penguinise t1_iujrv44 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 9:22 PM

There is something more complicated about your pay than you are letting on.

Your FICA wage base for this check is $5,040.64 (figured as Social Security divided by 6.2% or Medicare divided by 1.45%), implying that your gross compensation is actually even higher than that, since your insurance contributions (health, etc.) are a Section 125 deduction and subtract from your FICA wage base.

Moreover, "Voluntary Disability" is certainly not a normal line-item in that amount, so I am wondering if it represents something other than a standard CA VPDI contribution.

Also, your federal withholding is too high for even your FICA wage base, which would suggest you did not complete your Form W-4 accurately (you don't say what withholding you requested).

stopearthmachine t1_iuk1nx8 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 10:37 PM

Could a signing bonus (given to me from a previous paycheck, not the one sampled in the above post) contribute to my SS tax being higher on a regular paycheck since it counted toward my overall income?

penguinise t1_iuk4bic wrote on October 31, 2022 at 10:58 PM

No. FICA is 7.65% of your first $147,000 of wages paid by that employer - since it's applied as a flat tax it is representative of the gross pay on the current check.

The most common cause of this would be receiving a taxable fringe benefit or other non-cash compensation item, which adds to your taxable wages for withholding but not the cash paid.