Why am I paying both Employee AND Employer portions of FICA and Medicare on my paychecks?

Based on what you're describing, this doesn't sound right. Typically, employees should only be paying their portion of FICA (Social Security) at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45% of wages. Your employer should be covering their matching portions separately - these shouldn't be coming out of your paycheck. There are a couple of exceptions worth noting. If you're self-employed or working as an independent contractor (1099 worker rather than W-2 employee), then you would be responsible for both halves, totaling 15.3% for combined FICA and Medicare. This is often called the "self-employment tax." Another possibility is that there's a misunderstanding about what you're seeing on your pay stub. Some pay stubs show both portions for informational purposes, but only actually deduct the employee portion from your wages.

I had a similar issue last year and discovered it was because my employer was using taxr.ai to manage their payroll services. When I showed them my paystub with the double deductions, they ran my info through https://taxr.ai and immediately spotted the classification error. The system had somehow tagged me as both an employee AND an independent contractor for the same position. Their payroll person was able to fix it on the spot, and they had to issue me corrected paychecks for the previous months. Might be worth suggesting your employer check if they're using the right payroll settings or have you classified correctly in their system.

Wanted to follow up that I ended up trying taxr.ai after seeing this discussion. My situation was a bit different - I had withholding issues where my employer was taking out too much for state taxes. Uploaded my last few pay stubs to taxr.ai and it immediately flagged the incorrect state withholding calculation. Took the report to HR and they fixed it within a day. Already received my first correctly calculated paycheck with about $175 more than I was getting before. The analysis also showed I should be eligible for a refund of the over-withheld amounts from previous pay periods.

If you have trouble getting your employer to fix this quickly, you might want to try Claimyr to speak directly with the IRS. I was dealing with incorrect FICA withholding last year and couldn't get a straight answer from my company's outsourced payroll service. Used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that employers cannot deduct their portion of FICA/Medicare from employee wages and provided me with the exact documentation I needed to take back to my employer. Made the whole process much easier when I could quote specific tax code sections.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After seeing the responses here, I decided to give it a try since I've been having issues with incorrect withholding on my commission checks. Got connected to an IRS representative in about 15 minutes yesterday. The agent was super helpful and explained exactly how commissions should be taxed and why my employer was calculating it incorrectly. They even emailed me documentation I could show to our payroll department. Just got confirmation today that they're fixing it and will be adjusting my next paycheck to account for past overwithholding. Definitely worth the time saved - would have spent hours on hold otherwise.

There's one other possibility worth mentioning - are you doing any 1099 contract work for the same company alongside your W-2 employment? Some companies will have employees do extra work as "contractors" and then withhold both portions from that additional pay. It's actually not legal, but I've seen small businesses do this because they don't understand the rules.

This happened to me last year! Turned out my small business employer was actually classifying me as self-employed for tax purposes while treating me as an employee for everything else. It's technically illegal because they were trying to avoid paying their share of payroll taxes. Had to file SS-8 form with the IRS to get it sorted. Might be worth checking if that's what's happening in your case too.

This is definitely not normal and sounds like a clear payroll error. As a W-2 employee, you should only see the employee portions deducted from your paycheck (6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare). The employer portions should be paid separately by your company and never deducted from your wages. I'd recommend taking your pay stub to your employer or HR department immediately and pointing out exactly what you showed here - that both employee AND employer portions are being deducted from your gross pay. This is likely a simple configuration error in their payroll system, especially since you mentioned they're a small business. Keep copies of all your incorrect pay stubs as documentation. Once they fix the error, they should reimburse you for all the incorrectly withheld amounts from previous paychecks. If they've already issued you a W-2 for this tax year, they may need to provide a corrected one as well. Don't worry about bringing this up - legitimate employers want to fix payroll errors, and this kind of mistake could actually get them in trouble with the IRS if it continues.

