What percentage of salary can a single wage earner expect to be deducted for all taxes?

Answer 1

If this is about your net take home pay for each pay period that your gross income is $$$.

You should get this information from your employer payroll department as they will be the one that would know how much FICA, federal income tax, state income, local taxes, etc they will have to withhold from your hourly pay or gross pay for the pay period.

After the withheld amount for all taxes is subtracted from your gross wages (earned income) your paycheck will issued for the net amount of your earning (wages).

The above is not really correct.

While many amounts deducted from your pay, things like FICA, Unemployment Ins. Workers comp, medical contributions, etc. etc. are essentially out of your control, and your payroll department can best inform you of (especially as many of them have NOTHING to do with what you may otherwise consider income, or are a fixed amount or stop at certain thresholds).... the amount of income tax is entirely in your control and YOU direct the payroll department how much to deduct by properly and completely filing out a W-4 form. The amount may well be different for 2 even very similar people working at the identical job making the same salary. The amount should be enough to pay your tax due on that income...which once again, may be totally different between any 2 people based on many things.

There is no specific fixed amount or percent. Two people working at the same job, making the same wage may (an almost always do) have much different amounts required to be withheld.

It depends on many, many things...not the least of which is what you consider tax. Many people group all their withholding as a type of tax, but many may not be. Workers Comp, Unemployment, even FICA are all really more an insurance payment than a withholding against an income tax.

The amount of tax withheld also depends on many other things...obviously which state (or even city) your in, the amount of income your projected on earning over the year, (which helps determine your tax bracket and the percent that may be required), as well as your filing status, number of dependents and other deductions (like interest on a mortgage) or contributions to 401K, or medical and other benefits you selected, etc., etc.

All these things can be adjusted for your circumstances by properly and completely filling out (or changing) the Form W-4 all employers ask you to. The variations are so numerous that again, it is fair to say that it would be uncommon for 2 people, working at the same job making the same salary would have the same amount withheld.

There are even a number of different legal ways for the payroll provider to calculate the amount to withhold considering all the above...but overall they make only a small difference. However, if your only working for a short period, say seasonally, since most all tax withholding calculations figure you will be making the amount on an annual basis, which would be much more income (or higher rate schedule) than you may have, you should make sure that is taken into consideration.

Remember, anything withheld is just being done as an estimated installment payment toward whatever tax, if any, you do ultimately owe. If too much is withheld, it is refunded. (Too little, and you could pay a penalty and interest charges). Again, adjusting your W-4 is the way to correct for any of these circumstances. Just follow the instructions and examples for that form and you should have a very close amount for what is needed withheld for your situation...if for any number of reasons including those above, the situation changes... you will need to change the W-4.

For the W-4 information and an online calculation tool go to www.irs.gov and IRS Withholding Calculator