are levied on a variety of goods: for example, on phone service, gasoline, tobacco, alcohol, etc. Poor people pay those taxes, & as they are flat taxes, they hit the poor harder.

- Various federal fees are also assessed, such as national park fees, fees for use of federal land built into utility bills, etc.

- and of course, the regular 7.65% flat tax assessed on all workers' paychecks, right off the top, & paid to the federal government -- no itemizing to get out of it.



4) "Because of their numbers, the MC and UMC have historically shouldered the largest share of the country's tax burden."

"Numbers"? If you mean because the bottom 50% of tax filers never got more than 16.6% of total income, and currently get only 12.75%, you're right.


http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521,00.html#_grp3


5) Since I have no clue what you mean by "middle class" I can only say that the middle class -- if by that you mean the income fraction around the median income -- doesn't pay so much income tax either.

The top 10% pays about 70% of all income taxes. Because they make about 50% of all income, leaving the bottom 90% to divide the remaining 50%.

That is, 10 people get $5 each & pay an average of 18% of it to the feds, leaving them with $4.10 each (ignoring dodges like cayman bank accounts).

90 people get five cents each & pay an average of about 9% of it in income taxes, leaving them about 4.5 cents each to live on.

http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521,00.html#_grp3

[Curmudgeoness]

84. Thanks for saying it, and saying it well. nt

[DJ13]

6. The "new & improved!" tax cuts are in FICA, not income tax

And in the end lower wage workers will get less of a tax break over all as a result

[Curmudgeoness]

9. I understand that. But I did not know that the income tax would go up.

I guess I misunderstood the rhetoric about "keeping the tax cuts".

:shrug:

[Ineeda]

15. See reply #4. n/t

[dkf]

18. They couldn't get the Repubs agree to extending "making work pay"

Which was a flat $400/$800. So they tried to do the same thing by cutting the payroll tax by 2%. But that means if you make less than $20,000/$40,000 you get less than making work pay and if you make more, you get more til the cap tops out.

[bluestate10]

54. You got it. Some wage classes are making out with the 2% FICA cut.

The working poor are not among those wage classes. Making work pay was designed to help the working poor more, but republicans were hostile to that concept. The amazing item for me is that most teabaggers are working poor or retired, the voted to give themselves less income when they voted for republicans. The important issue now is that when teabaggers become wise to being screwed, democrats must use sound-bites effectively to place the blame squarely where it belongs.

[Curmudgeoness]

66. This is true. But sadly, this tax law was passed before

the new session of Congress began. The Dems were still in the majority. I am sad.

[Hannah Bell]

90. no. capital is making out with the fica cut + the continuation of their bush income tax cuts.

in a double sense.

[Hannah Bell]

87. judging from the tax tables you brought up, it looks like they made an inflation adjustment for the

tax payments --

ignoring the fact that wages have dropped & social security & other government payments didn't get an inflation adjustment.

it's so dishonest.

[Starry Messenger]

10. .

I just snagged this from common dreams. It seemed to go well in here.

[leftstreet]

19. +1

That's awesome

:thumbsup:

[Starry Messenger]

32. Isn't it though?

I'd love to have it blown up large and printed. :evilgrin:

[Kennah]

12. TARP thanks you for your support

[Imperialism Inc.]

17. Because of the recent tax deal.

The total amount of tax breaks was actually higher but the distribution changed so that low earners got less.


The Tax Deal's Biggest Losers: 40 Million Low-Wage Workers Who Will See their Taxes Go Up This Year

[Curmudgeoness]

21. Tax units? Now we are all just tax units? Too funny.

But what is not too funny is how this is hurting the lowest "tax units". And from the Dems. I am pissed about this.

[Statistical]

22. All taxpayers are paying less than in 2008.

Taxes on the poor are lower under Obama than under Bush.

[Curmudgeoness]

29. This is not true. I have access to the payroll programs

for 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

For the employee making $250 a week:
2008 net pay was $217.86 (income tax at $13.17)
2010 net pay was $215.03 (income tax at $15.84)
2011 net pay is $212.60 (income tax at $23.27)

I did not check on higher income employees.

[Imperialism Inc.]

30. I don't doubt you but would point out that the chart

does not address that. It is looking at differences from 2010 to 2011. Just trying to be clear. The reasons for the differences are explained at the link.

