Ben has 2 jobs and both employers withhold FICA taxes. From his first job, Ben earned $85,034 and from his second job, he earned $34,496. How much can Ben claim as additional payment on his Form 1040 as excess social security tax paid in 2015?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For 2015, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax is $118,500. Any amount earned over this limit is not subject to Social Security tax.

Therefore, the amount of Social Security tax that should have been withheld from Ben's earnings from his first job is $5,071.40 (6.2% of $85,034), and the amount of Social Security tax that should have been withheld from his earnings from his second job is $2,133.52 (6.2% of $34,496).

In total, Ben paid $7,204.92 in Social Security tax (which is also the maximum amount of Social Security tax paid in 2015).

Since the maximum amount of Social Security tax that Ben should have paid in 2015 is $7,347.90 (6.2% of $118,500), he overpaid by $143.98.

However, the excess Social Security tax paid by Ben from his first job already exceeded $143.98. Therefore, the answer is C) $63.86, which is the excess Social Security tax paid by Ben from his second job only.

Ben Has 2 Jobs and Both Employers Withhold FICA Taxes