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Don't they, technically? Since the income tax is withheld from your paycheck before you get it?


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Nope, they don't. Employees pay is an expense to the company, and always deducted pre-tax.

They do, in income tax.

That isn't what paycheck withholding is at all.

Paycheck withholding guarantees you pay your taxes.

Can't forget to file if you already paid all your taxes ahead of time.


Ah okay. I just assumed that the fact that my paycheck itemizes the tax withholdings that they were already receiving or at least aware of my taxes to date.

Typically, the company withholds the tax for you though. I've heard stories of companies demanding the pre-tax amounts even though THEY "paid" your tax already by withholding it.

Do you have a source for that number? It sounds wrong. Most people have income tax withheld on their paychecks. That is paying income tax.

how is that possible with tax being pulled out of paychecks?

Yes but that's just how much is withheld, not your final tax amount.

You mean employees pay income taxes, don't you?

Is this like saying “your income tax is paid your employer”? It seems true in some sense (the withheld money goes from the employer’s account to the government’s account) but false in another.

The withholding is calculated by you and your employer, not the IRS.

Why? Aren't salaries paid before obligations and taxes?

In the US some taxes are paid by the employee and some by the employer. The salary that's quoted is before employee taxes but after employer taxes.

> In western Europe most places tax at source, which means your wages are taxed before they are sent to your bank.

The US does this too; it's known as "withholding". There are also "estimated taxes" paid quarterly if you have significant income outside of regular employment and thus not subject to withholding. You still have to settle up at the end of the tax year, but by that point the vast majority of the tax (and perhaps a bit more) has already been paid.


It doesn't. The employer is responsible for paying taxes on behalf of the employee, i.e. income and payroll taxes.

This is the case in most of the modern world...


Employers pay an additional tax on payroll. The withholdings they send to IRS is not considered a tax.

What about payroll taxes? In most places, your employer pays additional tax on top of your pre-tax salary.

Dunno if it makes up all the difference, but in U.S. vernacular, salaries are given pre-tax.

Sort of at the Federal level (though these tend to colloquially be understood/communicated as "income taxes" despite being de jure FICA/payroll).

This _isn't_ true at the state level, where payroll taxes may be paid by an employer and not the employee.

In the end it is a wash.

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