[Curmudgeoness]

33. I know this is comparing 2010 and 2011. I was addressing

the comment that the taxes are lower than 2008. I wished that was true, but when I ran the numbers, I saw that it was not right.

[Imperialism Inc.]

36. Oh. I didn't look back at the chart. It has that right on there. I just didn't

want any confusion. Sorry.

[Statistical]

59. Withholding isn't the same thing as taxes due.

Taxes in 2011 are lower than 2008 (although higher than 2009/2010).

[Curmudgeoness]

64. Well, it kinda is. The point is that the IRS would prefer

to have taxes paid in withholding to be equal to the taxes due. That is how they develop the tax tables. People get around this by claiming less exemptions on the withholding than they do on their returns so they can get a refund. Or people will get deductions on their returns (but not the lower income people) that are not factored into the withholding schedules.

It is in the best interest of the IRS to have the withholding taxes equal the taxes due, and that is what they strive to do with the tax tables.

[Statistical]

71. Well no. IRS intentionally inflates witholdings.

They do this because the sad reality is most Americans have no clue what taxes they pay. None. However most can tell you how big their refund is and they certainly can tell you if they ended up owing. Someone paying $8,000 in taxes and getting a refund is likely less annoyed them someone paying $7,000 in taxes but ended up "owing" $2,000 at tax time. By making witholdings larger than expected taxes the IRS increases the % of Americans who are owed a refund. This has a psychological effect and also increases compliance.

[Curmudgeoness]

75. This is possible. I agree that people love those refunds and

look forward to them. But wouldn't they keep the inflations of withholdings at about the same level year to year? So why would they have $10 more a week taken out in 2010 from a $250 per week employee than they had taken out in 2008. This seems excessive to me. I am not buying your argument yet on income taxes being lower this year.

[Statistical]

76. Because the $400 MKWP credit has expired.

Income taxes AREN'T lower this year. They are exactly $400 HIGHER than 2009/2010 and exactly the same as 2008.

$400 / 52 = $7.69 per week.

Ultimately someone making $20,000 has no overall tax change compared to last year.

They lose $400 Making Work Pay credit so their federal income tax will rise by $400 compared to 2010.
They get 2% payroll tax holiday. Thus SS contributions are reduced by 0.02* $20,000 = $400 compared to 2010.

The net change of the tax law can be expressed as:

Change in taxes paid in 2011 vs 2010 = $400 - (gross wages * 0.02)
Negative = amount taxes were reduced.
Positive = amount taxes were increased.

[Imperialism Inc.]

26. LOL. Yep. I thought the same thing whe nI first read it.

The analysis starts off saying "taxpayers" but then switches to tax units. I guess that's what you get with reports from wonky types.

Edit: Gotta go. My fellow tax unit says it is dinner time. :)

[Name removed]

69. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Curmudgeoness]

73. Honey, YOU are a tax unit. Don't you just love it. nt

[michaz]

27. Same thing where I do payroll. Those who make less are seeing less net pay. n/t

[bluestate10]

58. Because lower paid people pay less FICA taxes as a $ amount.

A worker that makes $250 per week will have the $5 gained washed out by the ~$8 lost due to the making work pay tax reduction expiring.

[aintitfunny]

28. Mine too = the 2% only offsets the tax increase

no more money for me. People who make more money have bigger increases in take home. Doing away with the "Make Work Pay" credit and perhaps more.

[bluestate10]

60. You must be making a little less than $300 per week, at $300, you would see $1 more per week. nt

[ipaint]

35. Because it's easiest to kick the working poor.

Democrats no longer mention poverty so the poor have no political voice, no representation and no power. Easy targets especially since the middle class could give a shit as long as they get theirs.
The one group that actually worked to empower the poor and working poor were taken down on a lie and dems went along with it, not a peep in defense. So several future cuts to desperately needed food stamp funds and a raise in taxes is no big deal, shut up and deal with it. No one gives a shit that the lower classes are in a depression and a tax cut is cruel and degrading especially since the truly important people, those at the top, get an average of 5 to 6 times the yearly salary of the working poor in tax cuts for the next two years. Oh and don't mention tax cuts for the wealthy have been going on for years now and they get a two year extention. After all the democrats in washington have no power over anything and must settle for the shit end of the stick for the poor everytime.

