如果你有工作，你可能会好奇工资单上的那些扣除究竟是什么
If you have a job you might be wondering what all those deductions on your paycheck are.
当你刚开始工作时，了解总收入和净收入的区别
When you’re just starting out in the workforce it’s important to learn the difference between
是非常重要的
gross pay and net pay.
总收入是指未经扣除之前的工作所得，比如税务扣除
Gross pay is what you earned before deductions, like taxes.
净收入是指，在经过各项扣除之后，剩下的部分
Net pay is what’s left in your check after all the deductions are taken out.
所以FICA究竟是什么呢？
So who or what is FICA?
它其实是《联邦社会保险捐款法》，是社会保障计划
It is the Federal Insurance Contributions Act Tax, which is comprised of Social Security
和医疗税的一部分。
and Medicare taxes.
因为它每次都会从员工工资中扣钱，所以被称为工薪税
It’s called a payroll tax because it takes money out of employees paychecks every pay cycle.
FICA税目前占比个人收入超过7.5%，直到达到某个上限
FICA taxes are currently more than 7.5 percent of everyone’s paycheck until you reach a cap.
老板们需要为每位员工支付等额的FICA税
Employers pay an equal amount of FICA taxes for each employee.
而且即使你不支付所得税，你仍需上缴FICA税
And even if you don’t pay any income taxes, you still pay FICA taxes.
社会保障税务为退休者预存退休保障金
Social Security taxes fund retirement benefits for retired workers, as well as benefits for
也为一些残疾人及其照顾者提供福利
the disabled and their dependents.
另一方面，在医疗方面筹得的资金，被用于提供医疗福利
The funds received for Medicare, on the other hand, are used to provide medical benefits
针对某些达到65岁的个体
for certain individuals when they reach age 65.
对于工人，退休工人以及他们的配偶
Workers, retired workers, and the spouses of workers and retired workers, are eligible
当他们到达退休年龄的时候，都有资格享受医疗福利
to receive Medicare benefits once they reach retirement age.
如果你在工作，其实是你的钱为这些福利做了贡献
So if you’re working, it’s your money that helps pay for those benefits.
而且这也是很多钱
And it’s a lot of money too.
在2015年，联邦工薪税为政府贡献了1.07万亿美元
In 2015, federal payroll taxes generated $1.07 trillion in revenue for the government,
几乎占所有联邦税收的三分之一
accounting for about one-third of all federal tax revenues.