Congressional Research Service: 'Payroll Taxes – Overview of Taxes Imposed & Past Payroll Tax Relief' (Part 1 of 2)
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SUMMARY
A payroll tax is generally a tax levied on the wages or earnings of workers. Federal payroll taxes are the second-largest federal revenue source, after individual income taxes, raising
For most employees, the employee payroll tax of 6.2% for
Most taxpayers pay more payroll taxes than individual income tax. Estimates suggest that for 2021, 42.9% of taxpayers had a positive federal income tax liability, while 75.2% had a positive payroll tax liability. Fewer taxpayers have a positive income tax liability than is typical, due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related income tax relief. Even so, it is often the case that lower- and moderate-income households pay more in payroll taxes than in income taxes.
For most taxpayers, payroll tax burdens are proportional to earnings. Toward the top of the income distribution, payroll taxes are regressive, meaning that as taxpayers' incomes increase, the share of income paid in payroll taxes decreases. However, the programs that payroll taxes fund are generally considered to be progressive - that is, their benefit formulas are designed to replace a larger share of earnings for lower-wage workers.
Recent Congresses provided relief to individuals and businesses using the payroll tax system. During the 111th and 112th Congresses, certain payroll taxes were temporarily suspended in response to the Great Recession for employers who hired certain new employees, mostly people who were previously unemployed. Additionally, an employee payroll tax holiday temporarily reduced the tax rates for the employee portion of
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 116th and 117th Congresses used payroll tax credits and deferrals to provide relief. Paid leave payroll tax credits provided relief to smaller employers required to provide paid sick and family leave to address the effects of COVID-19. The Employee Retention Credit provided a refundable and advanceable payroll tax credit for employers who kept employees on their payrolls during COVID-19. Payroll tax deferrals were also available, one for employers and another for employees.
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Contents
Payroll Taxes ... 1
What Are Payroll Taxes? ... 1
How Much Revenue Is Raised From Payroll Taxes? ... 1
Distribution of Payroll Tax Burden ... 4
The Different Types of Payroll Taxes ... 6
Medicare ... 10
Additional Medicare Tax ... 11
Other Payroll Taxes ... 14
Policies Providing Payroll Tax Relief ... 15
Great Recession Payroll Tax Relief ... 15
Payroll Tax Suspension for Newly Hired Employees ... 16
Employee Payroll Tax Holiday ... 16
COVID-19 Payroll Tax Relief ... 17
Paid Leave Payroll Tax Credits ... 18
Employee Retention Tax Credit ... 20 Payroll Tax Deferrals ... 22
Figures
Figure 1. Federal Payroll Tax Collections, FY1940 to FY2021 ... 2
Figure 2. Federal Payroll Tax Receipts as a Share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), FY1940 to FY2021 ... 3
Figure 3. Federal Payroll Taxes as a Share of Federal Revenues, FY1940 to FY2021 ... 3
Figure 4. Average Federal Payroll Tax Rates by
Figure 5. Share of Taxpayers with Positive Payroll and Income Tax Liability, by Income Quintile, 2021 ... 6
Figure 6.
Tables
Table 1. Composition of
Table 2. Income Thresholds for Additional Medicare Tax ... 12
Table 3. Great Recession Payroll Tax Relief ... 17
Table 4. COVID-19 Payroll Tax Relief ... 24
Contacts
Author Information ... 25
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The first federal payroll taxes for
This report provides an overview of the federal payroll tax system, including details about each of the major payroll taxes. Recent Congresses have used the payroll tax system to provide relief in response to economic downturns. Temporary changes to payroll tax policy were used in response to the Great Recession (2007-2009) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The report provides an overview of these temporary forms of payroll tax relief.
Payroll Taxes
What Are Payroll Taxes?
A payroll tax is generally a tax levied on the wages or earnings of workers. In
There are several key differences between payroll taxes and the individual income tax. Generally, payroll taxes are simpler than the individual income tax. Payroll taxes apply one tax rate and only to wages, with no deductions and limited credits, and do not differ by the worker's marital status or family structure. (The additional Medicare tax differs slightly from this pattern, as detailed below.) In contrast, the individual income tax has a graduated rate structure, taxes different forms of income (capital gains, interest, and rents, for example, in addition to wages), allows for various credits and deductions, and differs by marital status and family structure.
How Much Revenue Is Raised From Payroll Taxes?
