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

Because benefits are capped, Congress also limits the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax. — Brian Sloan, CNBC, 20 July 2026

Ideas range from boosting the payroll tax that helps fund Social Security to raising the full retirement age. — Medora Lee, USA Today, 16 July 2026

The goal is to conceal revenue and reduce the amount of income, sales, or payroll tax owed. — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

The clearest first step would be to lift the Social Security payroll tax cap so the wealthy contribute on all forms of income, the same way working people do. — Elijah Manley, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026

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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