payroll tax

American  

noun

1. a tax levied against the amount of wages and salaries paid workers.

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Etymology

Origin of payroll tax

First recorded in 1980–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

payroll tax

Unlike the 2.9% Medicare tax that applies to all earnings, the 12.4% Social Security payroll tax doesn’t currently apply to earnings above $184,500.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

The program is funded by a payroll tax of 12.4%, borne equally by employer and employee and applied to the first $184,500 of taxable income.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Social Security, in particular, is fully funded today by payroll taxes and interest on the program’s trust fund holdings of Treasury bonds, which have been purchased with payroll tax receipts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

The Medicare trust fund is primarily financed by a 2.9% payroll tax, half of which is paid by the employer and the other half by the employee.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

Among the additional financing options available are borrowing from the general fund, financing half of the hospital insurance fund with general revenues, and increasing the payroll tax rate.

From State of the Union Address by Jimmy Carter

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