The federal government received
The amount of revenue received from payroll taxes has generally increased over time since the first payroll taxes were introduced in the 1930s (Figure 1). This is due to new payroll taxes being introduced (such as the Medicare tax in 1966), the
An exception to the trend of increasing payroll tax collections occurred from FY2009 through FY2011. The decline in payroll tax receipts during this time period had two major causes. First, the historically high unemployment during and following the economic recession of 2007-2009 (popularly known as the Great Recession) reduced the amount of wages subject to payroll taxes as workers were out of work, reducing collections. Second, the federal government used payroll tax cuts to stimulate the economy (see "Great Recession Payroll Tax Relief"), resulting in lower payroll tax collections.
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1 Payroll taxes have also been considered as an option for funding proposed new entitlement programs, such as a program for paid family and medical leave. For background, see CRS Report R46390, Paid Family and Medical Leave: Current Policy and Legislative Proposals in the 116th
2 This figure is the total amount collected and reported by the
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[See link at end of text for Figure 1. Federal Payroll Tax Collections, FY1940 to FY2021]
Source: Figure created by CRS using data from
Notes: Data labels shown for FY1940 and FY2021 in FY2021 dollars.
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While payroll tax revenues have increased over the longer term, payroll tax revenues relative to the size of the economy (as a share of
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[See link at end of text for Figure 2. Federal Payroll Tax Receipts as a Share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), FY1940 to FY2021]
Source: Figure created by CRS using data from
Notes: Data labels are shown for FY1940, FY2001, and FY2021.
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In FY2021, payroll taxes accounted for 32.5% of federal revenue (Figure 3). Payroll taxes in FY2021 were the second-largest source of federal revenues (after the individual income tax). In FY1945, following the World War II-era expansion of the individual income tax, payroll taxes were 7.6% of federal revenues. The fluctuations in payroll taxes as a share of federal revenues since the 2000s are driven more by changes in income tax revenues than changes in payroll tax revenues. In the early 2000s and again during the Great Recession, income tax revenues declined substantially, while payroll tax receipts were either stable or fell by a smaller amount. As a result, the share of tax revenue coming from payroll taxes increased.
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[See link at end of text for Figure 3. Federal Payroll Taxes as a Share of Federal Revenues, FY1940 to FY2021]
Source: Figure created by CRS using data from
Notes: Data labels are shown for FY1940, FY1945, FY2009, and FY2021.
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Distribution of Payroll Tax Burden
For most taxpayers, payroll tax burdens are proportional to earnings. Toward the top of the income distribution, payroll taxes are regressive, meaning that as taxpayers' incomes increase, the share of income paid in payroll taxes decreases. Figure 4 shows that, in 2018 (the most recent year available), households in the lowest quintile (earning an average of
Structural elements of payroll taxes contribute to high-income taxpayers paying a lower percentage of their income in payroll taxes. The
However, earnings above a certain level (
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[See link at end of text for Figure 4. Average Federal Payroll Tax Rates by
Source: Figure created by CRS using data from
Notes: Income groups are created by ranking households by income before taxes and transfers, after adjusting for household size. Income includes labor, business, capital, retirement, and other sources of income, as well as the employer portion of payroll taxes. It also includes social insurance benefits, such as
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Federal payroll taxes are generally structured so that they are imposed on both the employee and employer (as discussed below under "The Different Types of Payroll Taxes"). Economists often assume that workers effectively pay both the employee and employer portions of payroll taxes./4
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3
4 While payroll taxes are statutorily imposed on both employers and employees, the tax burden is often believed to fall on workers, as the employer's share of payroll taxes is passed on to employees via lower wages. Economic theory provides that employees would be expected to bear the payroll tax burden when labor supply is much less elastic than labor demand. There are situations, however, where payroll taxes may not be fully borne by employees, particularly in the short run. For discussion, see
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A worker's paycheck only shows withholding for the employee portion. However, the employer portion of payroll taxes is part of an employer's total labor cost. Many economists believe that an employee's wages are reduced by the amount of the employer's portion of payroll taxes.
Following this logic, the
Most taxpayers pay more in payroll taxes than they do in individual income taxes. In 2021, an estimated 42.9% of taxpayers had a positive federal income tax liability, while an estimated 75.2% had a positive payroll tax liability./6
Overall, an estimated 63.9% of taxpayers were expected to pay more in payroll taxes than income taxes (a figure that increases to 79.1% when looking only at taxpayers that had either a positive payroll or income tax liability). Figure 5 shows the share of taxpayers with either positive payroll or positive income tax liability across the income distribution. For taxpayers in the lowest income quintile (income below
Lower-and moderate-income taxpayers may have a negative income tax liability, as refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and child tax credit can result in negative income tax liabilities./8
Given the EITC's explicit link to work, it can be viewed as offsetting all or part of payroll and other tax liabilities for low- to moderate-income taxpayers.
