货币英语 16 Check Your Withholding

By Laura Adams.

In this episode I’ll discuss payroll¹ tax withholding³. Understand what exactly is taken out of your paycheck and when you’ll need to adjust your allowances.
How Withholding Works
When you take a new job, one of the forms you complete for your employer is the W-4. This form tells your employer how much taxes should be taken out of your pay. The money that comes out of your gross check is called withholding, because it's withheld⁴ from you and goes to the government instead.
Federal income tax is called a "pay-as-you-go" tax because you must pay up as you earn money during the year. Withholding is a tax collection method that benefits the government because it reduces the chances of tax evasion⁵. It also puts the administrative⁶ burden of collection on employers who are required to calculate and submit income taxes on behalf of their employees.
Completing a W-4
Your tax withholding is based on the number of allowances you claim on form W-4. An allowance is the same as an exemption⁷ from tax. The more allowances you claim, the less federal income tax will be taken out of your paycheck.
It's important to note that you can file a new W-4 with your employer anytime your personal situation changes. You can adjust the number of allowances to avoid having too much or too little tax withheld.
Your goal should be to have your withholding match the actual amount of tax you will owe. If too little tax is withheld, you'll owe tax at the end of the year and may also have to pay interest plus a penalty for not paying on time. If too much tax is withheld you lose the use of those funds until your money is refunded⁸.
Check Withholding Annually⁹
It’s a good idea to review your tax withholding at the beginning of each year. Some employers may send out a reminder¹⁰ notice about this, but others may not. Significant events such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption¹¹ of a child, retirement¹², or the purchase of new home will affect your tax liability. Other changes that affect income such as losing a job, taking on an additional job, or an increase or decrease in salary should prompt you to review your withholding any time in the year.
Adjustments to income such as a student loan interest deduction¹³ or alimony will affect your tax liability. Changes in itemized deductions¹⁴ or tax credits like medical expenses, education credits, and child tax credits should also be a signal to review withholding. If you have additional income not subject to withholding such as interest, dividends¹⁵, capital gains, etc. you'll want to make sure you have enough tax being withheld.
Here's a handy link to the IRS Publication 919 titled How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding?
What Gets Withheld
Employers are required to withhold² 4 different types of taxes from employees' paychecks:
Federal Income Taxes
State Income Taxes
Social Security Taxes
Medicare Taxes
The last two, Social Security and Medicare, are collectively called FICA. This stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax. Most of you know that Medicare is the federal program that provides hospital insurance benefits once you reach the age of 65. The benefits provided by Social Security are summarized by the program’s official name, OASDI. This acronym¹⁶ stands for old-age, survivors¹⁷, and disability insurance.
Employers Pay Up Too
Many people don't realize that employers are also required to pay a matching amount of FICA for each of their employees with every paycheck. So the amount of Social Security retirement benefits that you will receive is directly related to the amount that you and your various employers have paid into the program over your entire working career.
How Much is Withheld?
In 2008 and 2009 the tax rate for Social Security is 6.2%. So employers withhold this amount from your gross wages in addition to paying another 6.2% of the company's money for you. This tax is paid in each year until a wage threshold is reached. For 2008 the wage threshold is $102,000 and it will be raised to $106,800 in 2009. Once you earn the wage base amount, neither you nor your employer must pay any more Social Security tax.
The Medicare tax rate is currently 1.45%. There is no wage base for the Medicare portion of FICA tax, so both the employee and the employer pay a combined total of 2.9% no matter how much is earned.
Self-Employment Taxes
If you're self employed, you pay both the employee and employer side of FICA tax for a grand total of 15.3%. That's 12.4% for the Social Security portion up to the wage threshold and 2.9% for the Medicare portion.
More Resources

If you're interested in learning more about income taxes, see the Treasury¹⁸ website at treas.gov, for their fact sheet on the history of the U.S. tax system.

Administrative

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Chi-Ching, that's all for now, courtesy of Money Girl, your guide to a richer life.

 

1 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

2 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

3 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

4 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

8 refunded   

v.归还，退还( refund的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Postage costs will be refunded (to you). 邮费将退还（给你）。 来自辞典例句
• Yes, it will be refunded to you at the expiration of the lease. 是的，租约期满时，押金退回。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

9 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

13 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

14 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

15 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

16 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

17 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

18 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

19 subscribing   

v.捐助( subscribe的现在分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意

参考例句：

• I am subscribing for some of the books of a book club. 我预订了几本这家书刊俱乐部出版的书。 来自辞典例句
• I am glad to have such a pleasant opportunity of subscribing myself. 今后益望努力前途，为国效力。 来自互联网