Types of Taxes in The United States - Employment Taxes

Employment taxes are Federal income tax withholding, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and Federal Unemployment tax that an employer must submit on behalf of employees. Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) 12.4% of earned income up to an annual limit must be paid into Social Security, and an additional 2.9% must be paid into Medicare. If the taxpayer is a wage or salaried employee, he or she pays only half the FICA bill, and the tax is automatically withheld. The employees and the employer's FICA tax rate for 2014 consists of the Social Security tax rate of 6.2% of each employee's first $117,000 of wages, salaries, etc. and the Medicare tax of 1.45% of each employee's total wages, salaries, etc. In other words, the FICA tax rate for 2014 is 7.65% of each employee's first $117,000 of wages, salaries, etc. and then 1.45% of each employee's wages, salaries, etc. that are above $117,000.
In addition to withholding Medicare tax at 1.45%, an employer must withhold a 0.9% Additional Medicare tax from wages he or she pays to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. The employer is required to begin withholding Additional Medicare tax in the pay period in which he or she pays wages in excess of $200,000 to an employee and continue to withhold it each pay period until the end of the calendar year.
Additional Medicare tax is only imposed on the employee. There is no employer share of Additional Medicare tax.
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) with state unemployment system, provides for payments of unemployment compensation to workers who have lost their jobs. Most employers pay both a Federal and a state unemployment tax. Only the employer pays FUTA tax; It is not deducted from the employee's wages.
Old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits (OASDI) payments under section 202 of title II of the social security act are not includible in the gross income of the individuals to whom they are paid. This applies to old-age insurance benefits, and insurance benefits for wives, husbands, children, widows, widowers, mothers and fathers, and parents, as well as the lump-sum death payment.