# First paycheck! Hooray! Got to keep a whole 28% of it... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 17, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203 "2016-09-17T21:58:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/1 "2016-09-17T21:58:38Z")
I worked a total of four days. For my efforts, my check shows… 31.5% FICA tax 14.9% Social Security tax 3.5% Medicare tax 12.5% state tax 9.5% medical/dental/vision insurance premium. The government took 62%. One for me, two for my uncle! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/2 "2016-09-17T22:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > One for me, two for my uncle! Hah? ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/3 "2016-09-17T22:10:44Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I worked a total of four days. For my efforts, my check shows… > > 31.5% FICA tax > 14.9% Social Security tax > 3.5% Medicare tax > 12.5% state tax > 9.5% medical/dental/vision insurance premium. > > The government took 62%. One for me, two for my uncle! As much as I generally support anti-government rants, this one is awfully weird. I think you must have mis-read a whole bunch of line items. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/4 "2016-09-17T22:12:06Z")
You’re mistaken about something. Where’s your regular federal withholding? And doesn’t FICA include SS/Medicare taxes? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/5 "2016-09-17T22:16:02Z")
Bad math makes **Antibob’s** brain hurt. First off, insurance premiums aren’t tax. That money isn’t going to any government, so why are you bitching that they are? I suppose it’s possible you’re paying 31.5% in federal income tax, but you’d have to be making a LOT of money to have that much deducted. Like in excess of $200k a year in pay. And considering that the first $186000 (or $226000 if filing jointly married) is taxed at 28%, this is closer to $400-$500k. I can’t say I feel too bad for you if you’re annual salary is a half million a year. Social security is 6.2% to the employee and 6.2% to the employer. That’s a maximum of 12.4%. Are you self employed and paying both? If so, why are you deducting more than the maximum for social security from your own paycheck? Likewise, Medicare is 1.45% to the employee and 1.45% to the employer. That’s a maximum of 2.9%. Again, are you self employed and paying both? And if so, why are you deducting more than the maximum for medicare from your own paycheck? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/6 "2016-09-17T22:21:34Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/7 "2016-09-17T22:26:49Z")
SS should be 1.45% and Medicare should be 6.2% PLUS your employer matches it. Adjust for some (really) wonky rounding errors and I’m thinking that’s where the 14.9 and 3.5 come from. OTOH some quick math shows… Adding up those numbers, 14.9 and 3.5 is 36.8. Stay with me here. If you take the correct numbers, 6.2 and 1.45, add them, you get 7.65. Double it and you get 15.3. 15.3% is what gets paid for FICA between you and your employer. Not understanding quite how it works and doubling _that_ number is 30.6. The difference between that and the OP’s 36.8 is 6.2%. Either something is really wrong with his paycheck or the OP presented it to us wrong. Of course this could just be a coincidence. Divide the amount you actually received by your gross total (hours x rate) and see if you actually get 0.28. My guess is that your stub shows both your contribution as well as your employer’s contribution and you’re not understanding it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/8 "2016-09-17T22:45:23Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > SS should be 1.45% and Medicare should be 6.2% Other way around. ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/9 "2016-09-17T22:46:38Z")
And when you go out to buy something, you will very likely pay tax on it too. Ain’t life fair! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/10 "2016-09-17T22:48:31Z")
Huh. I thought this thread was an interesting premise so I went and grabbed my last pay stub, this is what I got: Fed withholding: 15.3% (Taxes 7.9%, Medicare 1.5%, SS 5.9%) State 2.7% Medical 3.2% Dental 1.1% Other 0.6% My withholding seems low and I think I will talk to my accountant about it though typically she knows what she is doing. According to the IRS site, I am in the 28% tax bracket. Anyway, I don’t think I believe the OP. What about other people? Anybody else here paying 62% in taxes or is the OP a special snowflake? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/11 "2016-09-17T23:01:38Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > You’re mistaken about something. Where’s your regular federal withholding? And doesn’t FICA include SS/Medicare taxes? Either **Chessic Sense** has misread his pay stub, isn’t telling us some crucial piece of information, or he has the absolute worst payroll department in the country. FICA includes Social Security and Medicare, so these shouldn’t appear twice. Social Security should be much lower, unless you are self employed (as I am), but in that case you wouldn’t be subject to withholding. And he appears not to have been charged any federal income tax. Something is definitely screwy. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/12 "2016-09-17T23:05:19Z")
I’m taking home about 65% myself. Between the guv’mint (also in the 28% tax bracket), insurance, and my 401k (I contribute 6%), I’m out about 35%, a fair amount of which I’ll get back eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/13 "2016-09-17T23:06:30Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > Huh. I thought this thread was an interesting premise so I went and grabbed my last pay stub, this is what I got: > > Fed withholding: 15.3% (Taxes 7.9%, Medicare 1.5%, SS 5.9%) > State 2.7% > > Medical 3.2% > Dental 1.1% > Other 0.6% > > My withholding seems low and I think I will talk to my accountant about it though typically she knows what she is doing. According to the IRS site, I am in the 28% tax bracket. Subtract your health insurance premium from your gross _then_ divide your medicare or SS tax by that number. It should come out correct. Insurance premiums are (typically) pretax. So, for example, if you earned $800 and paid $100 for health insurance, your taxes are all based on $700. If you try to check the numbers yourself and work with $800, they’ll appear low. ---
**Author:** ![PrimalEnvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85f322/32.png) [@PrimalEnvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrimalEnvy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/14 "2016-09-17T23:57:29Z")
62% taken, 28% kept? Where’s the rest? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/15 "2016-09-18T00:03:53Z")
> [@PrimalEnvy](#): > > 62% taken, 28% kept? Where’s the rest? Accountant fees. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/16 "2016-09-18T00:05:09Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > Huh. I thought this thread was an interesting premise so I went and grabbed my last pay stub, this is what I got: > > Fed withholding: 15.3% (Taxes 7.9%, Medicare 1.5%, SS 5.9%) > State 2.7% > > Medical 3.2% > Dental 1.1% > Other 0.6% > > My withholding seems low and I think I will talk to my accountant about it though typically she knows what she is doing. According to the IRS site, I am in the 28% tax bracket. > > Anyway, I don’t think I believe the OP. What about other people? Anybody else here paying 62% in taxes or is the OP a special snowflake? Remember, its the 28% MARGINAL rate. On your TAXABLE income (after you take your deductions), you pay 10% on the first $9,275, 15% on the money between $9,275 and $37650, 25% on the money between that at $91,150, and only 28% on the rest. (Assuming individual). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/17 "2016-09-18T00:37:03Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > The government took 62%. One for me, two for my uncle! This is the rant the Perot camp has been waiting for! **Chessic** , do come back and explain. Are you making half a mil, or running multiple meth labs… or does chessic sense just not make financial sense? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/18 "2016-09-18T00:53:21Z")
> [@PrimalEnvy](#): > > 62% taken, 28% kept? Where’s the rest? Bookie takes the vig. You got a problem with that? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/19 "2016-09-18T01:08:54Z")
I don’t think **Chessic** is coming back, maybe he was just trolling. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203/20 "2016-09-18T01:12:42Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > I don’t think **Chessic** is coming back, maybe he was just trolling. He was last active 21 minutes ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-paycheck-hooray-got-to-keep-a-whole-28-of-it/766203.md?page=2)