<P> Federal, state, and local withholding taxes are required in those jurisdictions imposing an income tax . Employers having contact with the jurisdiction must withhold the tax from wages paid to their employees in those jurisdictions . Computation of the amount of tax to withhold is performed by the employer based on representations by the employee regarding his / her tax status on IRS Form W - 4 . </P> <P> Amounts of income tax so withheld must be paid to the taxing jurisdiction, and are available as refundable tax credits to the employees . Income taxes withheld from payroll are not final taxes, merely prepayments . Employees must still file income tax returns and self assess tax, claiming amounts withheld as payments . </P> <P> Federal social insurance taxes are imposed on employers and employees, ordinarily consisting of a tax of 12.4% of wages up to an annual wage maximum ($118,500 in wages, for a maximum contribution of $14,694 in 2016) for Social Security and a tax of 2.9% (half imposed on employer and half withheld from the employee's pay) of all wages for Medicare . The Social Security tax is divided into 6.2% that is visible to employees (the "employee contribution") and 6.2% that is visible only to employers (the "employers contribution"). For the years 2011 and 2012, the employee's contribution had been temporarily reduced to 4.2%, while the employer's portion remained at 6.2%, but Congress allowed the rate to return to 6.2% for the individual in 2013 . To the extent an employee's portion of the 6.2% tax exceeded the maximum by reason of multiple employers, the employee is entitled to a refundable tax credit upon filing an income tax return for the year . </P> <P> Employers are subject to unemployment taxes by the federal and all state governments . The tax is a percentage of taxable wages with a cap . The tax rate and cap vary by jurisdiction and by employer's industry and experience rating . For 2009, the typical maximum tax per employee was under $1,000 . Some states also impose unemployment, disability insurance, or similar taxes on employees . </P>

What percentage of gross income is withheld as an employee's contribution to social security