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
In Seattle, social housing will mean homes delivered and permanently owned by Seattle Social Housing, which is funded through the payroll tax on high incomes.
—
Susanne Schindler, The Conversation, 7 July 2025
Social Security’s chief actuary calculated, based on the assumptions of the 2024 Trustees Report, the impact of eliminating the earnings limit and subjecting all earnings to the 12.4% payroll tax without offsetting benefit increases for very high income earners.
—Christian Weller, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
The new legislation would eliminate the Social Security payroll tax exemption on high incomes, creating a gap between $168,600 and $400,000 where earnings remain untaxed, but then resuming taxes above that threshold.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
Both the employee and the employer would have to contribute toward this payroll tax.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for payroll tax
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Susanne Schindler, The Conversation, 7 July 2025
Social Security’s chief actuary calculated, based on the assumptions of the 2024 Trustees Report, the impact of eliminating the earnings limit and subjecting all earnings to the 12.4% payroll tax without offsetting benefit increases for very high income earners.
—Christian Weller, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
The new legislation would eliminate the Social Security payroll tax exemption on high incomes, creating a gap between $168,600 and $400,000 where earnings remain untaxed, but then resuming taxes above that threshold.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
Both the employee and the employer would have to contribute toward this payroll tax.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for payroll tax
Cite this Entry
“Payroll tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payroll%20tax. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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