Hands are tied, it's the best we can do, we have no choice, the repubs won't let us, it could have been worse, blah, blah, blah. Weasel words of cowards.

And people wonder why the throw away classes in this country don't rally behind democrats.

[Curmudgeoness]

37. This is part of the point I was making. And I guess some of us

in the "middle class" do care. I think this is appalling.

[WinkyDink]

42. My pension check from PA was reduced $50 because of the 2011 Federal Withholding changes.

[Curmudgeoness]

45. This is the second post about pension check taxes going up,

so there is more to it than just the making work pay deduction. Back to square one, what happened here?!?!

[doc03]

50. Exactly if you are retired you didn't get the making work pay

credit anyway.

[doc03]

48. Same here and we don't get the 2% payroll tax cut either,

welcome to the wonderful world of retirement in America. Now if they can just deduct our pension from our SS check they will be happy.

[Curmudgeoness]

51. Don't give them any new ideas. nt

[doc03]

57. The idea is already out there. I have seen some posts on DU

advocating such a thing. Just yesterday there was one that suggested that any retirement income in excess of $3000 (SS+pension+investment income) be deducted from our SS check. Someone has determined $36000 a year is all anyone retired should be permitted to receive. I argued with one DUer here a few weeks ago that wanted (any) other income deducted from SS, the poster thought everyone drawing SS should live in poverty.

[kevinbgoode]

78. It isn't just retired people. . .I don't pay FICA, so I got no relief there

and am on the second year of a wage freeze. My federal income taxes went up about $25/month, and my state went up $50/month. So suddenly, my budget has to adjust to the loss of $75/month, or a drop in net income of $900/year.

[femmocrat]

46. I thought we were getting a break on withholding this month?

Somehow I ended up with less take-home pay! What a disappointment.

[eyeofdelphi]

77. OK this is what i was told

same thing happened at our office, and the accountant said that because the tax cuts were not renewed till the last minutes, most software, like Quickbooks, which we use, released a tax table based on the tax cuts NOT being renewed. so, they have to redo all their tables and release an update for it to go back to normal, which may take some time. i think we got an update today but i'm not sure if it was new tax tables or something else, they're always updating something. that's what we were told. i have no idea if that's actually accurate. so if anyone knows anything more substantial i'd be interested.

[Curmudgeoness]

82. My payroll software company waited for the updates

before they released the 2011 program. They assured us that it was up to date with the new tax tables, and it appears that is the case based on the IRS tax tables. See post 63 for what I found.

The loss of the $400 making work pay tax rebate accounts for some of the increase. I don't know for sure what the rest of it is. Some people are reporting much higher withholding than the $400 rebate would account for.

[Hannah Bell]

92. this sounds like the reason:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=243452&mesg_id=246392


BAIT & SWITCH.

[WestSeattle2]

89. This might explain it. I received this from Payroll this week:

Last payday many of you noticed that the FICA withholding rate decreased from 6.2% to 4.2% on your paystubs causing a slight increase in gross pay.
This pay period another government withholding change will take effect causing a slight decrease in gross pay. This is due to the fact that the Federal Income Tax (FIT) has changed for 2011. This change will take effect this payperiod and will be figured effective 1/1/2011. We wanted to be sure you were all aware of the retro calculation.
For your reference here is a copy of the 2011 and 2010 tax tables used for calculating payroll taxes.
The retro calculations will increase the amount of taxes withheld, due to the difference in tables from 2010 to 2011. For example: the single table has changed from having no tax withheld at an income of $6,050 to starting taxes withheld at an income of $2,100. Adjustable gross wages are yearly wages minus exemptions; taxes now begin at a lower threshold.
If you would like to change your withholding amount please fill out a new 2011 W4 form located here:

[Hannah Bell]

91. omg. that is so sick. these fuckers need to be booted out of the country.

complete duplicity.

they're going to wind up collecting MORE from most workers even WITH the fica reduction.

while the top 1% laughs & continues to collect their bush tax cuts.

need to look into this in detail.

[Statistical]

93. Most? No they will collect more from those making

The federal taxes are increased by $400 due to MWPC expiring. FICA cut is 2%. $20,000 is the break even point.

[bobbolink]

96. Thank you for looking into it, Hannah, and please post what you find.

This is a subject you are particularly good with, and your insights are appreciated!