Payroll tax (Social Security and Medicare withholdings) equal 7.65%. As its name suggests, the Social Security tax goes to the Social Security program. It amounts to 6.20% on all income up to $137,000. Employers deduct the tax from paychecks and match it, so that 12.4% goes to the program for each employee.  The other payroll tax is a Medicare tax of 1.45%, and you’ll have to pay that for all income you earn. In fact, for income over $200,000 ($250,000 for couples filing jointly), the Medicare tax rate rises to 2.35%. https://smartasset.com/retirement/social-security-tax-limit