A42 Appendix B Financial Literacy
STATE
STANDARDS
MA.7.A.1.2
MA.8.A.6.4
S
Payroll Deductions
B.6
How can you read a payroll
earnings statement?
Work with a partner. Talk about each entry on the payroll statement.
Do you understand each entry?
a. How much does John get
paid per hour?
b. How often does John get paid?
c. How many paychecks has John
received so far in 2012?
d. How is the gross pay related
to the net pay?
e. How much does John pay for:
federal income tax?
Social Security tax?
Medicare tax?
ACTIVITY: Reading a Payroll Earnings Statement
1
1
:
English
Spanish
Section B.6 Payroll Deductions A43
Work with a partner. Use the table to fi nd the federal income tax for 2008 for
the given taxable income.
a. $7982.00 b. $26,500.00 c. $54,780.00
d. $125,348.40 e. $235,893.70 f. $356,789.00
ACTIVITY: Federal Income Tax Rates
2
2
Use what you learned about payroll deductions to complete
Exercises 3–5 on page A46.
4. IN YOUR OWN WORDS How can you read a payroll earnings statement?
Work with a partner.
a. Make a scatter plot of
the data in Activity 2.
b. Federal income tax is
called a graduated tax.
What does this mean?
c. Graduated income tax
graphs are not linear.
Does the graph show a
linear pattern?
ACTIVITY: Federal Income Tax Rates
3
3
0
0 80 160 240 320 400
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
y
x
Taxable income
(thousands of dollars)
Federal income tax
(thousands of dollars)
Federal Income Tax
Filing Status: Single
If taxable income is between. . . Tax bracket is: Federal income tax is:
$0 and
$8,024
10% 10% of the income over $0
$8,025 and
$32,549
15%
$802.50 plus 15% of the income
over $8,025
$32,550 and
$78,849
25%
$4,481.25 plus 25% of the income
over $32,550
$78,850 and
$164,549
28%
$16,056.25 plus 28% of the income
over $78,850
$164,550 and $357,699 33%
$40,052.25 plus 33% of the income
over $164,550
$357,700 and Above 35%
$103,791.75 plus 35% of the income
over $357,700
English
Spanish
A44 Appendix B Financial Literacy
Lesson Tutorials
Lesson
B.6
Key Vocabulary
gross pay, p. A44
net pay, p. A44
payroll statement,
p. A44
The amount of money earned by an employee during a pay period is called
gross pay. Several deductions are made from an employees gross pay. Here
are some of the deductions that are required by U.S. law.
Federal income tax A tax based on an employees earned income
that is paid directly to the U.S. federal government.
Social Security tax A tax used to fund the Social Security system,
which provides benefi ts mainly for retired workers.
Medicare tax A tax used to fund Medicare, which is a medical plan
administered by the federal government mainly for people age 65
and older.
The amount of money that an employee receives after all the deductions
have been made is called net pay. A payroll statement shows the gross
pay, the deductions, and the net pay.
Study Tip
Other deductions, such
as health insurance,
may appear on a payroll
statement.
EXAMPLE
Reading a Payroll Statement
1
1
According to the payroll statement, how often does Cara get paid?
The paycheck is for 168 hours and is dated for the end of June.
So, you can conclude that Cara is paid once per month.
1. What is Caras hourly wage?
2. What is the difference between Caras gross pay and net pay?
3. How much does Cara pay annually for health insurance?
Exercises 6 –11
English
Spanish
Section B.6 Payroll Deductions A45
A 401(k) plan is an optional retirement savings plan offered by some
companies to their employees. The amount an employee can contribute
toward a 401(k) plan is limited by U.S. law. The amount of money in a
401(k) is not taxed until it is withdrawn.
EXAMPLE
Analyzing a Payroll Statement
2
2
In Example 1, what percent of Caras gross pay is put in her 401(k)?
Divide the amount put in her 401(k) by her gross pay.
amount put in 401(k)