Moving up the income distribution, a larger share of taxpayers have positive payroll tax and income tax liabilities. In the fourth income quintile (incomes from
At the upper end of the income distribution, taxpayers are most likely to pay both payroll taxes and income taxes, although they are less likely to have payroll tax liabilities that exceed income tax liabilities.
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5 "CBO also allocates the employer's share of payroll taxes to employees because employers appear to pass on their share of payroll taxes to employees by paying lower wages than they otherwise would."
Likewise, JCT lists payroll taxes as "attributed to employees," for instance in footnote [3] of Table A-6 in
6 Tax Policy Center, "Distribution of Federal Payroll and Income Taxes by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2021," Table T21-0181,
7 Tax units include filing and nonfiling units.
8 For more on the EITC, see CRS Report R43805, The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): How It Works and Who Receives It, by
9 Payroll taxes include the employee and employer share of OASDI and Medicare (HI) taxes, self-employment taxes, and the additional ACA HI tax. If only the employee share of payroll taxes were considered, fewer taxpayers would have payroll tax liability that exceeds income tax liability. For example, for 2021 an estimated 48.8% of taxpayers in the fourth income quintile had an employee share of payroll taxes that exceeded income tax liability.
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[See link at end of text for Figure 5. Share of Taxpayers with Positive Payroll and Income Tax Liability, by Income Quintile, 2021]
Source: CRS graphic using data from the Tax Policy Center.
Notes: The breaks are (in 2020 dollars): 20% at
Payroll taxes include the employee and employer share of OASDI and Medicare (HI) taxes, self-employment taxes, and the additional ACA HI tax.
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Although some payroll taxes are regressive, the programs they fund tend to be more progressive than the taxes./10
The formula used to calculate
Likewise, eligibility for premium-free Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) is linked with paying Medicare tax for 10 years - not the amount paid./12
A worker with lower earnings will pay less tax over 10 years than a worker with higher earnings, but both will be eligible for the same benefits.
The Different Types of Payroll Taxes
The term "payroll tax" refers collectively to a set of separate taxes./13
These taxes share broadly similar structures and fund a set of social insurance programs. The revenue generated by each payroll tax and the extent to which it satisfies its program's funding needs varies. Most payroll tax receipts (72.5% of the
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10 There may be exceptions to this generalization. For example, in the case of UI, if marginal or certain categories of workers are less likely to receive UI than others, benefits may not be more progressive than the taxes. UI taxes, since they only apply to the first
11 For more on how
12 For more on the Medicare program and eligibility requirements, see CRS In Focus IF10885, Medicare Overview, by
13 As noted in footnote 2, this report uses the term payroll tax when discussing aggregate social insurance and retirement receipts.
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These receipts are split between the old-age and survivor's insurance (OASI) portion of
The next largest portion (22.4%) is from the Medicare tax that funds hospital insurance (Medicare Part A).
Although payroll taxes are broadly similar, each has a different structure and legislative history, as discussed in the following sections.
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[See link at end of text for Table 1. Composition of
Source: Table created by CRS using data from
Notes: Figures may not add to totals and subtotals indicated due to rounding.
a. Deposits by states cover the benefit part of the program. Federal unemployment receipts cover administrative costs at both the federal and state levels.
b. Railroad unemployment receipts cover both the benefits and administrative costs of the program for the railroads.
c. Less than 0.05%.
d. Less than
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14 The revenue split between the Social Security OASI and DI programs has varied over time.
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The
Self-employed workers pay 12.4% of their net self-employment earnings (business earnings minus the costs of doing business) into
For example, certain government employees (civilian federal employees hired before 1984 and some state and local government employees) may not participate in
The employee portion of the
The employee portion withheld and the employer portion are deposited with the
Employers generally file payroll tax returns quarterly./20
Earnings above the threshold are not subject to tax and do not apply toward the calculation of the worker's primary insurance benefit./22
Workers who paid
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15 Generally, the tax base for payroll taxes is all compensation for employment. There are exceptions, the most important of which are amounts paid by the employee for health, dental, disability, and the non-taxable portion of group-term life insurance; employer payments in connection with health and disability insurance payments after six months after the employee last worked for the employer; and employer contributions to certain qualified retirement plans. The full list of exceptions is at 26 U.S.C. Sec.3121. Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) taxes apply to compensation paid to employees in "covered employment." Certain types of employment are not covered employment, including certain agricultural and casual labor; certain government employment, typically in cases where employees are covered by a state or local retirement plan system; and certain family employment. See 26 U.S.C. Sec.3121(b).
