2012 FICA (Soc Sec. & Med)

    Employee:  5.65%
    Employer:  7.65%

 

Up to gross wages of: 
$110,100

 

 

 

 

[hiring + payroll]

payroll tax overview

FICA: also known as Social Security and Medicare.

EMPLOYER:  The employer social security tax rate is 6.2% taxed on the first $110,000 of an employee's wages. The employer also pays medicare tax at a rate of 1.45% on each employee's wages with no limit.
EMPLOYEE:  For the first two months of 2012, the FICA rate for employees has been reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%. (Congress is considering whether to keep the tax break in place for all of 2012 – we’ll see.) For information on the new recapture of FICA, click here

Federal payroll taxes: include both the employer and the employee share of FICA as well as federal withholding.  They are reported quarterly on Form 941. Federal tax deposits are required to be paid either on the 15th of the next month, or semi-weekly, depending on the size of the employer's payroll. Penalties for late payments of federal payroll taxes are extremely harsh.

FUTA: also know as Federal Unemployment Tax.

EMPLOYER:  The federal unemployment tax rate is .8% of the first $7,000 of wages. FUTA is paid quarterly (annually for small employers) and reported annually on Form 940.

SUTA: also known as State Unemployment Tax.

EMPLOYER:  The state unemployment rate varies by employer and by state. Employers without any unemployment claims pay less than other employers who have had employees claim unemployment. New businesses all start at the same rate. Maryland unemployment is taxed on the first $8,500 of wages. SUTA is paid and reported quarterly.