Usually employers need to withhold Social Security tax from employees’ paychecks. The Social Security tax is a payroll tax that was started by the United States Government in the 1930s. This tax is imposed upon working people and their employers.

The 2015 tax rate for Social Security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The maximum wage that is subject to the tax for year 2015 is $118,500.

Refer to Publication 15, (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, for more information; or Publication 51, (Circular A), Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide, for agricultural employers.

Both ezPaycheck payroll software and ezAccounting software can calculate Soecial Security tax and other payroll taxes automatically based on current tax table. 

IRS increases Social Security Tax to 6.2% for employees. EzPaycheck 2013 payroll software has been updated to implement this change and other tax rate changes.

2013 Income Tax Tables here: http://www.halfpricesoft.com/federal_income_tax_2013.asp

What is new for 2013 Income Taxes:  http://halfpricesoft.com/business-blog/post/2013/01/01/What-Is-New-of-2013-Payroll-Tax-Rate.aspx

1.       How to download ezPaycheck 2013

            If you are a new user, you can download ezPaycheck 2013 at

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/payroll_software_download.asp

If you are ezPaycheck 2012 users, we would like to suggest you to back up your database first then download ezPaycheck 2013 update package at

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/payroll_software_update_2013.asp

2.       I downloaded version 3.3.3 to generate the first check. Then I updated  ezPaycheck to the latest version to generate the second check. Why the net pay and taxes on the second check are different from the first check

IRS published new tax rate on Jan 3 2013 which overwrite the tax rate published on Dec 31, 2012.

Version 3.3.6 use the tax rate published on Jan 3, 2013

Version 3.3.5 and earlier use tax rate published on Dec 31, 2012

3.       Why I need to update ezPaycheck 2012 to ezPaycheck 2013?

EzPaycheck 2012 comes with 2012 tax tables. If you need to handle payroll in Year 2013, you should use Year 2013 income tax rate. You can find Year 2013 tax rate change there

Social Security Tax increases to 6.2% for employees. IRS asks employers to start using the new social security rate as soon as possible in Year 2013 but not later than Feb 15, 2013.

You can get more information about income tax change here

http://halfpricesoft.com/business-blog/post/2013/01/01/What-Is-New-of-2013-Payroll-Tax-Rate.aspx

4.       How will I know my current version?

You can click the ezPaycheck top menu “Help->About ezPaycheck”

5.       How can I know a new version is available?

We will inform you by email when a new version is available. You can also check the latest version yourself by clicking the ezPaycheck top menu “help->Check for updates”.

6.       I have not finished my 2012 payroll, should I download ezPaycheck 2013 update package now?

You should finish your 2012 paychecks first because you should use 2012 income tax rate for year 2012 paychecks.

 You can print W-2 forms later. EzPaycheck 2013 can print Year 2012 W-2 Forms.

7.       After I installed ezPaycheck 2013, I still see 2011 940 Form. Is it correct?

IRS has not published Year 2012 940 form yet. We will release a new version once this form is available. Current ezPaycheck 2013 users can get this update package for free.

8.       After I installed ezPaycheck 2013, I still see 2012 941 Form. Is it correct?

IRS has not published Year 2013 941 form yet. We will release a new version once this form is available. Current ezPaycheck 2013 users can get this update package for free.

9.       Is my payroll data safe when I run ezPaycheck 2013 update package? Will it transfer my 2012 data to ezPaycheck 2013?

Your data should be safe. However, we still like to suggest you always backup your data first. When ezPaycheck 2012 users run ezPaycheck 2013 update package, it should transfer all the data to ezPaycheck 2013 automatically. However if your machine has higher security settings, ezPaycheck may not be able to transfer the data automatically.

What Is Social Security Tax

The Social Security tax is a payroll tax that was started by the United States Government in the 1930s. This tax is imposed upon working people and their employers.

What Is New In Year 2013

For 2013, the employee tax rate for social security increases to 6.2%. The social security wage base limit increases to $113,700. The employer tax rate for social security is still 6.2%.

