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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His administration proposed allowing workers under age 55 to divert a third of their payroll tax — up to $1,000 per year — into private investment accounts. Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 Assisting with payroll tax issues, sales tax audits, and business restructuring to satisfy tax obligations. Nick Perry, USA Today, 2 July 2026 The bipartisan reform proposal would tweak the payroll tax that funds Social Security. Max Zahn, ABC News, 2 July 2026 The largest amount, at $960,000, was disclosed last year by political operatives Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl on behalf of Joseph Schwartz — a nursing home operator who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a nearly $39 million payroll tax fraud scheme. Gabe Kaminsky, CBS News, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for payroll tax

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Cite this Entry

“Payroll tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payroll%20tax. Accessed 12 Jul. 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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