This is definitely a payroll error that needs to be addressed immediately. As a W-2 employee, you should never have employer portions of FICA and Medicare deducted from your paycheck - those are the company's responsibility to pay separately. The fact that your pay stub explicitly shows both employee and employer portions being subtracted from your gross pay is a clear red flag. This could be costing you hundreds of dollars per month depending on your salary. I'd suggest documenting everything before you approach your employer: - Take photos/copies of several recent pay stubs showing the double deductions - Calculate exactly how much you've been overcharged (it should be 7.65% of your gross pay) - Look up your state's labor laws regarding payroll errors When you meet with HR or your boss, be direct but professional. Frame it as "I noticed an error in the payroll system" rather than making accusations. Most small businesses will want to fix this quickly to avoid potential legal issues. If they're hesitant to address it or claim it's correct, you may need to contact your state's Department of Labor or file a wage complaint. But hopefully it's just an honest mistake that can be resolved with a simple payroll system correction.

This is definitely a payroll system error - no legitimate W-2 employee should ever have employer portions of FICA and Medicare deducted from their paycheck. Your employer is required by law to pay their 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare contributions separately, on top of your wages. The fact that you can clearly see all four line items being subtracted from your gross pay means someone configured the payroll system incorrectly. This is actually a pretty common mistake with small businesses, especially if they're using basic payroll software without proper setup. You should approach your employer ASAP with your pay stubs and explain exactly what you're seeing. Frame it as "I think there might be an error in the payroll system" to keep things professional. Most small business owners don't want to be accidentally violating labor laws and will fix this quickly once they understand the issue. Make sure to keep copies of all your incorrect pay stubs - you'll need them to calculate exactly how much they owe you in back pay. Based on your example ($113.20 + $26.47 = $139.67 per paycheck), this could add up to significant money over time. If they seem confused or resistant, suggest they contact their payroll provider's support team or consult with a payroll professional. This isn't something you should have to accept or work around.

This is absolutely a payroll error that needs immediate attention. What you're describing is unfortunately more common than it should be with small businesses that don't have dedicated HR or payroll expertise. Here's what's happening: your employer is incorrectly deducting their required contributions from YOUR paycheck instead of paying them separately as required by law. Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), employers must pay their 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare contributions in addition to what they withhold from employee wages - not by deducting it from employee pay. A few important steps: 1. Document everything with photos/copies of multiple pay stubs 2. Calculate your total overpayment (should be 7.65% of gross wages for each affected pay period) 3. Approach your employer professionally - most will want to fix this quickly once they understand the error 4. If they use a payroll service, the provider should be able to correct the setup immediately The silver lining is that once corrected, you should receive reimbursement for all the incorrectly withheld amounts. If your employer has already issued W-2s showing the incorrect withholding, they'll need to file corrected forms as well. Don't hesitate to escalate to your state's Department of Labor if your employer is uncooperative - this type of payroll error violates federal employment law.

This is definitely a payroll error that needs to be corrected immediately. As a W-2 employee, you should never see employer portions of FICA and Medicare being deducted from your gross pay - those are separate obligations your employer must pay on top of your wages. What you're describing is actually a violation of federal employment law. The employer portions (the additional 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare) are supposed to be paid by your company directly to the IRS, not taken out of your paycheck. I'd recommend taking your pay stubs to your employer or HR department right away. Most small businesses will want to fix this quickly once they understand the error, especially since continuing this practice could expose them to IRS penalties. Make sure to keep copies of all your incorrect pay stubs - you'll need them to calculate exactly how much in back pay they owe you. Based on your numbers, you're being overcharged about $140 per paycheck, which adds up fast. If your employer seems confused about the rules or pushes back, suggest they contact their payroll provider's support team. This is a common setup error that payroll companies deal with regularly and can usually fix quickly once identified. The good news is that once corrected, you should get reimbursed for all the incorrectly withheld amounts from previous paychecks. Don't accept just a "we'll fix it going forward" response - you're entitled to every penny they incorrectly deducted.