The mandatory deductions from your paycheck are the amounts your employer is legally required to withhold before paying you: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), any state or local income tax that applies where you work, mandatory state disability or paid family leave contributions in the states that run those programs, and any court-ordered garnishments for debts like child support, defaulted federal student loans, or back taxes. Combined, taxes alone can claim 25% to 35% of gross wages before any garnishment is added. You have no ability to opt out of these, and your employer has no discretion to skip them.
Federal Income Tax
Every employer paying wages must withhold federal income tax from each paycheck under the Internal Revenue Code, using tables and procedures the IRS publishes.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3402 – Income Tax Collected at Source How much comes out depends on what you put on Form W-4 when you start the job: filing status, dependents, and any extra withholding you request. Your employer runs that information through the current tax tables for each pay period.
For 2026, federal income tax rates run from 10% on the lowest slice of taxable income up to 37% on income above $640,601 for single filers. The brackets are progressive. Only the income that falls within a given range is taxed at that range’s rate, so a raise never leaves you with less take-home pay than before it.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
The second block of withholding funds Social Security and Medicare under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. FICA rates are set by statute and are the same for everyone, regardless of what your W-4 says.
Social Security tax is 6.2% of gross wages, but only up to a yearly earnings cap. For 2026 the cap is $184,500. Wages above that amount are not subject to the 6.2% tax for the rest of the calendar year.2Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet If you hit that ceiling mid-year, your take-home pay will jump slightly for the pay periods that follow.
Medicare tax is 1.45% of all earned income with no cap. Higher earners pay an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC Ch. 21 – Federal Insurance Contributions Act Your employer starts withholding the extra 0.9% once your year-to-date wages cross $200,000, regardless of your filing status. Any reconciliation happens on your annual return.
Your employer also pays a matching 6.2% and 1.45% out of its own funds.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3111 – Rate of Tax That match is not deducted from your wages and does not appear on your pay stub.
State and Local Income Taxes
Most states impose their own income tax that operates similarly to the federal system, though the rates and structures vary. Some states charge a flat rate. Others use progressive brackets. A handful impose no personal income tax at all, which is why net pay on the same gross salary can look very different depending on where you work.
Counties and cities may also levy their own earnings or occupational taxes, typically funding schools, transit, and emergency services. Your employer must identify the correct taxing jurisdictions for you based on where you live and work.
State Disability and Paid Family Leave
A growing number of states require mandatory payroll deductions for disability insurance or paid family and medical leave. These fund short-term benefits for workers who need time off for a serious illness or injury, or to care for a new child or a sick family member. Six states and Puerto Rico currently operate state disability insurance programs, and roughly 16 jurisdictions have enacted paid family and medical leave insurance programs, with more scheduled to take effect in the coming years. Employee contribution rates typically range from about 0.2% to 1.3% of covered wages, depending on the state and the program. If you work in a state with one of these programs, you’ll see a separate line on your pay stub, and it is not optional.
Court-Ordered Wage Garnishments
Garnishment is different from tax withholding but sits in the same mandatory category. When a court or government agency orders your employer to divert part of your pay toward a debt, your employer must comply. The usual triggers are unpaid child support, defaulted federal student loans, back taxes, and consumer-debt judgments for credit cards, medical bills, or personal loans. Federal law caps how much can be taken, but the caps are more generous to creditors than most people expect.
How the Limits Work
Garnishment limits apply to your disposable earnings, not gross pay. Disposable earnings are what remain after legally required deductions — federal and state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC Chapter 41, Subchapter II – Restrictions on Garnishment Voluntary deductions like 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums generally do not reduce your disposable earnings for garnishment purposes.
For ordinary consumer debts, the maximum garnishment each week is the lesser of two figures: 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, that second figure is $217.50 per week.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment The “whichever is less” language does real work. A worker with $250 in weekly disposable pay could see only $32.50 garnished (the amount over $217.50), even though 25% of $250 would be $62.50. For workers close to minimum wage, nothing may be garnished at all.
Different debts carry different caps:
- Child and spousal support can reach 50% of disposable earnings if you’re supporting another spouse or child, or 60% if you’re not. Being more than 12 weeks behind pushes those ceilings to 55% and 65%.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
- Defaulted federal student loans can take up to 15% of disposable pay through administrative garnishment. No court order is required; the Department of Education can start the process directly.
- Federal and state tax levies are not bound by the 25% cap. The IRS and state tax agencies use their own formulas, which can leave less in your paycheck than other garnishments would.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
When more than one garnishment order lands on a paycheck, federal law sets the maximum but does not decide which creditor gets paid first. The Consumer Credit Protection Act contains no priority rules, leaving that to state law or other federal statutes.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) In practice, child support tends to come first, then tax levies, then consumer debts. If the combined orders exceed what can legally be withheld, the lower-priority creditor waits.
Your Employer Cannot Fire You Over One Garnishment
Federal law prohibits your employer from firing you because your wages have been garnished for any single debt. Violations carry a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1674 – Restriction on Discharge From Employment by Reason of Garnishment The federal protection covers “any one indebtedness.” A second garnishment from a different creditor does not receive the same federal shield, though some states go further.
When None of This Applies: Independent Contractors
Every rule above assumes you’re classified as an employee. If you’re an independent contractor, your client generally withholds nothing — no income tax, no Social Security, no Medicare.9Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee? You’re responsible for paying it yourself through quarterly estimated taxes, and you owe both halves of Social Security and Medicare, a combined 15.3% before the wage cap.
The IRS decides employee-versus-contractor status by weighing three categories of evidence: behavioral control (does the company direct how you do the work?), financial control (who provides tools, who bears expenses, how are you paid?), and the type of relationship (written contract, benefits, whether the work is core to the business?).9Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee? No single factor decides it. If you believe you’ve been misclassified, the mandatory withholdings on this page are the taxes your employer should have been taking out — and the ones the IRS will pursue if the classification is challenged and found wrong.