My paycheck shows double the normal social security deduction rate - employer taking 12% instead of 6%?

This definitely sounds wrong. The social security tax rate for employees is 6.2% of your wages (up to the annual wage limit of $168,600 for 2025). Your employer is supposed to pay a matching 6.2% on their end - not take it from your paycheck! Your manager's response is concerning because it suggests they either don't understand how payroll taxes work or there's something fishy going on. Either way, I'd recommend getting a copy of your paystub and verifying the exact percentage being withheld for social security. Calculate it by dividing the SS withholding amount by your gross pay. If it is indeed around 12%, you should address this with your company's HR or payroll department rather than your manager. If they can't provide a satisfactory explanation, you might want to contact the IRS or your state's department of labor. Your employer shouldn't be withholding the employer portion of social security from your wages.

I had a similar issue last year with my SS deductions being way off. After weeks of getting nowhere with HR, I finally used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze my paystubs and tax situation. Their software flagged the exact discrepancy and generated a detailed report explaining exactly how much I was being overcharged. The best part was that they provided a professionally written letter I could give to my employer that cited all the relevant tax codes. I handed it to our payroll person and suddenly everyone took me seriously! Within two weeks they had fixed the issue and processed retroactive adjustments for the previous quarters.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and wow, it was eye-opening. Turns out my employer WAS withholding both their portion and mine for social security! The report showed exactly how they were calculating it wrong and provided the actual tax code sections that were being violated. The document they generated explained in plain language that employers cannot legally withhold their 6.2% share from employee wages. When I took this to our HR director, she was actually shocked - turns out our new payroll service had set everything up incorrectly when they took over last quarter. They've already processed adjustments for me and the other affected employees. Really grateful for the recommendation - would have taken me forever to figure this out on my own or convince anyone without the proper documentation.

If your employer is unresponsive after you present evidence that they're withholding too much, don't waste time with endless emails and voicemails like I did. I spent MONTHS trying to get through to someone who could actually help at my company. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me through to a real IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The IRS agent confirmed this was illegal and opened a case right away. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS sent my employer a notice and suddenly they were extremely responsive about fixing the issue! Nothing like official government contact to light a fire under them.

Ok I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment I decided to try it myself since I've been having issues getting through to the IRS about some missing stimulus credits from 2023 that still haven't been processed. I tried calling the IRS directly three times before and never got through (disconnected twice after 1+ hour). With Claimyr I got a call back in about 40 minutes with an actual IRS employee on the line! They were able to check my account and confirm my amended return is being processed. Regarding the social security withholding issue - while I had the IRS agent on the phone I asked about this scenario too. They confirmed employers absolutely cannot withhold their portion of SS taxes from employee wages and said this is something they take very seriously.

Former payroll manager here. This is definitely not right. A few things to check on your paystub: 1. Look for "FICA-SS" or "Social Security" withholding and calculate what percentage of your gross pay is being withheld 2. Check if there are TWO separate deductions for social security (sometimes they're split for some reason) 3. Make sure you're not confusing Medicare tax (additional 1.45%) with SS tax One thing to consider - if you've already hit the social security wage base at a previous employer this year but your current employer doesn't know that, they might be withholding when they shouldn't be. But that wouldn't explain a 12% rate.

Could it be that they're including Medicare tax (1.45%) AND additional Medicare tax (0.9%) for high-income earners along with the social security tax? That would get you closer to 8.55% but still not 12%...

This is a clear violation of federal tax law. Your employer cannot legally withhold their portion of Social Security taxes from your wages - that's their responsibility to pay separately to the IRS. As someone who's dealt with payroll issues before, I'd recommend taking these steps: 1. Document everything - print copies of all your paystubs showing this incorrect withholding 2. Calculate the total amount you've been overcharged (it sounds like you're losing about $350/month if it's been going on for a while) 3. Present this to HR/payroll with a written request for correction and reimbursement If your company pushes back or claims this is "normal," that's a red flag. No legitimate payroll system should be set up this way. The employer's 6.2% is supposed to come out of their pocket, not yours. You might also want to check if other employees are experiencing the same issue - if this is a systemic problem with their payroll setup, it could affect everyone. Don't let them brush this off as a misunderstanding on your part - you're absolutely right that something is very wrong here.

This is absolutely not normal and your employer is breaking federal tax law. As a W-2 employee, you should only be paying 6.2% for Social Security tax - the employer is required to pay the matching 6.2% separately, not take it from your paycheck. The fact that your manager gave you a vague response about "employer contributions" and dismissed your concerns is really concerning. Either they don't understand basic payroll tax requirements or they're hoping you'll drop the issue. I'd strongly recommend bypassing your manager and going straight to HR or whoever handles payroll. Bring documentation showing the 12% deduction and ask them to explain exactly why they're withholding the employer portion from your wages. If they can't provide a legitimate explanation (and there really isn't one), demand immediate correction and reimbursement for all the excess withholding. This could be affecting other employees too, so don't let them make you feel like you're being difficult. You're protecting yourself and potentially your coworkers from illegal wage theft. If they refuse to fix it, you absolutely should contact the Department of Labor or IRS - employers take these agencies very seriously. Keep all your paystubs and document every conversation about this issue. You're entitled to get back every penny they've incorrectly withheld.