payroll tax

noun

1
: a tax that is paid by a company and that is based on the amount of money that the company spends paying all of its employees
2
: money that is taken from a person's pay and given directly to the government as income tax

Examples of payroll tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The federal government typically excludes workers' health premiums from their taxable income and payroll tax. Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2025 Social Security is financed by a payroll tax paid for by employers and employees. Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 30 Nov. 2025 First, there was no payroll tax in the year before the 2026 launch. Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 23 Nov. 2025 If there were a long-term concern about a shrinking payroll tax base, the logical fix would be to broaden the revenue stream, such as adding a modest national sales tax and dedicating a portion of it to Social Security. Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for payroll tax

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Payroll tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payroll%20tax. Accessed 21 Dec. 2025.

Legal Definition

payroll tax

noun
pay·​roll tax
: a tax that is levied as a percentage of an employee's pay and is usually paid by the employer
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!