16 See CRS In Focus IF11824,
17 Other types of employment that may not be covered by
18 Withholdings may also appear on an employee's pay stub as FICA, or Federal Insurance Contribution Act withholdings (referring to
19 Semiweekly deposits are made every two weeks. See 26 C.F.R. Sec.31.6302-1.
20 Employers use Form 941 to file quarterly payroll tax returns. Other forms may be used in certain situations. For more, see the
21 For additional information, see CRS Report RL32896,
22 For additional information, see CRS Report R46658,
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[See link at end of text for Figure 6.
Source: Figure created by CRS using data from
Notes: Rates include both the employee and employer portions of the tax. Rates apply to covered earnings.
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When first enacted, the
Taxpayers pay a single
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23 A brief history of the
24
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In FY2021, according to OMB, the
The revenues raised by the
Medicare
Medicare was established by the Social Security Amendments of 1965 (P.L. 89-97) to provide health insurance to individuals 65 and older, and has been expanded over the years to include permanently disabled individuals under 65./30 The original statute created Medicare Parts A (
The Medicare tax increased a number of times (and decreased once) between 1966 and 1986 (see Figure 6 above)./31 The increase to the current rate - a combined (employer and employee) 2.9% of wages - was made by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 (P.L. 95-216)./32 Additionally, as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148 as amended), certain higher-income households may be subject to an additional Medicare tax (discussed below in "Additional Medicare Tax").
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25 For more information on past legislative changes to the allocation of payroll taxes between the OASI and DI trust funds, see CRS Report R43318,
26
27 Data from the
28 See Congressional Budget Office, An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook, 2021 to 2031, Revenue Projections by Category, Table 4, as of
29 For more on the
30 See CRS Report R40425, Medicare Primer, coordinated by
31 For historical Medicare payroll tax rates, see Appendix B in CRS Report RS20946, Medicare: Insolvency Projections, by
32 The most recent Medicare payroll tax increase for self-employed workers, also to 2.9%, was part of the Social Security Amendments of 1983 (P.L. 98-21) and also took effect starting in 1986.
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In addition to increases in the Medicare payroll tax rate, the earnings tax base was increased and ultimately eliminated./33 The Medicare HI tax currently applies to all wage earnings or net self-employment income earned in covered employment./34
The employee portion of the Medicare tax is withheld directly from an employee's paycheck, where it is often listed as "Medicare." Employers pay their portion separately, depositing their portion with the
Medicare Part A benefits are paid for out of the
In FY2021, the Medicare tax and Additional Medicare Tax (described below) together raised
Additional Medicare Tax
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended by P.L. 111152) created an additional Medicare tax levied on taxpayers with relatively high incomes./39 The Additional Medicare Tax is a payroll tax levied on wages and net self-employment income above certain thresholds./40
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33 For historical information on the maximum tax base, see Appendix B in CRS Report RS20946, Medicare: Insolvency Projections, by
34 As with the
35 For a description of Medicare trust funds and financing, see CRS Report R43122, Medicare Financial Status: In Brief, by
36 For additional information on Medicare Part A funding and solvency estimates over time, see CRS Report RS20946, Medicare: Insolvency Projections, by
37
38 See Congressional Budget Office, An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook, 2021 to 2031, Revenue Projections by Category, Table 4, as of
39 The additional Medicare tax on higher wage incomes was enacted in P.L. 111-148 (Sec.9015 and Sec.10906).
40 The Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT), which applies to certain nonwage income of high-income taxpayers, was enacted in P.L. 111-152 (Sec.1402). While this tax is often described as being an additional Medicare contribution, the revenues from this tax are not allocated to the Medicare trust fund. As an income tax, the NIIT is beyond the scope of this report. For more, see CRS In Focus IF11820, The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax: Overview, Data, and Policy Options, by
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[See link at end of text for Table 2. Income Thresholds for Additional Medicare Tax]
Source: Table created by CRS using information from
Notes: Income amounts are not indexed for inflation.
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The Additional Medicare Tax applies to wage and net self-employment earnings above thresholds that vary based on filing status. A tax of 0.9% is levied on income above the thresholds in Table 2, in addition to the standard combined 2.9% Medicare tax.
Unlike the standard Medicare tax, the Additional Medicare Tax is levied only on employees. However, employers are required to withhold the Additional Medicare Tax when it applies given their knowledge of the employee's situation (reported filing status and wages paid by that employer). Employees must pay any difference between withholding and their Additional Medicare Tax liability (due to a change in filing status or having multiple jobs, for instance) on their annual income tax return. If the unpaid amount is large enough, it may trigger a need for the employee to file quarterly estimated tax payments.