gross pay
121.80
2436.00
0.05 5%
5% of her gross pay is put in her 401(k).
Social Security and Medicare taxes are calculated after the health
insurance amount is subtracted from the gross pay. Federal income
taxes are calculated after the health insurance amount and the 401(k)
contribution are subtracted from the gross pay.
EXAMPLE
Finding Tax Percents
3
3
a. What percent does Cara pay for Social Security tax?
Divide the amount of Social Security tax by the difference of her
gross pay and health insurance amount.
Social Security tax

gross pay health insurance
143.55

2436.00 120.75
143.55
2315.25
0.062 6.2%
Cara pays 6.2% for Social Security tax.
b. What percent does Cara pay for federal income tax?
Divide the amount of federal income tax by the difference of her
gross pay and the sum of the health insurance amount and 401(k)
contribution.
federal income tax

gross pay [health insurance 401(k)]
170.94

2436.00 242.55
0.078 7.8%
Cara pays 7.8% for federal income tax.
4. Cara changes her 401(k) contribution to 8% of her gross pay.
How much will Cara put in her 401(k) each month?
5. What percent does Cara pay for Medicare tax?
Exercises 13–15
English
Spanish
Exercises
B.6
9
+(-6)=3
3
+(-3)=
4
+(-9)=
9
+(-1)=
A46 Appendix B Financial Literacy
1. REASONING Is the net pay sometimes, always, or never greater than the gross
pay? Explain.
2. REASONING Why do you think the amount of money an employee can
contr
ibute toward a 401(k) plan is limited by U.S. law?
In Exercises 3 5, use the table in Activity 2 to fi nd the federal income tax for a person who
had the given amount of taxable income.
3. $10,500.00 4. $58,435.00 5. $6120.75
In Exercises 6 –12, use the payroll statement.
6. What is Al’s hourly wage? 7. How often does Al get paid?
8. What is Al’s gross pay for April? 9. What is Al’s annual net pay?
10. How many paychecks has Al received so far in 2012?
11. What is the difference between Als gross pay and net pay?
12. ERROR ANALYSIS Describe and correct the
err
or in fi nding Als annual gross pay.
Help with Homework
Gross Pay: $900.00
$900.00
12 $10,800
His annual gross pay is $10,800.
1
1
English
Spanish
Section B.6 Payroll Deductions A47
Evaluate the expression.
19. 3
1
3
2
20. 5
0
5
3
21.
7
2
7
4
7
5
22.
6
1
6
2
6
3
23. MULTIPLE CHOICE Which inequality represents “20 is less than a number x”?
A x
<
20
B 20 x
C 20 x
D 20
<
x
In Exercises 13–15, use the payroll statement on page A46.
13. What percent does Al pay for Social Security tax?
14. What percent does Al pay for Medicare tax?
15. What percent does Al pay for federal income tax?
16. PROJECT The table shows the federal income tax brackets for 2008.
Filing Status: Head of Household
If taxable income is between. . . Tax bracket is: Federal income tax is:
$0 and
$11,449
10% 10% of the income over $0
$11,450 and
$43,649
15%
$1,145 plus 15% of the income
over $11,450
$43,650 and
$112,649
25%
$5,975 plus 25% of the income
over $43,650
$112,650 and
$182,399
28%
$23,225 plus 28% of the income
over $112,650
$182,400 and $357,699 33%
$42,755 plus 33% of the income
over $182,400
$357,700 and Above 35%
$100,604 plus 35% of the income
over $357,700
a. Use the Internet to research the federal income tax brackets for the current year.
Make a table similar to the one above.
b. Describe the change in the federal income tax from 2008 to the current year for
each tax bracket.
c. Compare the federal income tax for 2008 and the federal income tax for the current
year for a person whose taxable income was $30,000.
17. STATE TAXES In addition to federal income tax, you may have to pay state income
tax. U
se the Internet to research the income taxes for Colorado, Florida, and
Massachusetts. Which state has the lowest income tax? the highest income tax?
18.
Your annual gross pay is $32,400. Five percent of your gross pay is put
in your 401(k) and 7% pays for health insurance. You pay 15% for federal income tax.
What amount of federal income tax do you pay?
2
2
3
3
English
Spanish
SECTION 9.4
SECTION 8.1