Help explain my paycheck taxes - how to reduce FICA EE and Med EE if possible?

I'm trying to figure out what all these tax codes on my paycheck actually mean. First off, what does "YTD" stand for? Also, what's the difference between FICA EE and Med EE? I'm getting charged for both and it seems like double-dipping to me. The bigger issue is that I'm getting hit with almost $50 each for Federal Income Tax and FICA EE, which seems crazy high considering I only make $18/hour. I don't remember previous jobs taking this much out! Did I mess up my W-4 form when I started? I filled out something wrong? There are 4 different tax deductions total on my stub, but the other two are smaller and I understand those. It's the FICA EE and Federal that are killing me. Any advice on how I can reduce these? Is there something I can change on my tax forms?

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18 comments

Aisha Abdullah

•8M

I can explain these paycheck terms and tax withholdings for you! YTD means "Year-To-Date" - it shows the total amount of each item (earnings, deductions, taxes) from January 1st through your current pay period. It's helpful for tracking your annual totals. FICA EE and Med EE are actually two different taxes. FICA EE (sometimes called Social Security tax) is 6.2% of your wages and funds Social Security benefits. Med EE (Medicare tax) is 1.45% of your wages and funds Medicare. Both are required payroll taxes that every employee pays. For reducing your federal income tax, you can adjust your W-4 form by increasing your withholding allowances or claiming eligible tax credits. If you're single with one job and no dependents, check that you didn't accidentally select "married" filing status, which would cause underwithholding now and a bigger bill later. Unfortunately, you can't reduce FICA and Medicare taxes - these are fixed percentages of your income that everyone pays. The only way to pay less in these taxes is to earn less, which obviously isn't the goal!

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Aisha Abdullah

•8M

You're absolutely right to question the math. At $18/hour and 6.2% for FICA, you'd need to work about 45 hours to reach a $50 FICA deduction. For a typical 80-hour biweekly paycheck at $18/hour, FICA should be around $89 (6.2% of $1,440). The $50 figure might make sense for a weekly paycheck with regular hours, or there might be some other factors affecting the withholding. Looking at the total gross pay on the paycheck and comparing the actual percentage taken would help clarify if the withholding amounts are correct.

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Yuki Tanaka

•8M

I went through the same confusion last year when I started my new job! After getting frustrated with my smaller-than-expected paychecks, I found this AI tax tool at https://taxr.ai that helps analyze paystubs and tax withholdings. You upload a picture of your paystub and it breaks down all the codes and calculates if your withholdings are correct. It showed me that my employer had me classified wrong and I was getting overtaxed! The tool explained exactly what each deduction was and helped me figure out how to fix my W-4. The detailed breakdown of FICA vs Medicare was super helpful too.

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Yuki Tanaka

•8M

It definitely helps with reducing taxes by identifying where you might be overwithholding. In my case, I had accidentally checked the wrong box on my W-4, and the tool showed me exactly what to change to get more money in each paycheck while still covering my tax obligations. Regarding safety concerns, I had the same worry initially. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your actual paystub images after analysis. All my personal info was redacted in the reports they generated. I researched them before using it and found they have solid security credentials. The analysis happens instantly too, so your document isn't sitting on their servers.

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Andre Laurent

•8M

I was skeptical at first about uploading my paystub to taxr.ai but decided to try it since I was so confused about my deductions. Honestly, it was super helpful! The breakdown showed that I was claiming 0 allowances when I could actually claim 2 based on my situation. After updating my W-4 with payroll, my federal withholding dropped by about $80 per paycheck! The tool explained that FICA and Medicare are fixed percentages that can't be reduced (which sucks), but it identified that my federal withholding was way too high. It also showed me that "YTD" just means year-to-date totals. The best part was getting a personalized explanation of each line item instead of trying to Google everything. Definitely helped me understand where my money was going.

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AstroAce

•8M

If you think something's wrong with your withholding, you might need to talk directly with the IRS. I tried calling them for MONTHS about a similar issue and could never get through. Then I found this service called Claimyr https://claimyr.com that got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes. They have this demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. The IRS agent confirmed that my employer was calculating my FICA correctly (unfortunately) but helped me figure out how to adjust my W-4 to reduce my federal withholding. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone official to confirm if things are being done right.

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AstroAce

•8M

It uses an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an agent finally picks up, you get a call connecting you directly to them. They don't call for you - they just handle the hold time and navigation part. It's definitely not a scam. I was skeptical too, but it actually works. I wasted hours trying to get through myself before using this. They don't offer tax advice at all - they literally just get you connected to the real IRS so you can ask your questions directly to an official source.

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Jamal Brown

•8M

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that comment calling it a scam, I was still desperate to talk to the IRS about my withholding issues, so I tried it anyway. The service actually did exactly what it claimed. It navigated the phone system and waited on hold (for over 2 hours!) then called me when an actual IRS agent was on the line. The agent confirmed that my employer was calculating FICA correctly but helped me fill out a new W-4 to adjust my federal withholding. I was able to reduce my federal withholding by about $75 per paycheck just by fixing how I filled out my W-4. Sometimes you really do need to talk to an actual human at the IRS to figure this stuff out.

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Mei Zhang

•8M

You're right to question this - I made a mistake. 401k contributions do reduce your federal income tax withholding, but they do NOT reduce FICA and Medicare taxes. Those taxes are still calculated on your gross pay before 401k deductions. However, certain other pre-tax deductions like health insurance premiums, HSA contributions, and dependent care FSA contributions do reduce both income tax and FICA tax bases. So while 401k won't help with FICA, other pre-tax benefits might reduce your overall tax burden if your employer offers them.

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