The income thresholds are not indexed for inflation. This means that the Additional Medicare Tax will apply to more taxpayers as wages rise due to inflation. For example, adjusting for inflation,
When the Additional Medicare Tax was enacted, the
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41 Inflation adjusted using annual inflation averages from
42
43 For FY2014 through FY2019, it was estimated that annual revenue collections would average
See
44 There is wide variation in the designs of state UC programs; these differences are beyond the scope of this report. For more on the Unemployment Compensation program, see CRS In Focus IF10336, The Fundamentals of Unemployment Compensation, by
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The UC program is financed by federal taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA, 26 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.3301-3311) and by state payroll taxes under the State Unemployment Tax Acts (SUTA)./45 The FUTA tax funds both federal and state administrative costs as well as the federal share of the Extended Benefit (EB) program, loans to insolvent state UC accounts, and state employment services.
The gross FUTA tax rate is 6.0% of covered wages, which includes wages from the first dollar paid up to
FUTA revenues provide the funding for grants to the states to administer their UC programs and the federal share (50%) of Extended Benefit payments./48
The FUTA tax was introduced in Title IX of the Social Security Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-271). The tax started as a 1.0% levy on all taxable wages (with no maximum) paid by employers with eight or more employees, with a credit of up to 0.9% allowed for taxes paid to state unemployment programs. The first net FUTA tax was therefore (1.0% - 0.9%) = 0.1% of wages. Since then, a taxable wage base limit was introduced (and expanded) and the tax rate increased. The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (P.L. 97-248) set the current taxable wage base of
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45 SUTA taxes are required to fund regular UC benefits and the state share of the EB program. In most states, an employer's SUTA tax rate is based on the amount of UC benefits paid to former employees. Generally, the more UC benefits paid to its former employees, the higher the employer's tax rate, up to a maximum established by state law.
46 For more on exemptions and the limited cases when employment is not covered, see
47 Employers generally qualify for credits of 5.4% for SUTA payments to be applied against the FUTA tax rate. State employers may face a FUTA credit reduction if the state's unemployment trust fund account has an outstanding federal loan. FUTA credit reductions are most common in the years following an economic recession. See CRS Report RS22954,
In 2020, only businesses in the
48 EB provides additional UC benefits after regular UC benefits are exhausted to eligible workers in states experiencing high levels of unemployment. There have been two exceptions to the 50% federal cost sharing. The first was 2009 to 2013, and the second was in 2020 to 2021. For funding details of UC and EB benefits, see CRS Report RS22077, Unemployment Compensation (UC) and the
49 Grants are then made to individual states by the Secretary of Labor based on the funding constraints and information provided by states. For more details on this process, see CRS In Focus IF10838, Funding the
50 For a detailed legislative history of the FUTA tax, see CRS Report R44527, Unemployment Compensation: The Fundamentals of the Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), by
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A parallel system provides unemployment and sickness benefits for railroad employees. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.351-369) levies a payroll tax on railroad employers to fund benefits only for railroad employees. The employer's tax rate ranges between 3.15% and 12.0% on the first
In FY2021, the FUTA tax raised
Other Payroll Taxes
Other payroll taxes and forms of retirement receipts, mostly funding retirement for special populations, raised less than 1% of total FY2021 payroll tax revenues. Railroad retirement benefits provide retirement annuities to railroad workers and their family members. Federal employee pensions are funded by a payroll tax on certain federal employees.
The Railroad Retirement Tax Act (26 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.3201-3241) provides a system of retirement benefits for railroad workers funded by payroll taxes. Railroad workers pay two payroll taxes to participate in the system. The tier I tax is similar to the
Payroll taxes are the largest contributor to the Railroad Retirement Board's retirement, disability, and survivor program. Payroll taxes contributed 39.2% of gross funding to the program in FY2020./54 In FY2021, OMB reports the Social Security Equivalent Benefit portion of the tier I tax raised
Additionally, certain other retirement taxes are considered federal payroll taxes. Together, these taxes raised
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51 For more on Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits, see CRS Report RS22350, Railroad Retirement Board: Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits, by
52
53 For more on the railroad retirement system, see CRS Report RS22350, Railroad Retirement Board: Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits, by
54
55 The Railroad Retirement Board Annual Report reports FY2020 tier I and tier II tax revenues of
56 For more on federal employee retirement systems, see CRS Report 98-810, Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing, by
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Continues with Part 2 of 2
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View tables, figures and report here: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47062
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