payroll tax

noun

1
: a tax that is paid by a company and that is based on the amount of money that the company spends paying all of its employees
2
: money that is taken from a person's pay and given directly to the government as income tax

Examples of payroll tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Best financial advisors, top firms ranked Income inequality has affected how much the program takes in from the FICA payroll tax, which is applied to earnings up to a certain cap that is adjusted each year. Lorie Konish, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2026 Social Security is financed by a payroll tax paid for by employers and employees. Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 18 Jan. 2026 During the first seven months of fiscal 2025, income and payroll tax receipts were up by $120 billion when compared with the previous year, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Editorial, Boston Herald, 17 Jan. 2026 The program is funded by a payroll tax increase split between employers and employees. Riley Moser, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for payroll tax

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“Payroll tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payroll%20tax. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

Legal Definition

payroll tax

noun
pay·​roll tax
: a tax that is levied as a percentage of an employee's pay and is usually paid by the employer
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