Employers should implement the 6.2% employee social security tax rate as soon as possible, but not later than February 15, 2013. After implementing the new 6.2% rate, employers should make an adjustment in a subsequent pay period to correct any underwithholding of social security tax as soon as possible, but not later than March 31, 2013.

We have updated ezPaycheck 2013 Payroll Software to implement this Social Security Tax Increase.  You are welcome to download and try ezPaycheck payroll software free for 30 days with no obligation and no credit card needed.

Related Links

·      What Is New of 2013 Payroll Tax Rate

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/business-blog/post/2013/01/01/What-Is-New-of-2013-Payroll-Tax-Rate.aspx

·         2013 Income Tax Table

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/federal_income_tax_2013.asp

·         Small Business Payroll Software Solution

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/index.asp

Nearly 160 million workers will benefit from the extension of the reduced payroll tax rate that has been in effect for 2011. IRS required that employers should implement the new payroll tax rate as soon as possible in 2012 but not later than Jan. 31, 2012.

Following are the instructions from Notice 1036

The employee tax rate for social security is 4.2% on wages paid and tips received before March 1, 2012. The employee tax rate for social security increases to 6.2% on wages paid and tips received after February 29, 2012. The employer tax rate for social security remains unchanged at 6.2%. The social security wage base limit is $110,100. The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for the employee and employer, unchanged from 2011. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.

Employers should implement the 4.2% employee social security tax rate as soon as possible, but not later than January 31, 2012. After implementing the 4.2% rate, employers should make an offsetting adjustment in a subsequent pay period to correct any overwithholding of social security tax as soon as possible, but not later than March 31, 2012.

EzPayCheck payroll software already included this change in its 2012 version.

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act.  FICA taxes are comprised of two separate taxes, social security and Medicare taxes, that are paid on wages earned for services performed.  Employers withhold and pay their employees’ share of the FICA taxes and also pay the employer share.

For Year 2011, the maximum taxable earnings amount for Social Security is $106,800. The Social Security tax (OASDI) rate for wages paid in 2011 is 4.2 percent for employees and 6.2 percent for employers.

The Medicare Taxes Rate is 1.45% for both employers and employees.

Federal Income Tax Table

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/federal_income_tax_2011.asp

The Social Security tax is a payroll tax that was started by the United States Government in the 1930s. This tax is imposed upon working people and their employers.

For 2011, the maximum taxable earnings amount for Social Security is $106,800. The Social Security tax (OASDI) rate for wages paid in 2011 is 4.2 percent for employees and 6.2 percent for employers. 

For example, an individual with wages equal to or more than $106,800 would contribute $4,485.60 to Social Security in 2011.  The employer would contribute $6,621.60.

Related Link:

Federal Income tax Table

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/federal_income_tax_2011.asp

The Social Security Administration has released the proposed figures for the increase in the wage base for taxation for 2012 and projected some figures for the years up to 2015.

The Social Security wage base, now at $106,800, is projected to increase to $110,700 in 2012, according to the annual report of the Social Security Board of Trustees. Also – in 2012, the temporary 2% reduction in the Social Security withholding tax will expire.

This will increase the social security tax paid by high wage earners from $4,485.60 (in Year 2011) to $6,863 (in Year 2012).

Future wage bases have been projected for the years up to 2015 as well:  for 2013, the base is projected at $113,100; for 2014, $117,600; and for 2015, $122,700.

Related link:

Current federal income tax table:

http://www.halfpricesoft.com/federal_income_tax_2011.asp

Followings are the main changes:

1) For Year 2011, the employee tax rate for social security is reduced to 4.2%. The employer tax rate for social security remains unchanged at 6.2%. (IRS asks that employers start using the new social security rate as soon as possible but not later than January 31, 2011.)

2) Federal payroll tax table changed

Click here to compare Year 2011 Federal tax tables and Year 2010 Federal tax tables

3) State table changed

IL, CO, HI, IN,ME, MD, MN, MO, NM, ND, OK, RI, VT published the new state tax tables.